Art in Second Life 2022 (29) Michiel Bechir Gallery in March/April 2022

16 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

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

I got an invitation to the opening of a new exhibition at the Michiel Bechir Gallery featuring the artwork from Joanna Kitten (joaannna), Cynthia Deere and Madoka Kawabata.

The Michiel Bechir Gallery consists of two large exhibition rooms on the ground floor and one exhibition room on the 2nd floor.

The room on the left side shows the art of Cynthia Deere. Cynthia has decorated her room for the upcoming Spring. The ground is a meadow, there are places to sit, a path and a picknick place that has been occupied by rabbits. The scenery radiates quite some happiness.
Same is true for Cynthia’s Second Life photographs. They show nice landscapes in the colours of Spring and Summer. Each of the pictures is processed with love for the detail, thus creating artwork from a SL photograph.


I have never seen Cynthia Deere’s artwork before. Cynthia is in Second Life since 2006. In her profile she says about herself: “Teacher, techie and gadget junkie who came to Second Life many moons ago and never found my way home. I am simply here to unwind and relax.”
You can see more of her art at her flickr account.

The room on the right side is dedicated to Joanna Kitten aka. Kitten (joaannna). Kitten is in Second Life since December 2019. On the table close to the big window is a small baord where you can grab a notecard with more information about Kitten:
“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.”
I can’t express it any better.

Kitten (joaannna) has a flickr page and she is also the owner of the Ammonite Photography & Gallery.

Madoka Kawabata is a friend of mine, not very close but we talk every once in a while, had one short play together as far as I remember and we’re both watching each other at deviant Art. Hence I know a bit of her art. Most of her pictures are taken inworld and are a bit processed. She loves gloomy scenes and a retro or vintage look for her pictures. But I never saw any exhibition of her in Second Life. Her art is featured on the second floor of Michiel Bechir Gallery.

There’s an esel with a picture of Madoka and you can grab a notecard bout Madoka there:
“My long life in Second Life began in 2005. All along I took photos, but it was only about 3 years ago that I finally began spending more time and effort on SL photography.
Ansel Adams said “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” By which, as I understand it, he would take his large format black and white negatives in the field, then in the darkroom use dodging and burning techniques to lighter or darken different areas on the final print. Although sometimes I upload a photo directly from what Black Dragon or Firestorm produced, more often I use Photoshop to make it into something of my own. I’m certainly no Ansel Adams, though!
I owe so much to content creators in SL, both the builders that create a sim build, and to those building the objects used, who are sometimes the same people!
Enjoy this exhibition! My thanks go to Michiel Belchir, who offered me this chance, my first in-world photo exhibition.“

Madoka has an account on flickr and you can find her on deviant Art.

Another great exhibition. Thank you Michiel for providing the space for the arts and many thanks to the artists. I enjoyed my visit. The exhibition will be avalable until April 15th.

Landmark to Michiel Bechir Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/30/228/2502
Cynthia Deere’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgarrety/albums
Kitten (joaannna)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/substratum_kitten/
Kitten (joaannna)’s Ammonite Photography & Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Manor%20Suites/64/141/602
Madoka Kawabata’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/madokakawabata/
Madoka Kawabata on deviant Art
https://www.deviantart.com/madokakawabata

Art in Second Life 2022 (28) Cica Ghost’s new shop

14 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , ,

Recently Cica sent me a link to her refurbished shop and I went there Saturday, March 5th. The inworld shop is really packed with memories of Cica’s installations. Walking through it brings back memories of happy hours visiting her sims – and you can buy these memories to decorate your own place in Second Life.

Impressions of Cica Ghost’s inworld shop (1)

Right where you land at Cica’s shop you can join Cica’s group and you can grab a list with all the installations that Cica made for us to enjoy since 2012. I personally follow Cica Ghost since 2015 when I visited “Ruins” (read here). I did miss only a few since 2015, the latest installation I visited was in 2022 “Timeless” (read here)

At Cica’s shop you find them all: The elephants, the monsters, the chickens, the donkeys, the cows, the flowers, the knitted animals, the bees, the ants, the birds, the pigs and many others. What I missed in her shop … are “my” cats. I might have missed them due to the huge amount of figures and memories that came up visiting her shop. In any case you can buy them at Cica’s shop on the marketplace.

Impressions of Cica Ghost’s inworld shop (2)

There’s not much to add – enjoy a travel in time, enjoy a visit to Cica’s shop inworld. Thank you Cica … visiting your shop made me smile – something needed in these times of war in Europe.

