Art in Second Life (44) Summer Vibes by onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)

13 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , ,

Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) sent an invitation for her own exhibition at her place, the ONCEAGAIN art gallery.

The exhibition is not in the gallery building where you land. You have to walk over a bridge to a seperate building nearby. The exhibition building looks like a temporary building, erected just for the Summer.

Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) provided a notecard with some background information about “Summer Vibes”
“I love summer .. for its colors, so bright, the hours of sunshine that seem to never end the cicadas’s sound by day and that of crickets by night, swimming in the sea among the fishes ..”
Photo Cafe has a special recurring Expo, called “In The Spot” which is a quarterly exhibition of a single seasonal photo so I participate with one of my photos to be exhibited until September for the theme “Summer”.
It was difficult to choose because in the last month I took several photos of the summer. Thinking about what would be right to show I decided to reopen the Onceagain art gallery and I set up this small exhibition made up of diptychs of sl and rl photos.“

Impressions of Summer Vibes by onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) (1)

Inside the exhibition building is decorated with elements of a Summer vacation like a sandcastle and you might get wet feet stepping into puddles of sea water. The about a dozend pictures are displayed as pairs. One picture is taken in RL, one in SL. Each pair has a common theme. At some pairs you have to look twice to recognize which picture is from RL. For me that proves that we can immerse into other worlds, into other environments that cause emotions – like Summer vibes. I like the comparison between RL and SL.

Impressions of Summer Vibes by onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) (2)

onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) ist in Second Life since 2007. Manoji is Italian and lives and works in Tuscany, Italy. She “likes photography, art, landscapes, animals, visiting strange places, most of these things she also does in RL“. You find more of her also on her flickr account.
Thank you for this exhibition and the pictures, onceagain, they caused Summer Vibes – even when we had rain for over 4 weeks, where I live.

Landmark to ONCEAGAIN art gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fading%20Shadows/117/147/23
Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69389809@N03/
Landmark to ~ Photo Cafe’ ~ Photographers ~
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spiced%20Romance/123/224/22

Art in Second Life 2023 (43) “A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes @ Artsville

11 Aug 2023 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

Tonight (August 11th, 12 PM SL-time) Bamboo Barnes will open a new exhibition at Artsville: “A Dream of Eating Colors“

“A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes @ Artsville – exhibition Poster and first impressions

Upon landing your avatar will be submerged in colours – or eaten by the colours. Actually the landing point is inside of an installation consisting of 3 large coloured spheres. The spheres change their colour and the background as well as the floor is permanently changing as well. Just when you move out or zoom out, you can see that you became part of this colourful installation.

Once you stepped out of the installation you can see the whole setup of “A Dream of Eating Colors“. It is built on a large rectangular platform. In the corners Bamboo has installed 3D art objects. In the center is a large area with more 3D art, with red rays reaching out into the sky as well as with hands that reach out to the sky … and white gleaming boxes and spheres.  Make sure that you use Shared Environment, enabled Advanced Lighting Model and select a a raw distance abve 128m. Using shadows is also recommended, but I did not enable it myself.

Around the center and between the above corner installations, Bamboo presents her 2D art – colorful pictures, often you may see female faces or bodies in them, some are just abstract and as they are from Bamboo Barnes all pictures are made up of several layers, so that you can immerse into the pictures and see different objects, faces or impressions.

Impressions of “A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes @ Artsville (1)

Back to the corner installations – one of them is made up of about 20 billard balls. You can walk between the balls. Once you get closer to a ball you see a picture, a court of a small town, in the ball. When you step away it is gone again. And the same picture appears under your feet when you walk to the center of “A Dream of Eating Colors” (where the hands reach up into the sky). Another art object a bit aside turned out to be a porch swing and I had a short break sitting there.

Impressions of “A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes @ Artsville (2)

Bamboo Barnes added a poem in her opening party invitation. The poem might refer to the the red rays and the hands in the center:
“You, want my love for vain
I, want my blood red
Taste colors, still remain
In the woods of bloody red “

Impressions of “A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes @ Artsville (3)

Bamboo is in Second Life for over 15 years already, painting software & photoshop are her best friends. Bamboo had many exhibtions and appearances in the Second Life art scene and in 2018 she had her first exhibition in real life: “I create what I see but maybe you won’t, they are about people’s reality and  mind.”
Bamboo’s art is a mixture of abstract forms, of people and photographs. Most pictures are colourful and it is in the eye of the beholder what we see in her pictures.
I myself saw her work the first time at La Maison d’Aneli during the Holiday season 2019/2020 (read here). I also saw her exhibition “Marginal Mannerism” at DixMixGallery in April 2021 (read here), the exhibition “Meant to be” at Itakos Art Gallery last year (read here), I saw “Conjure” at FOCUS Magazine F.A.I.R Gallery in August 2021 (read here), “Mindstorm” at IMAGO Land (read here) and “Drawer” at Hannington Arts Foundation (read here). In December 2021 I saw her exhibition “The path” at Art care gallery (read here) and 2022 i visited “Metaphysics” at the Kondor Art Center, (read here), Colores Primarios (read here), “New Day”  (read here) and  “Personal Aspect” (read here). This year I saw “Unusual” at Kondor Art Center (read here) and “Far From” at Selen’s gallery (read here). One could say, I’m a fan of Bamboo’s art!

