Art in Second Life 2023 (34) Art Deco Ladies by Melusina Parkin

20 Jun 2023 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , ,

Melusina Parkin invited me to her newest exhibition “Art Deco Ladies” at Melu’s Photo Gallery.

I am a fan of Melusina Parkin’s art and have seen quite some of her exhibitions. Melusina owns a store for Art Deco furniture called “Melu Deco“, that is just below of Melu’s Photo Gallery. So it is quite obvious that Melu likes Art Deco. Last year she had a whole series about Art Deco. I wrote a blogpost about this series (read Art Deco Symmetries by Melusina Parkin).

Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. It influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewellery, fashion, cars, cinemas, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925.
Art Deco combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, it represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.
(source: wikipedia)

Impressions of “Art Deco Ladies” by Melusina Parkin (1)

On a first glance I had the impression that all pictures at “Art Deco Ladies” at Melu’s Photo Gallery are all the same. On a second glance I saw that they are all different. And of a more detailed look I saw that they are very different! It is this optical illusion that makes this exhibition so outstanding.

Impressions of “Art Deco Ladies” by Melusina Parkin (2)

All “Art Deco Ladies” pictures clearly are art deco. The women and how they are  shown with just some lines, the colours and the symetry fit perfect to this art style. But all women are very different, have different noses, different earrings, some have short hair, some long hair, one wears an headsquare, one is black.
Melusina just used 4 colours: Black, beige, white and red (and brown for the black lady). She used similar round forms. All pictures are minimalistic and at some pictures you need a second look to recognice the woman’s face.

I don’t know how Melusina made these pictures. They are not taken in Second Life. They might have been generated by AI, as I know that Melusina experimented with AI. Anyway, very intriguing. Well done, Melu.

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, but still her style is minimalistic and “Art Deco Ladies” fits also into this category.
Don’t forget to grab the free gift picture of one of these “Art Deco Ladies”. I grabbed one for my personal art collection.

Impressions of “Art Deco Ladies” by Melusina Parkin (3)

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 your June exhibition. I enjoyed my visit!

Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s Melu Photo Gallery – exhibition “Art Deco Ladies”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20Portal/248/101/1940
Landmark to Melusina Parkin’s Minimum Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lunula/129/107/621
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 (33) Summer night by Cica Ghost

18 Jun 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , ,

Cica sent me a message that her newest installation has been opened Friday, June 16th. It is called “Summer night“. Together with the landmark, Cica provided a quote of Kobayashi Issa: “Summer night – even the stars are whispering to each other.“

As always you’re asked to use “Shared Environment” as the environment is part of Cica’s art. Please also turn on “Advanced lighting”

Impressions of “Summer night” by Cica Ghost (1) – At the landing point

Summer night is located at a fishing village. You land at kind of a harbor, you see fishing boats, fishes and octopuses. One fish head is looking out of a duct cover … his tail looking out from another duct cover. Or are these two fishes? You see the fishing village located on a tall hill and you see a lighthouse. The dark sky is an artwork of itself. You see different kinds of golden stars, hearts und a smiling moon.

Impressions of “Summer night” by Cica Ghost (2)

Right at the harbor is also a stage and you can dance there. I recommend to switch on music. Cica has selected Summer music, very fitting.

Impressions of “Summer night” by Cica Ghost (2)

The fishing village is very nice. There’s another place to dance, a court with quite some tables and chairs where you can sit and chat. The walls are decorated. Between the houses are some fields to raise vegetables. Oh … and there’s a cat. This time I didn’t have to search “the” cat, as there are some at the village and at the lighthouse. The whole installation radiates Summer and vacation.

Impressions of “Summer night” by Cica Ghost (3)

Summer night  is a place to gather, to celebrate, to chat and to communicate in a lovely environment of “Cica-ish” beings. The sky adds a lot to the happiness. As adults we can enjoy the Summer and the feeling of vacation somewhere in the South and see the world with the eyes of a kid. Very, very relaxing. At Summer night you can’t be not happy!

Impressions of “Summer night” by Cica Ghost (4)

As always we don’t know how long Summer night will be available for a visit, so hurry up and have a Summer night!.