Cica Ghost’s new shop inworld
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Del%20Mondo/36/192/24
Cica Ghost’s shop on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/98471
Cica Ghost’s flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64860898@N05/

Art in Second Life 2022 (27) Green planet by Cica Ghost

11 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , ,

Saturday, March 5th, Cica Ghost opened her newest installation named “Green planet“. As usual Cica provides a short quote in the landmark description: “There is another world, but it is inside this one (Paul Eluard).“

As already the poster gives away, this installation is bit particular. Upon landing you get instructions on how to adjust your viewer settings: use shared environment, advanced lighting and shadows from sun and projectors. It is importnat to use the shared environment, as it is part of Cica’s installation. After setting my viewer accordingly, I entered green planet. My first thought was that I’d explore small intestine. The world is green, the ground is covered with kind of a green slime, the sky is red like blood. From the ground grow simple green plants and funnel-shaped tubes. You walk through openings with green stalactites. My second thought was that of a Green planet with aliens, simply a fantasy planet with fantasy beings, ready to be explored.

The next thing I noticed were all the strange being that either are on the ground or kind of relax on platforms.There “Cica-ish” big eyes are watching you. And of course they are all way bigger than you. Some have big open mouths and at least through one mouth you can walk through to enter Cica’s shop for this installation. You can purchase 2 different “Octaliens” and 6 other “Aliens”.

Impressions of “Green planet” by Cica Ghost (2)

After a while the “Aliens” didn’t look scary anymore, I began to have a closer look at them and I enjoyed. What else? There are some green pieces of rock laying on the ground, some are levitating above the ground. I know that Cica has often places to sit or other activities hidden in her isntallations and hence I looked out for them. I just fond that you can “sit” on the levitating rocks and then you fly with them either sitting, or dancing or doing a handstand. Be careful they move quite jerkily. But it is fun!

Impressions of “Green planet” by Cica Ghost (3)

What else? Quite in the center of the installation is a rocket, a space ship just as kids would draw it. The question remains, did the aliens come with it .. or do they use it to explore other planets? The visitor may guess. The main purpose of this installation is to have fun and to see the world with children eyes, to let your mind wander and to escape from the real life. By the way – I didn’t find any cat on the whole Green planet not even a green cat *winks*.

Impressions of “Green planet” by Cica Ghost (4)

Thank you Cica for another great installation. It made me smile and I did get to other thoughts, something important these days in Europe.

Landmark to Green Planet by Cica Ghost
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Thenest/57/66/27
Cica Ghost’s new shop inworld
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Del%20Mondo/36/192/24
Cica Ghost’s shop on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/98471
Cica Ghost’s flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64860898@N05/

Art in Second Life 2022 (26) Nils Urqhart @ Home & Garden Expo

09 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

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

Sunday, March 6th, Nils Urqhart sent a message to me. He has a small exhibition of RL photos, all taken in the French Alps at the Home & Garden Expo at Hope 6.

The Home and Garden Expo is the largest and longest running event of its kind in Second Life. Its main goal is supporting Relay For Life through its fundraising efforts. We strive to educate, entertain and help the people of Second Life to give to an amazing cause. Home and Garden Expo prides itself on championing not only Relay For Life but the visitors, exhibitors, performers and volunteers who make this event so successful.

Nils Urquart’s kiosk at Home & Garden Expo March 2022

All the photos by Nils Urqhart at the Home & Garden Expo are on sale for the benefit of the American Cancer Society (ACS). And if you buy one of the photos in this exhibition for the benefit of the ACS, Nils Urqhart will give you an additional photo from another of his exhibitions!

Nils Urqhart (Paul Maurice in RL) is a French photographer in RL. He takes his photos mainly in French Alps and other French mountains (Vosges, Jura, Bugey, Aubrac…). Nils has a lot of exhibitions in different SL galleries every year. Nils is in SL since December 2007. Since 2010, his photos have been on display year-round at Art gallery Rill’Arts. Nils (or Paul in RL) has an own website where you can purchase his pictures to decorate you RL home.