The exhibitions “New Day”  (read here) and “Far From” at Selen’s gallery (read here) are still open for a visit.
Look also at Bamboo’s flickr page.

Impressions of “A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes @ Artsville (4)

Artsville was created in collaboration the Art Korner blog, owned and founded by Frank Atisso. Artsville itself is group owned, Frank Atisso is one of the co-owners. Bamboo mentioned Jerzzie Reece Redstar (Jerzzie Reece) and Jeanie (jeanienabottle) as a member of the Artsville team. Thank you all for providing the space for the art and for enabling “A Dream of Eating Colors“. Thank you Bamboo Barnes for your art.

I enjoyed visit.

Landmark to “A Dream of Eating Colors” by Bamboo Barnes at Artsville
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caribbean%20Ocean/110/112/1502
Landmark to Artsville
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caribbean%20Ocean/74/62/22
Bamboo Barnes’ flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bamboobarnes/
Bamboo Barnes on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bamboo.barnes
Artsville flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14823986@N21/
Art Korner blog
https://www.artkornersl.com/

Art in Second Life 2023 (42) “Kisses” and “Broken Mirrors” by Melusina Parkin

08 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

Melu has opened two new exhibitions that – once again – follow seamlessly from her exhibitions “Art Deco Ladies” (read here) and “100 Retro Ladies” (read here) and continue the thread. The two new exhibitions are shown at Melusina Parkin’s Minimum Gallery. 


“Kisses” is the exhibition on the 1st floor, “Broken Mirrors” is shown on the 2nd floor.

I didn’t count the pictures, I estimate that both exhibitions consist of roughly 40 pictures. I started my visit with “Kisses”. As the name implies, the pictures show couples who kiss each other, in this case two females kissing each other. All woman fit into the art deco era. And all pictures of “Kisses” have a calm neutral background, making the spectator focus on the kiss and the faces. Taking a closer look you can see how different the faces are, how different the kisses are, some full of passion, in other pictures the lips don’t even touch each other.
Melusina wrote a text about “Kisses”:
“Kisses don’t need any explanation, or introduction. Just look at these glamourous ladies and at their love. These images celebrate the short era when all did seem possible. Later hte tragedy ome on, and then many years had to pass before freedom and desire would be allowed again. They are a tribute to all those brave woman who had taught us the actual meaing of the word ‘love’.“

All featured pictures can be purchased at the exhibition itself. There’s a vendor at the end of each of the four series.

On the 2nd floor is the exhibition “Broken Mirrors”. Melusina wrote about this exhibition:
“Mirrors are fragile and it’s very easy they get broken. Nonetheless even a broken mirror can be helpful. Try to look at your image on a broken mirror, You could be frightened or intrigued: you can think that the fragmented image you see says that your are overwhelmed, destroyed, cut in pieces by your problems, traumas, issues. Or you can see those fragments at the different part of your self, and seeing them can be helpful for knowing each of them better and trying to make them living together and interacting successfully.
The power of AI images allowed me to show many ways to be reflected in fragments. The retro ladies depicted in these images wear different dresses and different hair, they have different expressions: they represent the many ways you can approach and unusal and maybe unsettingly image of yourself.“

The images of “Broken Mirrors” are quite different from what I saw of Melusina so far. Each of them takes the theme from another view. Some are very serious, make you think of the the thoughts the woman might have looking ito the broken mirror, others are funny – and all are very artful. It’s for sure an unusal theme – and again Melu used AI in a very creative way.

I am a fan of Melusina Parkin’s art and have seen quite some of her exhibitions. Melusina Parkin’s style is minimalistic. She usually takes her pictures in Second Life. The minimalism forces the spectator to focus on details, that might stay unseen when too much distracts the view. Lately she tried out different things, in particular she explored the possibilites of creating art based on AI generated pictures.

Melusina Parkin is in Second Life since September 2008. She has been a fashion manager, a journalist, a furniture creator, a builder, a decorator and a photographer. Her work as a photographer has been showcased in more than 50 exhibitions – from which I saw just a few. Melusina has a flickr account which counts more than 13,000 (!) photographs. Extensive collections of her photos can be seen also on her blog Virtual Exhibits and on some slideshows on Youtube (links also under this post).
There’s also an online book with her Second Life exhibits 2011-2019 here.
Melusina Parkin has an own gallery at Time Portal, “Melu’s Photo Gallery” and an own store for Art Deco furniture called “Melu Deco“. Melusina also owns a second place (Melu Space) with another gallery (Minimum Gallery), a bookstore and another “Melu Deco” inworld store.

