BL Artists/Participants: You're being judged. How do you feel about this?

How do you feel about people going from plot to plot and critiquing your work in an overly critical and usually standoffish manner? (We all do that. ) The catch is having those opinions posted for all to read in Snapzilla. I'm curious and wondering if anyone else can relate to how I feel on the matter.

It was just brought my attention recently and a build I made was among those that got "burned" by the grading system. Oh well, can't please everybody. But with such negativity (cuz practically all the builds were disliked) it makes me take a step back and wonder why I bother participating in things like this when the effort made is just shitted on like in this case, or not seen at all. I'm better off staying in my land and building just for myself. Anyways, PM me about how mediocre my stuff is and I'll be fine. But when it's said in such a popular site, I'm embarassed, offended, and hurt. Yes, I know it's just a random opinion from someone who knows nothing about me and, yesh, I'm over it once I submit this post.

But one person's comment can influence some. And I don't like the impression it gives, cuz it sounds like we're a bunch of unimaginative turds. Who'd want to see Burning Life based on that? I thought this year's Burning Life was very creative and interactive. I was very excited when it came out, crushed when I didn't get a plot, and revived again when Talen let me have his. And it made me, among other artists feel confident and less hesitant to show our stuff. Anyhoo, I like my build and would give it an A++ for the blah static posed boobieness.

That's my opinion. And if there's another Burning Life or event like this, I have to say I won't be participating in them. No matter what, whoever is in it will get that one, "this year is just all crap" comment. It's a killjoy. I'll just keep my builds on my own land. Thanks to the Lindens for holding them though.

There are far more people who appreciate the efforts of BL artists than those who don't.

With the very little attention it got from the lindens, i kinda liked that someone went around and wrote something about them. In the first pic the person explains on what she bases her grades. She seems to prefer a build that is also a statement.
Don't get discouraged, just neg rate her.
Or start doing the same with your own criteria.

I've been watching those posts unfold on Snapzilla and I'd have to admit to being dead curious as to how I'll be graded.

But reading through them, I think they say a heckuva lot more about the "gradee" rather than the "graded". Her criteria are a mystery, and the percentages don't seem to be based on anything but whim.

And Lash - you are the kind of builder I'd like to be when I grow up - I hope this kind of thing doesn't stop you for a micro-second.

Everybody is welcome to their opinions, of course. And I'd almost rather a person be overly critical than not critical enough at all.

And, true to my high school career, I scored a solid B (85%). Such is life.

What was important to me is I had fun, met cool people, and a number of those cool people said they liked my build. What more can you ask for in SL, really?

I just got through looking at those posts. I don't know how many other builds she completely missed the point on, but on mine she certainly did. Maybe she doesn't understand the meaning of the poem in the first place, or was so busy thinking up her clever critique she couldn't see the whole, and it just flew over her head. Ah well.

As for being 'graded'... I don't really care. I've received a lot of comments from people who did 'get it' and people who enjoyed looking at all the builds and the creativity and diversity of them. As long as people are enjoying them, it's worth suffering one wanna-be art critique.

Considering I had artist's block, I'm fine with my grade.

While my first reaction was to stand tall, raise my eyebrows and do a classic Rocky Horror "I didn't make it for YOU!" my second reaction is to follow my usual protocol for pompous assholes: ignore them and deny them the attention they so desperately crave....

For all of us in the surrealistic category.. a reminder...

Main Entry: sur·re·al
Pronunciation: s&-'rE(-&l, -'ri-&l also -'rA-&l
Function: adjective
1. surreal - characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions
2. resembling a dream
3. strange; not like reality; like a dream
4. one in which things happen in an unusual or seemingly impossible way

We were all thusly excused from needing to build anything rational or realistic!

She states in a self portrait on Snapzilla. "Anyone who thinks these grades are of any value beyond my own amusement needs to be smacked with a moist mackrel." AnneDroid Lily

I suggest you grade her self portrait .

I also found her criteria vague and most of her comments not critiques but downright hurtful.
I saw your display Lash and it was very artistic which is what I was led to believe was the aim behind Burning Life.

It annoyed me too, Lash. This isn't an art competition, so why the grading system? Who goes around the real Burning Man with a clipboard and scoresheet? And why clutter Snapzilla with boring photos of builds you don't even like?

It would be nice if she took another look.
the parcels she took photos of and posted of some spots have changed.
I don't think her pic is of my parcel. (I think I'm 34 - in area 3 - but I changed the parcel name and lost it (haha)).
Also the pics she took days ago of my neighbors look very different now.

Eh just like critics everywhere. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I got minimal concept, which is actually praise since the needle was meant to be minimalist in nature. She utterly left out the height of the structure, which I think, is the highest in SL. At least she had a clever avi and got the buddhist joke.

Oh And some textures did not line up? I thik she must mean one of my lights that got moved, the textureing is very simple, its meant to be stark.

Still I didn't get an F, if there is any validity to a grade.

I am reminded of the scen in dead poets society where they boys are reading from the text on how to analyze a poem: you compare the artfulness of the the expressin with the importance of the topic on a graph, and thus you can determin the realtive greatness of the poem my the area of the square formed. Obviously math is the key to understanding art.

Just remember van gough was reviled by the critics.