Nils Urqhart is the creator of the RL Photo Festival Helvellyn, the Helvellyn Christmas Market and the Helvellyn Summer Fair – all three are annual artistic events. He also provided quite a list of potential contact opportunities besides his webpage: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I like Nils Urqhart (Paul Maurice) RL pictures. They are kind of a connection element between RL and SL and I have written about his exhibitions in this blog already several times. When Nils asked me to support his engagement for the American Cancer Society by spreading his offer, I agreed spontaneously. The Home & Garden Expo and Nils’ exhibition runs until March 20th, 2022

Direct landmark to Nils Urqhart “French Alps” @ Home & Garden Expo
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hope%206/203/163/23
Landmark to Art Gallery Rill’Arts
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Helvellyn/58/206/31
Nils Urqhart (Paul Maurice in RL)’s website
https://paul-maurice.pixels.com/
Paul Maurice on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/paul.maurice.92
Paul Maurice on Twitter
https://twitter.com/apollo0300
Paul Maurice on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/paulcmaurice/

Art in Second Life 2022 (25) Apocalypse by Milena Carbone

07 Mar 2022 1 Comment

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

Saturday, March 5th, when I got the message from Milena about “Fury” (read about “Fury” by Milena Carbone in yesterdays post here), Milena told me about a 3rd exhibition, that opened today Sunday, March 6th, in Dido Haas’ exhibition space at Nitroglobus Roof gallery: “Apocalypse” by Milena Carbone. Milena said: “It is the last of the Tryptich about the war”. The Tryptich consists of Paroxysm (read here) at Milenas own gallery The Carbone Studio, of “Fury” at Calypso Bay (read here) and of “Apocalypse” at Nitroglobus Roof gallery.

The exhibition consists of 6 large pictures that can develop there strength in a particular way at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery with its floor that seems to mirror the pictures. Again Milena wrote an accompanying text to this last part:

Apocalypse

On the seventh day, my fall has stopped, I landed in Apocalypse. Here and now the veil is lifted on what was born underneath the sleepless nights, the vociferations of the madmen of war, the impossibility of fleeing. They are six fragile children, babies, born in subway halls, in cellars, fragile shelters, under the bombs.

Next to each of the 6 pictures is a text dealing with our fears and fury and with the courage we see, with forgiveness and solitude and yes also with hope, You’re invited to see Milena’s art and to read her thoughts.  Again you can get a copy of each picture for free.

Impressions ot “Apocalyse” by Milena Carbone at Nitroglobus Roof gallery

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.

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 “Apocalypse” by Milena Carbone, which will be open for the public until March 16th.
Thank you Milena for your art. Be assured, many of us feel like you yourself, helpless seeing as that one single man tries to destroy what we thought being a given – freedom and democracy.

Stand for Ukraine! Stand for a free Europe!!

Landmark to “Apocalypse” by Milena Carbone at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Landmark to Fury @ Calypso Bay by Milena Carbone
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beach%20Paradise/150/141/103
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/243/203/32
Milena’s website
https://sites.google.com/view/thecarbonegallery/news
Milena Carbone’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/milenacarbone/
Milena Carbone’s writing
https://medium.com/@539568

Art in Second Life 2022 (24) Fury by Milena Carbone

06 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

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

Saturday, March 5th, I got another message from Milena: “Hello Diomita, I announce you the opening of my second exhibition about the war in Europe. “FURY” is exhibited at Calypso Bay, a residential area.“

The exhibition consists of 6 large pictures that are shown open air at big walls around a Mediterrean market court. The contrast between these pictures and the peaceful setting couldn’t be bigger. Milena wrote a text to her pictures that I share here:

FURY
A tribute to the defenders of democracy in Ukraine and beyond

Since the beginning of March, the Russian army has been bombing residential areas, schools and hospitals. Why is it doing that ? Because this is all the Russian army knows how to do. It is their ruthless method, and the only one they know to defeat their adversary. As a Western European, I am appalled at the horrible spectacle of the innocent people who live in my part of earth, who share my culture, being crushed by a brainless military machine with an inordinate power.

In Europe, we have diversified and uncensored media and information sources, which bring different angles to the information, including points of view that relay Putin’s policy with benevolence. But this war is decried by all without a single exception. It is indefensible. Its reality is indisputable: the Russian army is summoned by its leaders, hiding it from their people, to kill children, women, and fragile people, with the only aim of tracing a safe path for the military to depose the elected Ukrainian power.

Fury, the second part of my artistic work on the war on my European land, is addressed in particular to the Russians to tell them the love and forgiveness of a European who did not experience the war, who did not attend the fall of the USSR, who, like all those of her generation saw Russia as a land of culture and opportunity for human encounters. I beg them to do everything in their power, with courage, to stop their own damnation before humanity and its courts and our common God.

Impressions of Fury by Milena Carbone

Each of the 6 pictures contains a text in Russian. The translation to French and to English can be obtained in the accompanying notecard. You can get a copy of each picture for free.

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.

Оставь осуждение ради мечтаний –
Quitte ce qui juge pour ce qui rêve – Leave judgement for dreaming

Thank you Milena for your art. Be asured, many of us feel like you yourself, helpless seeing as that one single man tries to destroy what we thought being a given – freedom and democracy.