Thank you for these exhibitions, Melusina. I enjoyed both, “Kisses” and “Broken Mirrors”

Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s Minimum Gallery – and to “Kisses” and “Broken Mirrors”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lunula/129/107/621
Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s Melu Photo Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20Portal/248/101/1940
Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s store for Art Deco furniture “Melu Deco”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20Portal/243/99/1930
Melusina Parker’s flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melusina_parkin/
Melusina Parkin’s Virtual Exhibit blog
http://meluphoto.blogspot.it/p/home.html
Melusina Parkin’s youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVzglBiqhrOLXnAp3Qt3Zjw
On line book Second Life exhibits 2011-2019
https://www.calameo.com/books/005997622f28dd58ca75d

Art in Second Life 2023 (41) “A Crickets View” by Lotus Li @ Maison de la Chauette

06 Aug 2023 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

I am a quite regular visitor of the NovaOwl Community Center and Gallery and the NovaOwl Sky Gallery Both are owned by Uli Jansma, Owl (Owl Dragonash) is the general manager. NovaOwl is an international community on the mainland continent of Corsica. NovaOwl is located on Novatron. It is a meeting place where events take place regularly.

Owl Dragonash invited me to another exhibition at a new place, the Maison de la Chauette. Owl made it easy for me and provided a notecard of this new place:
“Nestled in the NovaOwl area, Maison de la Chouette stands as the newest gem in Corsica South Coasters. Our commitment to quality starts with using only the finest local grapes, which are lovingly and traditionally smashed by foot to create our exceptional wines. Yes, you are invited to roll up your sleeves and partake in this unique experience of grape squishing too!
Stepping into our tasting rooms, you’ll find yourself immersed in the artistic spirit of Corsica South Coasters. Every two months, we proudly host a resident local artist, showcasing their incredible talent and adding an enriching cultural dimension to your visit. Be sure to check our website for updates on the latest events and featured artists. The winery’s strategic location offers breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape, creating a tranquil ambiance that’s perfect for unwinding. Accessible by both road and boat, thanks to our friendly neighbor Corsica South Coasters, getting here is a breeze.
So, take some time off, leave your worries behind, and join us for a leisurely experience filled with relaxation, art, and of course, our exceptional wines.”

Logo of Maison de la Chauette / exhibition poster of “A Crickets View by Lotus Li”

The first featured artist at Maison de la Chauette is Lotus Li with her series of pictures named “A Crickets View”.

The landmark that Owl provided to me leads directly to the Maison de la Chauette

Actually from the  Maison de la Chauette you can look at the NovaOwl Community Center and Gallery
The location is like Owl described it, just a lovely place to be. And the Maison de la Chauette is really decorated with love and style. I enjoyed my stay there a lot.

Maison de la Chauette in the NovaOwl area

Lotus Li’s art is presented at the walls of the winery and on the 2nd floor, which you reach walking up the stairs on the left side. Again, I don’t have to speculate about Lotus Li’s intention with her pictures as she provided a notecard with the essential information:
“The exhibition “A crickets view” is a discovery of the world and adventures of the cricket and how they seem to rock up in the most unusual places and an exploration of what their view of the world could be. World Globe trotters, inquisitive travelers who’s energy and lack of fear open a world of possibilities and views to leap towards.
I often wonder where they have been and what they have done in their lifetime.
What adventures are to be had?
where will they turn up next?
what Dangers will confront them?
I have found Crickets in some very odd places, in my home of course but once, I had one hitch a ride across from Adelaide to Victoria Australia during a particularity hot summer and mid drought. I’m not sure what was more memorable, my truckers sunburn or the fright I got when I reached into my bag and a cricket jumped out at my face!
What is the most unusual place you have found one? What adventure do you think it was up to?“

Impressions of “A Crickets View” by Lotus Li @ Maison de la Chauette (1)

The pictures provided unusal views from the ground up into the landsacpe, at objects, often restricted by leaves of plants or by blades of grass. Lotus Li’s pictures have the depth that allows you to focus on the main object that is placed into an often nice environment. The pictures are artful and I think they are all processed to provide this impressions.  Well done!

Lotus Li is in Second Life since 2006. She’s from Australia and “loves to play and explore all things that spark my interest and feed her soul. In the last few years she has begun to to discover the arty world in Secod Life. Lotus plays with the photography possibilities within Second Life and it has been a blast for her. The possiblitiy to get the unusual angles, or scenes that you can’t see in real life has opened her mind and to try out the endless opportunities to create and to share with others.”
You can see more of Lotus Li’s art at her own gallery  at CK’s Corner.

Impressions of “A Crickets View” by Lotus Li @ Maison de la Chauette (2)

Thank you Uli and Owl for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “A Crickets View” by Lotus Li. I enjoyed my visit to the exhibition as well as the
Maison de la Chauette itself. A really lovely, cosy place to be.