AnneDroid's Burning Life Roundup

I appreciate what Anne did; not necessarilly the grading and critique but definitely the time she put into visiting each site and documenting them using Snapzilla.

I'm have a philosophical problem when it comes to grading art. Any grade applied to a piece of artwork (or music, or whatever) is essentuially a measure of one person's taste and preferences. A different person will have an entirely different set of sensibilities and will come to a different grade. Heck, even the same person on a different day might score something differently.

I say let grades be left to things that can be objectively measured and put grades as far away from art as possible.

What I gotta say is, well, Burning Life has a few days left... so if there's gonna be AnneDroid Lily expressing her opinions,

LET'S SEE SOME MORE CRITICS OUT THERE!

I hope it inspires other people to voice themselves, that way you get this nice tasty broth. With stew. Like a brothstew.

*Visits a plot*

"Wow!"

*Visits another plot*

"Wow!"

*Visits another plot*

"Wow!"

*Visits another plot*

"Wow!"

*Visits yet another plot*

"Wow!"

*Visits again another plot*

"Wow!"

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Some of us don't like to judge. We just like to say WOW!

I am all for the "Wow!" It is one of my favorite words, and certainly applies to the Burning Life builds. You all made some really fantastic stuff.

One thing BL has taught me is, I wish there was a concentration of this artistic stuff happening allyearround. Like, 60/60/24/7/12/365.

We need more artregions! With purple ground!

I've been pacing around thinking about this. I don't think I'm at all offended by it. As we all build our BL builds in our own way, we also experience other's builds in our own way. I think this is just her methodical, hierarchical self expression.

I have to admit to having flashbacks to high-school grade anxiety, though.

60% for our uncompleted mish mash of silly things, nice score

And she missed the bunny

She REALLY missed the point on ours! ROFL.. yes.. it was incomplete because well...we finally settled on the prim factory lastnight after trying several different ideas.

We aren't making gnomes for TSO...we are taking the gnomes FROM TSO to make prims for SL use. If she noted the back, there was an escape route with the word HELP written in stones.

Oh well.....I'm sure some old gnomers from TSO that see it will appreciate it. Afterall.. that is why we did it. Sam and I are old "gnomers" and it was a running joke about what Maxis did with the gnomes.

Maybe we'll finish it now...seeing as it made snapzilla and all....

-Rose

*dances around* I gotta "F" I gotta "F" I gotta "F"

Welp 25% for an uncompleted build seems about right, due to the fact it's not completed.

FYI: The pic of the "Gnome Factory" is mine, when I get in later tonight I hope to finish it.
I'll automate the assembly line taking old gnomes made in TSO and chopping them up into Prim for Second Life. (Well thats where prim come from DUH)

See ya there,
- Sam

*walks off to finsh RL crap humming "I gotta 'F' "

*Edit* here's the link to Roger Ebert's review - "I gotta F"

OMG, I can't believe that you're critizining my private scrapbook in such a public place as the forums!

The concept of "freedom of the press" is founded on the principle that people are capable of reading one person's take on a subject, andcome to their own conclusions - or find additional information with which they can do so.


Yay! I'm glad to hear you say that. It is (to me) the purpose of SL - having the tools to entertain and please your own sensibilities.

For those of you claiming I'm lambasting everything in sight, i would like to direct you to the first picture in the series which states "Those of you reading this may know that I'm quite picky when it comes to build appropriateness and quality. Please keep that in mind when (not if, but when) you become offended by my comments in the next several dozen pictures."

As for the grading criteria, that's what the second photo was. Of course it's subjective, it's my opinion. There is no validity to any of the grades. It's simply how i chose to describe my personal enjoyment of the given build.

Jonquille: I'm sure I've missed the point of a large number of builds. I am not a telepath (as suprising as that may be to some). I could not determine what or who your "oh, how the mighty have fallen" was aimed at.

Camille: I do intend to have further looks at the builds. I encourage anyone to IM me if you want to give me a more in-depth description of your build.

Rose and Sam: I look forward to seeing your completed build. I apologize for getting the flow backwards. It's even more humorous than I had thought.

We're not mad, thought it was funny, and yes you and everyone here has the right to free speech, but that doesnt mean we cant poke some fun at it. (Hell thats what the forums do)

- Sam

I'm in the habit of reading the work of any critic (and here, Anne definitely qualifies) with a massive grain of salt. I'm also in the habit of attempting to expose myself to media first-hand, so I can form my own opinion. I've spent a lot of time flying around Burning Life as it's taken shape in the past couple of weeks. It's interesting to me to see someone else's opinions of the creative works in Burning Life, but ultimately, it's my own opinion that really matters to me.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an A- on my build from Anne. That said, I disagree with her about static sculpture exhibits; I find many of them to be brilliantly executed and displayed. I like art for art's sake, though. Anne didn't exactly hide her biases regarding simple sculpture, and she's got exacting standards.

Some of Anne's remarks are remarkably blunt, even to the point of cruelty. Others are insightful, and a few made me spew Coke across my keyboard. Perhaps her delivery lacks some tact, but it's the opinion of a single person, and hardly rates the amount of stir it's caused. While I don't agree with all of Anne's opinions, I'm certainly not going to fault her for putting in the effort to rate every Burning Life build. That's a stunning achievement in and of itself, even if it upsets people.