Stand for Ukraine! Stand for a free Europe!!

Landmark to Fury @ Calypso Bay by Milena Carbone
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beach%20Paradise/150/141/103
The Carbone Studio
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Woiler/179/188/3316
The Carbone Bookstore @ Noir’Wen City
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Noir%20Wen/243/203/32
Milena’s website
https://sites.google.com/view/thecarbonegallery/news
Milena Carbone’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/milenacarbone/
Milena Carbone’s writing
https://medium.com/@539568

Art in Second Life 2022 (23) La Maison d’Aneli March 2022

03 Mar 2022 1 Comment

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

On Wednesday, March 2nd, the latest exhibtion at La Maison d’Aneli has been opened. It features the art of Ceakay Ballyhoo, DekabristMouse, Junanuj, Tarozaemon Rossini, Vita Theas, Isabel Hermano and Antoronta.
I visited several times in the days before the offical opening.

Vita Theas used her skybox at La Maison d’Aneli for a space installation on a lower level and for displaying her pictures on the ground and upper level. The space level shows several celestial bodies. I recognized the milkstreet, asteroids and the planet earth. A figure is using the earth to ride on it like on a cannonball.
In the upper level the walls are used to display Vitao Theas’ pictures. There are stairs leading up to 2 places where you can sit and watch from there. Another stair leads to a woman with a dog who looks out of a window. And the pictures? A broad variety of pictures taken within Second Life (I think at least) and processed a little bit, either to monochrome or to blurr or to other effects.

Vita Theas is in Second Life since 2007 and has been a mamager of an art center for a decade. She has varied experiences as a maker of clothes and a builder within Second Life and she spends much time taking pictures these both for her creations and as art projects. As an arist she exhibited at several galleries and she participates in the Second Life Birtday events.
You can see some of her art also on Vita Theas flickr account and inworld at her gallery named “Vita’s camera“.

CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo) is in Second Life since 2008. CK is a SL photographer and watercolour artist. She has done several exhibitons and installations, alone as well as in collaboration with others.
In her skybox at La Maison d’Aneli Ceakay Ballyhoo features her pictures in a classic way along the 4 walls of the box. The pictures show landscapes, houses, and animals. They are all processed to make them look like watercoulour or like drawings and honestly it is hard to say if they are based on RL or SL pictures, yet I assume the base are SL pictures as CK is a SL photographer.

CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo) runs a store with her art on the marketplace named CKB Art, she has a flickr account, an own blog and she has an own gallery with an access to a beach – CK’s Corner.

Isabel Hermano is in Second Life since 2006 and describes herself as painter, digital artist, dancer and creator. She has been fascinated by painting and photography since her childhood. When the digital era started, her passion for working with a PC was growing at the same time. So it was just natural for her to discover her love for editing pics. She leaned by doing, trial and error and by a couple of tutorials. For her “the border between painting and photography is as fluent as between magic and reality”. You can see more of Isabel hermano’s art at her Isa’s Gallery.
She writes in the accompanying notecard “A three years stay in Chile gifted new stimuli and inspiration. I started to see my world with different eyes – the eyes of a painter and photographer“

Isabel Hermano’s skybox at La Maison d’Aneli is about Chile. The exhibition is named “An approach to Chile”.
“An old Chilean myth tells us about the origin of this fascinating country: At the 7th day, when God looked at the world he had created, he found some leftovers like volcanos, glaciers, deserts, jungles, fjords and lakes. So he ordered his angels to throw them altogether beind some huge mountains, later known as the Andes…
Chile with its 4300 km of coastline is gifted with a breathtaking nature, almost all kinds of climate zones, belongs to the safest and richest countries of South America and produces excellent wines. But the true treasure of this country lies in its people and their open bearted kindness and hospitality.
I had the privilege of living there for three years and I fell instantly and deeply in love with Chile! My stay presented me with a whole bunch of inspirations and I’m forever thankful for it.”


Isabel hermano shows 8 displays dedicated to Santigo de Chile, Pablo Neruda, culinaria, Patagonia, Atacama, El Mar, Valpariso and Naturaleza. At each of these 8 display boards you find windows with Isabel’s art – digital art and photographs. It is like a little journey to this beautiful country!