Landmark to Maison de la Chauette and to “A Crickets View” by Lotus Li
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Novatron/145/236/34
Owl Owl Dragonash’s website and blog
https://throughowlseye.com
Lotus Li Gallery @ CK’s Corner
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunstream/69/58/50

Art in Second Life 2023 (40) Totems by Lalie Sorbet @ Third Eye Gallery

01 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

Jaz (jessamine2108) invited me to the opening of “Totems”, an exhibition by Lalie Sorbet at the Third Eye Gallery. I couldn’t attend the opening itself, but visited the exhibition one day later.

Impressions of Totems by Lalie Sorbet @ Third Eye Gallery (left side exhibition poster) (1)

The exhibition consists of about 15 high and small boxes, wich are semi-transparent. A texture is displayed and moves along horizontally. The viewer sees the back through the semi-transparent front. The constant slow movement creates a complex picture that seems to be moving. The texture itself consists of leaves, blossoms, branches .. at least something related to nature.

Impressions of Totems by Lalie Sorbet @ Third Eye Gallery (2)

Lalie Sorbet wrote about “Totems”:
“Here is the creation of an artistic / photographic work, carried out thanks to an Artificial Intelligence called, MidJourney. Its specificity: giving the AI ​​words, sentences, poems or photos, and artificial intelligence thanks to its database (this one being more oriented towards art) will create images. It remains to choose the images and rework them. These plant totems speak to us of nature, its diversity, its beauty, the imagination and the inspiration it provides but above all that it protects us and that therefore we must protect it in return.”

I zoomed in into the boxes and took pictures of the details. What I saw is amazing – each snaphot taken like this is also a piece of art. The snapshots also provide an impression of the complexity which you might not see when looking at the large boxes from farer away.

Impressions of Totems by Lalie Sorbet @ Third Eye Gallery (3)

I came across Lalie Sorbet just once far. Lalie participated in an exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli back in 2020 (read here) She is in Second Life since 2008. She’s a French artist and photographer, who lives and works between South India, on the Coromandel coast and the south of France. She has this passion for creating images. She likes to explore all possibilities of expression: video, 3D, collage, painting, drawing, photography, AI, reports. (taken from the accompanying notecard).
Lalie has an own website, which provides a deeper insight into her art in RL, a flickr page for RL photographs and another flickr page for SL pictures and art.

I noticed that you can buy the boxes. I don’t know if it is a by accident or intended. Each box was just 1 L$. I “bought” some and left a tip at the donation box at the exhibition. Two boxes are now part of my growing art park at my place in Second Life. Thank you, Lalie!

Two Totems by Lalie Sorbet at my homeplace in Second Life

Third Eye is Jaz (jessamine2108)’s home and gallery – a place that is designed to showcase art, particles, inspire stories, and offer a quiet place to relax and rejuvenate. Jaz says: “It is the culmination of my many dreams – to create a place that nurtures and helps the growth of all types of creative endeavors – be it words, pictures, or particles.“

Thank you Jaz (jessamine2108) for providing the space for the arts. Thank you Lalie Sorbet for your intriguing art. I really like your work and the creative use of AI and how you made these “living” boxes.

Landmark to Third Eye Gallery and to Totems by Lalie Sorbet
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ravenglass/13/165/1002
Lalie Sorbet’s website
http://www.laliesorbet.com/
Lalie Sorbet’s flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lalie_sorbet/
Lalie Sorbet’s SL flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87359584@N04/

Art in Second Life 2023 (39) Michiel Bechir Gallery July 2023

13 Jul 2023 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

When I visited Milena Carbone (mylena1992)’s newest exhibition named “Resilience 2049” at Michiel Bechir Gallery (read here), I saw that the Gallery features also other artists. Actually Michiel had invited me to the opening even, that happened tuesday, July 11th.
I visited the other parts of the July exhibition at Michiel Bechir Gallery on Wednesday, July 12th. The overall theme in July is “Portraits”

The Michiel Bechir Gallery has been remodeled. It now provides 4 exhibition rooms on two floors. In July you can see Michiel Bechir’s own artwork on the 1 floor left, Myra Wildmist’s art on the 1st floor right, Karma Weymann’s pictures on the 2nd floor left and Milena Carbone (mylena1992)’s exhibition “Resilience 2049” on the 2nd floor right.

I started my 2nd visit with visiting Michiel Bechir’s exhibition. Usually Michiel’s takes pictures of extraordinairy landscapes in Second Life. The selected pictures for July are different as they all show females, but not portraits or close-ups. Instead the female avatars enrich the landscape in which they are photographed. In my personal opinion, that makes the pictures of the landscape and places more lively.