Landmark to Summer night by Cica Ghost
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/DARK/136/231/25
Landmark to Cica’s new shop
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bryn%20Oh/22/244/21
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 2023 (32) Summer Folly by Dido Haas @ The Annex of Nitroglobus

17 Jun 2023 1 Comment

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

Dido Haas invited me to see her newest own exhibition which is presented at The Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, which is traditionally the space Dido exhibits her own artwork. The exhibition is titeled “Summer Folly”.

Dido hasn’t used her personal space for exhibiting her own art for quite a while. She was busy with curating the gallery and provided The Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery for other artists. She simply had only little time left to make images herself. She wrote: “However, sometimes when I am in the right mood I do make images, most of them black/white and of me, myself and I. Hope you like this exhibition “Summer Folly”“

“Summer Folly” consists of 7 large pictures and one picture with 3 parts. They all are held in black and white. As always the presentation of the pictures is close to perfect also due to the mirror effect of the floor (I cannot say that often enough!).

Impressions of “Summer Folly” by Dido Haas @ The Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

Of course the picture are all about Summer, about the heat which you can almost sense even if the pictures are in black and white. And as with most exhibitions and pictures that I saw from Dido, they are erotic but not explicit. They simply show the beauty of the female body in several aspects. There is one 3 part picture in the back, showing Dido in 3 different Summer scenes: dressed to tempt (for a fetsih event?), naked and in a summerly business dress. Three different appearances, but the women is always the same!
Correction: Dido sent a comment to this post. The 3 part picture (I learned it is called “triptic”), does not only show Dido herself, but also Maghda. That might also change the interpretation – or MY interpretation.

Impressions of “Summer Folly” by Dido Haas @ The Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

When you look at the pictures you see that these are not simply snapshots taken in Second Life. Each motif is selected with great care, the pictures are processed thoughtfully to make the spectator focus and immerse into the scene, removing details that would distract, and distinguishing the parts Dido wants the spectator to look at. Very well done, Dido. I love the Summer …. and I like “Summer Folly”.

Impressions of “Summer Folly” by Dido Haas @ The Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (3)

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art.
Thank you for “Summer Folly”, a very personal exhibition, shown at The Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery. If you want to see more of Dido Haas’ art look at her flickr page. “Summer Folly” shall be available until end of July.

Landmark to The Annex of Nitroglobus and to Summer Folly by Dido Haas
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/166/41/1001
Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (main Hall)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com
Dido Haas’ flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dido_haas/
Dido Haas on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/dido.haas
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/nitroglobus_gallery/
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nitroglobusroofgallery/

JadeYu Fhang on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JYuF-148115341865196/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Yann GYRO (sempiternel)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/154701358@N02/

Art in Second Life 2023 (31) “Far From” by Bamboo Barnes @ Selen’s gallery

09 Jun 2023 1 Comment

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

Bamboo Barnes opened a new exhibition at a skybox, which is a part of Selen’s Gallery. You can either visit using a teleporter from Selen’s Gallery or you use a direkt landmark to Bamboo’s skybox. Bamboo Barmes titled her exhibtion “Far From”. It was opened June 6th and should be available until August 2023.

The exhibition “Far From is in a skybox. In the center is kind of a stage. You can walk up and have a view from there. The stage is decorated with colourful 3D objects, the sides are used to display either pictures or changing textures. The whole stage is an eye catcher in the center. Along the walls of the skybox Bamboo presents her artwork. Quite her style, colourful, consisting of several layers, female portraits, but not just portraits, artwork with several other elements, some are also changing permanently.

Impressions of “Far From”by Bamboo Barnes @ Selen’s Gallery (1)

Bamboo provided a text accompanying her exhibition “Far From”:

“What do you feel now if you close your eyes?
Do you see the faint flicker of light that your memory gives you as you reach out in total darkness?
Or is it something you wish you could have forgotten?
A past that has become distant yet drawing you in heavily. The now that seems so far from it, but it is a part of you.
A part of you that can never be denied.