Guille (Antoronta) is in Second life since April 2020. He writes in the accompanying notecard:
“Guille (Antoronta) in SL, is the nickname of Antonio Guillén in RL, he is a doctor in Biology and professor of Natural Sciences in Spain where he works as a professor and as an altruistic independent researcher in different projects related to microbiology, the environment or the astrobiology. For a long time he has claimed to consider knowledge as a whole in which art and science interact, erasing their borders and forming part of the essence of the universe that surrounds us. His gaze focused on the microscopic world opens the doors to beauty on other scales that we do not usually access, and to the very nature of life.”
Guille has won several prizes for her scientific photography and for his educational work. His flickr Water Project gallery is one of the main references to know the beauty and life of microscopic organisms.
In Second Life and together with Kimika Ying he has created a sim to publish the life of all these fascinating beings named “El Universo en una Gota de Agua” (The universe in a drop of water).

At La Maison d’Aneli Guille (Antoronta) exhibited a variety of his pictures that show these microscopic organisms, one more beautiful then the other, all very colourful. Nature is a real treasure! And I can only agree – the art and the science interact and the borders between them can blurr. A nice journey into another world.

Juna (junanuj), “former alter of Tani Thor, after a period of about 3 years in which she dedicated herself to role playing, has as main activity in SL since 2017, that of creating tattoos with the “Juna Artistic Tattoo” brand and from January in 2022 she becomes the sole owner of eBento – The Event -, a fashion event in SL.
Music is also an important element in her virtual life, in fact her affective union with Niovali Serrao led her to also take care of organizing DJ Nio’s musical evenings.”

Juna (junanuj) has a particular passion for landscape photography, and in 2021 Juna returned to taking pictures for purely personal enjoyment: “my approach to SL photography is as instinctual as all the things I do….uno, two shots at most, to try to capture that elusive emotion. My shots are worked with Photoshop, but trying to never distort the essence of the photo itself …“

In Juna’s skybox at La Maison d’Aneli the pictures are arranged like under a dome. Due to the shape of a dome no picture is rectangular and you have to adjust your camera to see them without distortion. Many pictures have coloured lines or beams. What is irritating at the first glance makes them intriguing on the second glance.

Besides the tattoo store (inworld and on the marketplace) Juna has a flickr page, a blog and owns the eBENTO event.

Mouse (dekabristmouse) is a Russian art student who likes furry, space and fallout themes. Mouse is in Second Life since 2001. He runs a shop for space, ground and water vehicles and for furry mods – Dekabrist’s main shop and home. At his skybox at La Maison d’Aneli he displays 31 pictures, named Day1 to Day 31, all realized in Oktober 2021. Each drawing shows a Furry, a mouse or another fantasy being and is named accordingling – or shows a partiuclar situation and the situation give the name for the drawing. All characters are  created by himself.

Tarozaemon Rossini is in Second Life since 2007. He categorizes himself as an alien from outerspace, who landed in Second Life to do research about mankind. “In reality it seems that his main mission is to show off here and there his trademark dreadlocks. Occasionally, when he has time to kill, he improvised himself as an artist and architect.” And he’s not that bad in pretending to be an artist and architect. Tarozaemon Rossini’s faible for fractals can be seen in his skybox at La Maison d’Aneli.

Fractal art is usually created with the assistance of a computer. Right where you enter his skybox there’s a slide show in which Taro explains the basics of fractals from the scratch, from a simple line, to a complex fractal based on iteration of formulas which combine real and imaginary numbers. He furtheron lays out the different types of fractals. Knowing what’s behind the exhibited fractals they become even more fascinating.

I personally am a fan of fractal art and in Second Life are quite some artists with a passion for this kind of art. Tarozaemon Rossini pretends also to be an architect. Hence he built something particular to showcase his fractal art. Most of the pictures are levitating and rotate permanently . In the center of his skybox is a huge 3D object, a flower (also fractal art?) and there’s an extra floor, from which you can firstly see the blossom of the flower and secondly can have a clower look at some non rotating fractals at the walls of his skybox.
You can see more of Taro’s fractal art at his flickr page.

La Maison d’Aneli is owned by Aneli Abeyante. Through her gallery she brings together all forms of creativity in RL and SL and the featured artists come from around the globe. Aneli’s intention is to “put her gallery in the service of artists, so that the world can be better, exchanges and meetings probably contribute even though it seems to be particles.”
Thank you for another great joined exhibtion, Aneli. As always I enjoyed my visit and writing about it. It inspired me.