Michiel Bechir has started his long virtual journey into Second Life as a photographer in 2009. Michiel enjoys seeing new places, meeting new people from all over the world and expierencing the creativity in Second Life (just like I do!). Michiel discovered the possiblities of different tools to improve his pictures. By editing them he also tries to add a personal touch and feeling.
Besides owning and creating the Michiel Bechir Gallery, Michiel also has a gallery with a selection of pictures at Art Park. Furthermore you can also see more of his work on his flickr page.

On the 1st floor to the right you find the art of Myra Wildmist. According the the theme of the July exhibtion, Myra presents portraits, female portraits. One wall shows portraits of different characters and ethnics with different techniques for portraits, another wall is dedicated to females as an element of highlightening an otherwise boring landscape or background. I personally like her self portrait, which she presents herself with 3 different filter settings – quite a difference in my opinion, and proving what can be done within Second Life photography using simple filters.

Myra Wildmist is in Second Life since 2012. With her pictures Myra’s “goal is to demonstrate that virtual photography is a new art form and Second Life is a true medium for virtual art. Using the tools SL provided, she creates her photos using many of the same photographic techniques one would use in real life, while also incorporating virtual techniques not available in real life. Myra’s photography is done entirely in-world using SL environmental effects, graphic settings, and photographic filters.” Myra also creates sculptures and installations.
The notecard, that you can grab in her exhition room at michiel Bechir Gallery contains a long list of her exhibitions in-world so far as well as links to other publications of her. Myra writes for magazines and blogs, in partilar she is a staff member of Kultivate/Windlight Magazine. You find more of her art at her flickr page and on her own blog.

On the 2nd floor left the art of Karma Weymann is exhibited. Karma makes pictures of females in everyday scences. The images initially look like snapshots. The women either look shocked that they are being photographed like this – or they don’t even notice it. And that is exactly what makes the pictures so appealing.

Karma Weymann joined Second Life already in 2007. You can grab a notecard about her in the room. Karma writes about her art: “I take most of my photos at my homemade studio in SL but there are some location shoots as well. I create my own avatars for models and try to give them an unconventional kind of beauty, a sex appeal that seems more real than cookie-cutter barbie doll avies. I usually focus on shapes, shadows and light, with overall composition and balance being the desired goal. Lastly, I try to depict my models doing ordinary things with a seemingly innocent natural sensuality.”
Karma Weymann owns the Karma’s Gallery Store at Starz and a store at Kultivate – Karma’s Store at Kultivate.
You can see more of her art at her flickr page.

Finally, on the 2nd floor right is Milena Carbone (mylena1992)’s exhibition “Resilience 2049”. I wrote already about it here.

As the name implies, Michiel Bechir Gallery is owned by Michiel Bechir. Thank you Michiel and the whole team Maggie Runo, Tresore Prada (tresore) and MsToya (Mstoya Bailey) for providing the space for the arts!
Thank you to all artists involved in this July exhibition. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Michiel Bechir Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/30/228/2503
Michiel Bechir’s gallery at Art Park
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fermat/148/36/53
Michiel Bechir’s flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39613053@N03/
Myra Wildmist flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/myrawildmist/
Myra Wildmist’s blog:
https://myrawildmist.wordpress.com/
Karma Weymann’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133613428@N06/
Karma Weymann’s Store at Kultivate
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Water%20Haven/51/77/26
Karma Weymann’s Gallery Store at Starz
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Draconis/109/247/32

Art in Second Life 2023 (38) Resilience 2049 by Milena Carbone @ Michiel Bechir Gallery

12 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , ,

It’s been a while that I covered the art of Milena Carbone (mylena1992). When I got the invitation to visit “Resilience 2049”, her newest exhibtion, I decided to visit it for two reasons – firstly her exhibtion is at Michiel Bechir Gallery, a gallery that I cover comparably regularly, and secondly I read her notecard that came with the invitation and I became curious.

Milena Carbone’s notecard explains the background of the exhibition, the main story, that connects all presented pictures (portraits), she explains the word “Résilience”, she explains the technique how the portraits were taken – and finally she outlines her own thoughts.

The “Resilience 2049” exhibition grew out of the “Resilience” dance show presented at Noir Wen in April 2023. Behind the dancers, the background featured a series of portraits of “resilient” people, most of them children. The show gave little explanation for the staging, which everyone interpreted in their own way.
(Get more information about the ballet “Résilience” here)
I got a lot of feedback on these portraits, and decided to make them a permanent exhibition in my studio, the Carbone Studio. The exhibition in the Michiel Bechir Gallery is a first sketch of that exhibition.

Resilience is the ability of an individual, a group or a community to adapt and recover from crisis, trauma, loss or major change in their lives. This is what my generation and generations to come are going to have to face, forced and coerced by previous generations who were unable to mobilize to spare us from the suffering of an increasingly violent world and a planet going haywire.

