X city is a 3d virtual city that I was building and animating during a 3-year period.
It was meant to grow in size and complexity as I would get faster and faster computers.
I would transfer the city to a faster computer every time I could, so in the end it would be an
almost “real” city.
Unfortunately I started wrong by choosing the wrong software (Corel Dream 3d): animation had to
be done frame by frame manually, with no keyframes. Then files were put on a render queue.
X-city was based in the city of New York. In December 1998 I animated 3d planes crashing into
buildings. One can be seen on the cover of Biblia magazine #6 – Biblia goes to America.The other can
be seen as animation in this page and was part of my videofolio “miguel soares – works 1991-2001″.
During this period I always had the same computer (a pentium 166mmx).
I started at a rendering speed of 25 frames per day (1 second).
I abandoned the project when frames were taking 13 hours to render each.
I gave the computer to a friend.
For two years I was a member and one of the leaders of a Quake TeamFortress internet Clan.
This work was presented in three forms:
-Barney Online (1997) video projection, stereo sound, 180′ presented at Observatório, Madrid, February 1998
-Barney Online – Slipgate Remix (1998) Video Projection, stereo sound, 6′45” presented at Biovoid, Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural, Lisbon. August 1998
-As a work for the Antropology class: Quake TeamFortress: Aproximação a uma comunidade virtual, June 1998, 74 pgs. and VHS tapes, with Professor Dr. J.A. Fernandes Dias.
Barney Online is the record of a series of virtual performances of my character, 5Q.Barney, in the world of the internet game Quake TeamFortress.
After one year as Barney, I became first a member (by invitation), then 1st. advisor, and later, one of the 5 leaders of the largest and oldest active Quake clan in Portugal at the time: the 5Q Clan, that reached 32 members (5Q stands for 5 Quinas, as symbol of a good defense, present as well in the portuguese flag).
The global Quake community meets everyday in thousands of different locations (servers) where they chat, interact and kill each other.
Most of this comunity joins clans of 10 to 40 members. Admission into a clan is very difficult -requiring skill, morality and an understanding of each clan’s hierarchy and rules. Lastly, approval from the clan leader, founders or council is necessary. Matches between clans often include thorough preparation of attack and defense tactics. Skins (the character’s physical appearance) and maps are built by the community and sent to the servers, becoming available to everyone.
Quake TeamFortress is extremely violent, yet establishes friendships amongst its participants.
air extractors, satin, sneakers, 2 doors, motion detector , walkman, speakers, motorized projector (JBSystems Techno).
made for Jamba, Sala do Veado, Museu Nacional de História Natural, Lisbon
Heaven’s Gate 1997 Heaven’s Gate was made as a reaction to the mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult members in the Santa Fe Ranch, San Diego, California, on March 26th, 1997.
The members believed they would take a ride on a spaceship that was coming right behind the passing-by Hale-Bopp comet. The spaceship would transport them into another planet.
The bodies were found with ready-to-go packed luggage. But what intrigued me was that all the corpses were covered with sheets of purple satin fabric, and were wearing the same model of Nike sneakers (the “Just do it!” brand).
In the Heaven’s Gate installation, I tried to re-create the moment in which the bodies are teleported to the spaceship. Two air extractors with motion detectors give the effect of disappearing bodies by inflating and de-inflating the two satin sheets. Due to the East Timor issues, Portugal was not importing “Made in Indonesia” products at the time, so I was not able to get the Nike sneakers. Instead, I bought two pairs made in the north of Portugal, that imitated Adidas (the stripes) and with a puma printed i n the back. Two light-gray doors (gates) were used as beds.
Heaven’s Gate cult, Santa Fe Ranch, San Diego. Dead cult members and an image found on the internet.
OTHER VERSIONS of Heaven’s Gate were made:
1998 >version 2 at Heaven’s Gate – Project Room, ARCO’98, Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I, Madrid
2001 > version 3 at 321m2, CAPC, Coimbra, Portugal
Low Budget – Objectos do quotidiano
curated by Miguel Vieira Baptista
January 23 > May 15, 1997
Centro Cultural de Belém
Lisbon, Portugal
Artists and designers were asked to choose from daily-life cheap objects for their design.
untitled (Diksport sneakers)
The portuguese-made Diksport sneakers have the 3 stripes and the Puma running to the oposite direction, for a fraction of the price.
untitled (bag with wallet)
The bag with wallet reminds us that money is a base to provide content.
this work was presented in two versions:
>Your Mission is a Failure, 1996, video projection, stereo sound, 56 min.
>Your Mission is a Failure (ICTM97 edit), 1997, video projection, light box, psychadelic sensor, stereo sound, 25 min.
Your Mission is a Failure consists of a series of virtual performances – recorded on video – taking place inside the worlds of early 3d computer games for pc.
The performances consist of continuously dying (thus the title, taken from the computer game Command & Conquer message when the game is over), or, using hacking tricks, becoming imortal,
exploring and passing the virtual boundaries of the game architectural set, or even making music during the gameplay.
All the performances were transfered live to video using a Creative TV Coder, under Windows 95.
Games used include: MechWarrior 2, Dark Forces, Doom, Descent 2, Duke Nukem 3d.
In 1997, I made a shorter version of the video, and used a psychadelic lightbox from my 1996 solo show.
This box was placed in the middle of the projection area and would react to the video and ambient sound through light patterns.
.
Your mission is a failure: Dark Forces
1. attacking a sculpture. 02′08”
2. invisible floor in the vacuum of space. 01′44”
3. jamming the door. 03′07”
4. invulnerable, jumping with the aid of land mines. 03′24”
.
Your mission is a failure: Duke Nukem 3D
1. playing pool with guns. 01′16”
2. invulnerable, creating a grid of laser beams inside a theater with laser detection bombs. 04′28”
3. using the shrinking gun on a dancer. 01′52”
4. invulnerable, underwater. floating laser detection bombs. 02′27”
.
Your mission is a failure: MechWarrior II
part 1
1. ejecting, aborting mission. 02′57”
2. explosions in the dark, and self-destructing an_invulnerable mech. 01′37”
3. leaving the defined mission zone. 04′01”
.
Your mission is a failure: MechWarrior II
part 2
1. invulnerable, taking hits. 01′42”
2. looking right and left to the rhythm of the steps. 02′44”
3. leaving the defined mission zone II. 03′43”