Landmark to La Maison d’Aneli
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Holland/23/59/22
Vita Theas flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/153849716@N05/albums
Vita Theas gallery “Vita’s camera”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danpoon/52/247/489
CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo) store CKB Art
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/112782
CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo)’s flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ceakayballyhoo/
CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo)’s blog
https://ceakayballyhoo.wordpress.com/
CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo) gallery and relax place CK’s Corner
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunstream/214/26/45
Isabel Hermano’s Gallery Isa’s Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/FairChang%20Ria/157/165/2506
Guille (Antoronta)’s flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/microagua/
Guille (Antoronta) “El Universo en una Gota de Agua” (The universe in a drop of water)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Reykjanes/133/35/29
Juna (junanuj)’s Artistic Tattoo Main store
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Svanberg/75/118/1347
Juna (junanuj)’s Artistic Tattoo on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/187832
Juna (junanuj)’s eBENTO – The Event https://ebentotheevent.wixsite.com/ebento
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EBENTO/127/17/22
Juna (junanuj)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jjunanujj/
Juna (junanuj)’s blog
https://junaartistictatoo.blogspot.com/
Dekabristmouse’s main shop and home
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Harbinger/98/111/22
Tarozaemon Rossini’s flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarozaemon/

Art in Second Life 2022 (22) Paroxysm by Milena Carbone

01 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

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

Sunday, February 27th, I got an invitation to visit “Paroxysm“, the latest exhibition at The Carbone Studio.
Milena Carbone had already sent me a picture named “Madness” a few days before. “Madness” was a free gift of her to all of her followers, expressing her despair and her support for the Ukrainian people.

Milena wrote in her invitation:

“This morning, on Sunday 27th of February 2022, I woke up with a terrible headache.
For several days and nights I’ve been looking for information on TV channels and the internet about the events in Ukraine. I felt an irrepressible need to express what I felt, and that’s why I created this exhibition on Second Life and published a text on Medium, in just one day.
I know that this is no more than a relief to me. There is no judgment or message beyond my beliefs. And again, I have expressed very little compared to what is boiling inside me.
I offer this to you, it is yours. Thank you to everyone who pays attention to my work.“

“Paroxysm” consists of 6 pictures, they are all free for you to grab as a gift. And Milena gifted a text. I thought of writing an excerpt for the blog or to quote parts of it, but then I came to terms that I just publish Milena’s text as it it and that I use the blog to further spread it.

Here it it is .. a tribute to the Ukrainian defenders of democracy and beyond.

For years now, Europe has been suffering from an extremely serious neurological disease that I call the sleeping beauty syndrome.

Europe is the country in the world that offers the most comfort, the most social protection, the most job and work opportunities, the most civic engagement, the most technological and social innovation, the most culture, that is the most aware and responsible in terms of ecological transition (even if it is far from enough), where democracy and the rule of law are guaranteed to protect minorities and genders, to dialogue freely and openly with a great diversity of people who do not share your opinion in order to find consensus, to make one’s own point of view change. Of course, it takes time, of course it is not perfect, perfection is so boring. There is such a density of landscapes, celebrations, gastronomy, arts of living that a lifetime is not enough to explore them all. In spite of this, a growing part of the European people complains and calls the democratically elected leaders dictators. They complain that they have to make efforts, that they have to change their habits, that they have to change their consumption patterns, that they have to eat healthily, that they have to pay too much for petrol, that they have to give hospitality to desperate migrants, that they cannot enjoy themselves without restraint, the old illusory fantasy of the Parisian bourgeois revolution of more than fifty years ago. Extremist political parties feed on this resentment, all over Europe, the so-called extreme left or right, which still assume that they have a democratic foundation. These parties pervert the notion of freedom, which is hard work, by egoism which is lazy. They simplify the world in order to be on a par with the uncultured and suggest simplistic solutions that only serve their personal interests.

What has fallen asleep in Europe is the taste for the effort of thinking, and the courage of acting. And what is happening today in Ukraine, which passes through Europe like an intense pain passing through a weakened sleepy body, is our impotence to think about the articulation between history and the present, to unmask the extremist imposture that rewrites history to justify the murders of the present, and it is our impotence to think about the articulation between our values, the courage of the present action while facing death. In France, where an increasingly revisionist and violent extreme right-wing is unfolding at the same time as the tragic events in Eastern Europe, we are experiencing a tension at the limit of what is bearable.

But the sleeping beauty, perhaps, is waking up. Not with a sweet kiss from the charming Prince, alas, but with a solid hangover and the awareness that there are several intruders in your room who have all fucked you during this time. They are hysterical, lawless hucksters who despise you because they are convinced that, on the one hand, you are no longer capable of thinking, and on the other, that you no longer have the courage to fight for a cause.