Impressions of “Resilience 2049” by Milena Carbone @ Michiel Bechir Gallery (1)

And why 2049?
Blade Runner 2049 and, three years apart, Wong Kar-wai’s 2046. Both films deal with the end of a world
2049 marks the centenary of the Chinese revolution, and the Chinese government’s project to become the world’s dominant power.
2049, or 2050, is a key date in the IPCC reports, which see it as the climate tipping point.
Resilience 2049 is a portrait gallery of witnesses from the year 2049 to the dangerous, violent and inhospitable world we’ve handed down to them.

In the center of the exhibition runs a video. In this video the characters shown as portraits on the walls of the exhibition come alive. They talk and change their facial expression. The video can also be seen on youtube here.

The video as well as the portraits were created using AI – the result is very impressive! And as Milena wrote, the portraits and the characters are still her art, her style.
The portraits were all created exclusively with Midjourney, applying my style parameters. The application is relatively unstable today, with almost weekly updates and improvements, making the stability of my style more fragile.
I used a face animation app for the first time. The characters in the video may seem caricatured in relation to the seriousness of the subject. I’m aware of that. But I had to try. Here too, the application is regularly updated. In a recent update, after the creation of this video, the emotional mimicry of the faces was improved.

Impressions of “Resilience 2049” by Milena Carbone @ Michiel Bechir Gallery (2)

Resilience 2049 is an impressive exhibition with a message, a clarion call to action. It touched me – as Milena intended it. The portraits are quite realistic, they express their feelings, their anger and their desperation. Resilience 2049 is not an exhibition “to enjoy”, more “to experience” – another piece of art fo Milena Carbone.

Milena Carbone (mylena1992) is a French artist and is in Second Life since mid 2019. She discovered its artistic potential and since then has devoted all her free time to creation, associating, as in real life, images and texts: “Milena Carbone is a fiction in which, as in any artistic work, biographical and imaginary elements are mixed.” Her creative process is iterative: some of her images inspire her stories and these stories modify the development of the image, which itself transforms the story.
Milena has an own gallery, the Carbone Studio and she has a bookstore @ Noir’Wen City.
Milena has an own website, you can also find her on flickr here and you can read her texts here.

The Michiel Bechir Gallery has a new main building. “Resilience 2049” by Milena Carbone is on 2d floor on the right. I haven’t (yet) visited the other current exhibitions. Thank you Michiel and the whole team Maggie Runo, Tresore Prada (tresore) and MsToya (Mstoya Bailey) for providing the space for the arts!

Landmark to Michiel Bechir Gallery and to Resilience 2049 by Milena Carbone
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/30/228/2503
Landmark to The Carbone Studio
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Woiler/179/188/3316
Landmark to The Carbone Bookstore @ Noir’Wen City
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Noir%20Wen/243/214/32
Milena’s website
https://sites.google.com/view/thecarbonegallery
About the ballet Résilience :
https://sites.google.com/view/thecarbonegallery/dance/ballets/resilience
Youtube video “Resilience 2049” :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXy9A_p1lTY
Milena Carbone’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/milenacarbone/
Milena Carbone’s writing
https://medium.com/@539568

Art in Second Life 2023 (37) “Do You Believe?” by Ninae Trallis @ NovaOwl Community Center

07 Jul 2023 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Owl Dragonash invited me to visit the newest exhibition at the NovaOwl Community Center named “Do You Believe?”. The exhibition is by Ninae Trallis und consists of about 20 pictures, but there’s more. Ninae added further 3D objects to decorate the exhibition space fitting to the pictures presented. Owl sent me a folder with a description written by Ninae Trallis and a poster.


The about 20 pictures quite different, yet you can notice that they come from one artist. Some are quite minimalized with no ar only a quiet background to make the spectator focus on details, other pieces extend beyond the picture itself and appropriately relate to the 3D objects in the exhibition space.

Impressions of “Do You Believe” by Ninae Trallis @ NovaOwl Community Center (1)

Ninae Trallis wrote a description which is important to understand her art – and which leads to another, in my eyes extraordinary feature of her exhibition:
“There are a lot of photographers in SL. I think I am one of those who take what feels like an eternity to take a picture! So please never ask me for photos if you don’t have at least half a day to spare. For my shots I use Black Dragon Viewer. For minor corrections I use Photoshop, but I try to avoid major image changes. The straightforwardness of my photos is based solely on environments, light settings, poses and my preference for very rare items in SL.
Yes, somehow almost every image has a (sometimes completely unrelated) song. You will also find the links in the gallery. Without music my creative side doesn’t work. The respective song I listened to on repeat and please believe me… that was not always a good idea!“

You find a symbol for music next to each picture and when you click it, you’ll get a link to youtube and you can listen to the music that Ninae Trellis listened to on repeat while creating her art. I think that is quite intriguing as it provides a quite personal link between the spectator and the artist.

Impressions of “Do You Believe” by Ninae Trallis @ NovaOwl Community Center (2)

For the left picture above the song, Ninae listened to, is from Billie Eilish “All the good girls go to hell” and that fits well will the flames under the picture. Other songs do not at all relate to the picture as Ninae wrote.
The pictures are very tasteful, many are portraits of women, some are quite erotic, some are romantic, some are pure fantasy.