Today, on February 27, 2022, we are closer than ever to a tragedy such as there has never been in Europe, not even during the Nazi period. What can happen is worse than it has ever been. But people, young and older, are standing for freedom and responsibility, fighting for the values of humanism. If Europe escapes from the dead end in which a few madmen have led us, I dream of a courageous, generous, cooperative, intelligent and cultured, open and rational generation, which finally makes Europe take the path of Enlightenment and tolerance that it has lost for centuries.

Impressions of “Paroxysm” by Milena Carbone

Paroxysm

I have already received a few messages from various lecturers who think that a young woman, an artist moreover, is not qualified to speak about what is happening today, and above all they explain to me that I do not know history. But I know history very well. I know history so well that I know it is a fiction, as reality is a fiction, and that it is very easy to rewrite history as it suits us. This is why I don’t listen to politicians talking about history, I prefer to quench my thirst for knowledge with academics and archaeologists, in the silence and respect of libraries or historical sites, suspending my judgment.

Speaking of historical sites and witnesses, I have lived since my childhood in Alsace, in France. It is my “Heimat”, a small territory in the heart of Western Europe, which for millennia has known wars and subjugations, but also glory, thanks to the creativity and work of farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, tireless merchants and explorers, builders of cathedrals and universities, curious scientists, inspired artists and enthusiastic and innovative entrepreneurs. My family has lived in this area since at least the Thirty Years’ War, which took place in the early 17th century. The traces of my family could not be found beyond this period when 80% of the Alsatian population was massacred by Swedish mercenaries. Some of my ancestors fought for France, others for Germany. My grandfather preferred to desert Hitler’s army and I listened to him talk about forgiveness and the matter of present peace.

Today, we are living in the climax of a rude awakening. All awakenings are violent, but every day is the best day of my life.

Milena Carbone

I am from Germany myself. The very day I received Milena’s invitation and read her text as well as visited her exhibition “Paroxysm”, Germany announced to send defense weapons to Ukraine and to reverse the German policy of the last 70 years by a massive effort to strengthen its defense forces within Europe.

Thank you Milena for your text and for your exhibition “Paroxysm“

Stand for Ukraine, Stand for a Free Europe!

Landmark to The Carbone Studio
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Woiler/177/175/3287
Milena’s website
https://sites.google.com/view/thecarbonegallery/news
Milena Carbone’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/milenacarbone/
Milena Carbone’s writing
https://medium.com/@539568

Art in Second Life 2022 (21) Exoplanet by Gem Preiz

24 Feb 2022 Leave a comment

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

Gem Preiz sent an invitation to me to visit his newest installation “Exoplanet – One Step Further“. The installation is at Akikaze, a member of the Akipelago group of sims dedicated to artistic and natural beauty in its many forms, owned by Akiko Kinoshi (Akiko Kiyori).

Exoplanet is a project in two parts. The first one, « One Step Further » opened on 22.02.2022 (nice date!). The second part will open later this year, and will lead us further into space. Both contain a fractal exhibition displayed in a science-fiction environment.

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (Neil Armstrong – July 20th 1969)
Gem Preiz invites us to take one step further by exploring Exoplanet through an exhibition of fractals, displayed in a sci-fi environment.

Upon your arrival please make sure that you use ultra graphic settings and the advance ligting model. Use shared environment and set your drawing ditance larger then 256m (better 512m). You can grab a notecard with more details and information about “Exoplanet – One Step Further” and I used most of it in this blog post. I recommend to take also the teleport HUD that is offered at the landing point. You can easily use it to explore everything at Exoplanet.

Impressions of “Exoplanet – One Step Further” by Gem Preiz (1) – First impressions and “Tower Hall”, the entrance of the Tower (lower right)

You land in a big dome somewhere on a planet in space. Under the dome is a full civilisation. Two large control towers and one large space needle building called the “Tower” dominate the ensemble of buildings. Outside of the dome you see some solar panels, radiotelescopes and other celestial bodies. If you look at the dome you see a big 80 m x 40 m cinema screen that displays 18 of Gem Preiz’ fractal pictures. It changes every 90 seconds. The screen enables you to watch the fractals from almost any place under the dome.
The same 18 pictures are exhibited in the “Tower” on 5 levels.

Impressions of “Exoplanet – One Step Further” by Gem Preiz (2) – a few of Gem’s fractal pictures

Besides the exhibition of Gem’s fractal pictures, that fit perfectly into a Sci-Fi environment, the space station provides a lot to discover, fun for hours!