Ninae Trallis is in Second Life since 2009. She wrote about herself: “What else do you want to know about me? Hmm, the short version: German, English-speaking, female, sincere, humorous, mindful… and of course SL “verified” in any shape or form. And no, this is not a contact ad.”
Ninae has flickr account, where you can see more of her art.

Impressions of “Do You Believe” by Ninae Trallis @ NovaOwl Community Center (2)

Ninae added in her note: “I really hope you feel welcomed and enjoy spending some time in the gallery. Thanks to the NovaOwl team for this great location! And also a very special thanks to my Vodka Lemur, who created a little world around each photo.”
Vodka Lemur is Ninae’s partner and he’s also in one of the exhibited pictures.

The NovaOwl Community Center and Gallery and the NovaOwl Sky Gallery is owned by Uli Jansma, Owl (Owl Dragonash) is the general manager. NovaOwl is an international community on the mainland continent of Corsica. NovaOwl is located on Novatron. It is a meeting place where events take place regularly. Thank you Uli and Owl for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Do You Believe?” by Ninae Trallis. I enjoyed my visit.
“Do You Believe?” by Ninae Trallis shall stay open through July and August.

Landmark to NovaOwl Commuity Center – Gallery & Club and to the exhibition “Do You Believe?” by Ninae Trallis
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Novatron/131/102/23
Ninae Trallis’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninaetrallis/

Art in Second Life 2023 (36) 100 Retro Ladies by Melusina Parkin

05 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , ,

Melu has opened a new exhibition that follows seamlessly from her exhibition “Art Deco Ladies” and continues the thread. It is called “100 Retro Ladies” and it is shown at a new gallery “Melu’s Black Gallery”. When I went there, the provided landmark brought me to Melusina Parkin’s Minimum Gallery. From there I had to take a tp pad to get to “Melu’s Black Gallery”.


It’s been less than 2 weeks since I visited “Art Deco Ladies” (read more here) and the exhibition can still be seen. At first glance, “Art Deo Ladies” shows nothing but the same pictures, but at second glance you can see that all the pictures are different and show different ladies, very different.
“100 Retro Ladies” is a kind of sequel under different auspices.

The “100 Retro Ladies” are shown on the 4 walls of a skybox gallery. Each wall shows 5 pictures under a different general subtitle/colour: “Red, Ivory, Teal and Black”. When you click the pictures, the next series of the same subtitle is shown. All pictures show – surprise – “Retro Ladies”, ladies that fit into the era of Art Deco.
Melusina wrote: “AI images manipulation allows to create series of similar pictures inspired to a theme. I used them to build a rich exhibition of 100 portraits of retro ladies in four different color tones and shown in groups of five. Explore this extensive collection of facinating retro images. A selection of images is also available for sale.”

Impressions of “100 Retro Ladies” by Melusina Parkin (1)

In the center of the exhibition space you can grab a free gift. Don’t miss getting it!

I am a fan of Melusina Parkin’s art and have seen quite some of her exhibitions. Melusina Parkin’s style is minimalistic. She usually takes her pictures in Second Life. The minimalism forces the spectator to focus on details, that might stay unseen when too much distracts the view. Lately she tried out different things, in particular she explored the possibilites of creating art based on AI generated pictures – like the “100 Retro Ladies”.

Each portrait is a piece of art. each lady is different, they wear different hats, have different hair styles (though mainly comparably short hair cuts), the background and the clothes they are wearing fit to the overal subtitle of the series. The background of the prtraits is not too distracting and the style of the portraits is still minimalistic. I was excited to see this variety of portraits, all fitting to one era. All ladies look outstanding in their own way. Don’t miss seeing them.

Impressions of “100 Retro Ladies” by Melusina Parkin (2)

Melusina Parkin is in Second Life since September 2008. She has been a fashion manager, a journalist, a furniture creator, a builder, a decorator and a photographer. Her work as a photographer has been showcased in more than 50 exhibitions – from which I saw just a few. Melusina has a flickr account which counts more than 13,000 (!) photographs. Extensive collections of her photos can be seen also on her blog Virtual Exhibits and on some slideshows on Youtube (links also under this post).
There’s also an online book with her Second Life exhibits 2011-2019 here.
Melusina Parkin has an own gallery at Time Portal, “Melu’s Photo Gallery” and an own store for Art Deco furniture called “Melu Deco“. Melusina also owns a second place (Melu Space) with another gallery (Minimum Gallery), a bookstore and another “Melu Deco” inworld store.

Thank you for this exhibition, Melusina. I enjoyed the “100 Retro Ladies”!

Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s Minimum Gallery
Take the teleporter pad to Melu’s Black Gallery and to “100 Retro Ladies” by Melusina Parkin from there
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lunula/129/107/621
Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s Melu Photo Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20Portal/248/101/1940
Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s store for Art Deco furniture “Melu Deco”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20Portal/243/99/1930
Melusina Parker’s flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melusina_parkin/
Melusina Parkin’s Virtual Exhibit blog
http://meluphoto.blogspot.it/p/home.html
Melusina Parkin’s youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVzglBiqhrOLXnAp3Qt3Zjw
On line book Second Life exhibits 2011-2019
https://www.calameo.com/books/005997622f28dd58ca75d

Art in Second Life 2023 (35) “Fourth Wall” by Kitten @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery

03 Jul 2023 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to see the July exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Fourth Wall” by Kitten (joaannna). The exhibition will be opened tonight, Monday, July 3rd 6th, at 12 PM SLT (9 PM Central Europe Time) with music by hEIN! (heinrichmader) and particles by Kurk Mumfuzz.

“Fourth Wall” by Kitten consists of 11 large pictures presented at the main hall of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery with it’s magic mirror floor. The poster above was made by David Silence based on one of the exhibited pictures, Adwehe provided the (light) art specially created for this exhibition.

Impressions of “Fourth Wall” by Kitten at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

Kitten (joaannna) wrote about her exhibition “Fourth Wall”:
“These images were all made in my own studio and loosely themed around an imaginary photo shoot. They are in a way and attempt to breach the fourth wall by trying to break down the conceptual wall between the picture and the artifice used to obtain it.
Breaking the fourth wall means doing or saying something that either explicitly or implicitly acknowledges the artificiality of the environment and the fact that both the presenters and audience are aware of that artificiality. This is a wider comment I think on art in Second Life as a whole, which is by its very nature an artificial environment. In my images I am trying to show the artificiality of the environment by revealing the lights used to illuminate the subject on show, showing models caught off camera, as well as models dressing for the shoot. However, how much is deliberate and how much is accidental, that is for the viewer to judge.
These images are more personal than my previous works. Some asking questions about the way I live my Second Life. However, they are a continuation of the style in my previous exhibition at Nitroglobus; i.e. all monochrome, utilizing strong directional lighting and blurred backgrounds. The pictures tend to be high in contrast and grainy, and with a vintage/noir feel to them.
I like to thank the three models who took part in addition to myself: Magic and Rain Lacroix and Dido Haas who is fittingly portrayed in a typically flamboyant dress.
If there is a visual summing up then it would be the picture ‘Alice’. I am reading the book ‘Alice In Wonderland’ whilst picture taking goes on around me. For me living in Second Life has always felt like a trip down that rabbit hole into Wonderland.“

Impressions of “Fourth Wall” by Kitten at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Because Kitten’s pictures shown at “Fourth Wall” are in black and white they have a touch of vintage. Yes, you can’t really differentiate between a snapshot taken during a session and a the “real” picture. All pictures are very erotic and most of them include D/s. That’s no surprise considering that Kitten is active in the D/s scene. I really like all of the pictures! If I had to choose a favourite, one would be the picture showing two obviously dominant women taking a break of the photo session and the sub involved is kneeling there obediently. Right next to the picture “Alice” you see another picture showing a D/s scene. The whole exhibition radiates pure erotic in my eyes.

Impressions of “Fourth Wall” by Kitten at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (3)

I saw Kitten’s work at Michiel Bechir Gallery in March 2022 (read here) and I saw her exhibition “Noir” that was shown the annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (read here) Kitten is in Second Life since December 2019. She wrote about herself and her art: “Kitten was first drawn to second life photography in 2020 initially by seeing the results produced by entrants in a photography competition at the sim where she works. All her pictures are taken inworld and are only a little edited afterwards.
Her big love is landscape photography and she travels the grid in search of the perfect shot her pictures revealing her love of nature, the sea, exotic ruins as well as parasols and umbrella’s. Her pictures look to showcase the myriad ways in which light makes a picture, the gaudy autumn colours, reflections, the play of light on the water and towering cloudscapes.
Recently though she has been drawn to black and white photography and to pictures that try to convey emotions rather than showing just a pretty landscape. Her exhibition Noir at Nitroglobus last year (read here) showed the first fruits of this love. And in her latest exhibition she is seeking to push this style to a new level.”
You can see more of Kitten (joaannna)’s art at her flickr page, at Deviant Art and at her own Ammonite Photography & Gallery.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Fourth Wall” by Kitten (joaannna). Thank you Kitten for your art, a great exhibition!
As it is the July exhibition at the gallery “Fourth Wall” shall be available until the end of this month.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and to “Fourth Wall” by Kitten
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Kitten (joaannna)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/substratum_kitten/
Kitten (joaannna)’s Deviant Art
https://www.deviantart.com/kittenjoanna
Kitten (joaannna)’s Ammonite Photography & Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Manor%20Suites/64/141/602
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

Previous Older Entries