  • The Tower with the exhibition, an observation deck and with the headquarters meeting room on the top. At the observation deck you can try out different environment settings, that fit to the installation.
  • Several other buildings like Data center, Dwellings, Shuttles Hangar, Arcades with industrial equipment and greenhouses and control towers
  • Vehicles: there are 3 flying shuttles in the hangar, 2 x 2 trucks parked besides the buildings, and speeders in the arcades parking. You can use them freely
  • The outside: you can walk outside and look at the dome and get an overview
  • Last but not least Gem added 43 crew members who populate the base. In the notecard gem wrote “please do not disturb them as they are very much focused on their job“

Impressions of “Exoplanet – One Step Further” by Gem Preiz (3) – The Tower / headquarters meeting room / exhibition / observation deck

Gem Preiz “is educated in science and mathematics and is fond of anything related to Nature, Cosmos and Earth, from astronomy to geology. The world of fractals is, in the same way, ruled by Mathematics functions which, as Physics do in Nature, enable to create objects which features repeat themselves at every scale. There lies his passion for fractals: create thanks to the power and pureness of the Mathematical concept, images the complexity of which can suggest Nature beings, objects or sceneries.”

Impressions of “Exoplanet – One Step Further” by Gem Preiz (4) – Control center / Dome from outside / Greenhouse / Diomita using one of the vehicles

I have seem quite some of Gem’s former installations. His way to build futuristic towns and settings, using geometrical forms and the way he combines sim design, his fractal pictures, light and light effects is really artful and always a highlight to visit. Thank you very much for your art and for this new installation, Gem!
Thank you Akiko Kinoshi (Akiko Kiyori) for providing the space for the art. I enjoyed my visit a lot!

Landmark to Exoplanet by Gempreiz
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Akikaze/140/77/3601
Gem Preiz flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187894176@N07/albums

Art in Scond Life 2022 (20) Carpe Noctem by Maloe Vansant

22 Feb 2022 Leave a comment

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

I got an invitation to visit the lastest exhibition at DixMix Gallery, that opened February 19th: “Carpe Noctem” by Maloe Vansant.
Sometimes I come across an artist quite often in a short time, just to see nothing of the artist again for a longer time. Just recently I saw “Inside Maloe’s Mind” by Maloe Vansant, an exhibition that opened Sunday, February 6th (read about it here). I have written about Maloe’s art already before. The last time I came across her was in September 2021 when I visited her exhibition “Eternally” at DixMix Gallery (read here) that celebrated the tenth anniversary of Maloe Vansant and DixMix Source’s friendship.

“Carpe Noctem” by Maloe Vansant is showcased in room Amalfia at DixMix Gallery. It consists of 10 pictures mainly showing female faces or parts of it. There is no obvious story that connect these pictures. Each seems to have an own story. I was particularly attracted by the picture that is also used for the exhibition poster. It is called “Faux Andy” and is shown with four different colour filters at the exhibtion. For me it is amazing how different the the face and the expression becomes with a different colour.

Maloe also plays with other effects, like blurring or with several layers of different pictures. She plays with softenting, light and also with strong colour contrasts. Another favourite of me at “Carpe Noctem” by Maloe Vansant is “The crack in the mirror”. Maloe’s art is passionate and full of details, the pictures provoke the visitor to spin stories around them.

Examples of “Carpe Noctem” by Maloe Vansant – Faux Andy / The truth is mine / just a shadow left / The crack in the mirror

Maloe Vansant joined Second Life in 2007, a new world for her who had never played games or joined any social network site: “After creating little Maloe, my barbie doll, my pixel soul, I discovered the possibility of making snapshots and I started to make a graphic diary of Maloe’s journey in Second Life, showing the emotions she experienced in this pixel world. I think I succeeded in doing this by using some post processing in Photoshop. I am not a woman of many words, I try to express myself, my feelings, my passion and probably my dark side through my pictures.”
Maloe has also a flickr account where you can see more of her artwork.

The virtuality blog published an interview with Maloe Vansant by Violet Boa back in August 2021. Violet Boa wrote in the introducing text about Maloe:
“Maloe belongs to the group of people who are strongly guided by feelings and she is blessed with ability to touch our souls with her photography.
With skillful game between light, shadow, color and composition she creates works that appeal to us not only on the quality level, but also write stories of life and with it catch our thoughts and hearts.”
Read the full interview on virtuality blog here.

Thank you Dixmix for providing and curating the DixMix Gallery, thank you Megan for building it and thank you Violet Boa for the PR. The exhibition “Carpe Noctem” by Maloe Vansant shall stay open until March, 6th.

Landmark to Dixmix Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madori%20Bay/46/213/22
Interview with Maloe Vansant by Violet Boa in virtuality blog
https://www.virtuality.blog/interview-with-maloe-vansant/
Maloe Vansant’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31954671@N08//

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