This is my exhibition start in June 2023 at Selen’s gallery,my sincere thanks to Selen Love for this opportunity. My works are representing the world with slightly distorted than a beautiful elegance sky of the early summer morning. You may think you have nothing to do with distortion of the world …. maybe you are lucky or just haven’t seen it in the dark corner of yourself. I am not a good talker, so here I let you feel whatever you feel from my works, grateful if you feel something different than everyday life from them or you may feel nothing even. Thank you.“

Impressions of “Far From”by Bamboo Barnes @ Selen’s Gallery (2)

I enjoyed looking at the pictures and exploring the details. Isat down on a bench and became part of this world. The colours are impressive. You have to look long and focused on the faces to get the details or to differentiate what is the face and what is added. Each picture is an eye-cather for every living room.

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 Kondar 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). One could say, I’m a fan of Bamboo’s art!
Look also at Bamboo’s flickr page.

Impressions of “Far From”by Bamboo Barnes @ Selen’s Gallery (3)

Selen’s Gallery is owned by Selen Love (Selen Minotaur) and features her art. At two skyboxes she offers space for other artists – and one is now Bamboo Barnes space for her exhibition”Far From”.  Thank you Selen for providing the space for the art and for enabling “Far From” by Bomboo Barnes.

I enjoyed visit. Thank you Bamboo.

Landmark to Selen’s Gallery – visit “Far From” by Bamboo Barnes with the teleporter
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Royale/214/210/1602
direct Landmark to “FarFrom” by Bamboo Barnes at Selen’s Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Royale/240/201/2035
Bamboo Barnes’ flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bamboobarnes/
Bamboo Barnes on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bamboo.barnes

Art in Second Life 2023 (30) Michiel Bechir Gallery June 2023

06 Jun 2023 1 Comment

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

I got an invitation from Michiel Bechir to see the latest exhibition at his “Michiel Bechir Gallery“, that had will be opened tonight, June 6th, at 12 PM SLT (9 PM Central Europe Time). It features the art of Emma-Jane, Faye Nightshade and Charlotte Belladonna, all artists I have never come across so far. 

On the ground floor of the gallery are two exhibitions rooms, a third exhibition space is on the 2nd floor. When you enter the gallery, the room on the left presents the art of Charlotte Belladonna (charlottebelladonna). The ground is covered with grain field, a bench invites you to sit while you look at the pictures.

Impressions of Michiel Bechir Gallery June 2023 – Charlotte Belladona

Charlotte Belladonna (charlottebelladonna) is in Second Life since 2018. She loves to travel in real life and in SL. And she takes pictures from her travels in SL, in particular places that you can see in both worlds. Her pictures fit to Summer, you can almost feel the warmth of the sun, when you sit on the bench and look at the pictures. All of them capture a particular atmosphere. You can see more of her pictures at her flickr page.

The exhibition room on the right shows the pictures of Faye Nightshade aka. Circe (princessginnie). Circe is in Second Life since 2011. She’s a roleplayer and she’s Faye Nightshade, a photographer. She writes about herself and her art:
“My inspiration comes from various matters. The subtle crack in the wall, the slight tremor in an otherwise perfect construction, the inaudible song of the distance between – all of these and much more lead me to creation. Most of my photographs are in black and white, sparked by several RL artists and photographers from early childhood onward.“
You find more of Faye’s art on her flickr page.

Impressions of Michiel Bechir Gallery June 2023 – Faye Nightshade

The 2nd floor shows the art of Emma-Jane (ratuliambcua). Emma-Jane is in SL since 2019. I could not find out much about her. In her profile she writes “The beauty of a butterfly is not in its colors or in its flight, it is the complexity of its creation“. The exhibited pictures show a broad variety of themes, from a vase with flowers, over a man stadning in an almost endless field of red flowers, birds and summerly scenes.
Emma-Jane has three thematic flickr pages: Faces, Landscapes and Movies.

Impressions of Michiel Bechir Gallery June 2023 – Emma-Jane

The June exhibition at Michiel Bechir Gallery is very fitting to the season once again, lovely Summer! Thank you Michiel and the whole team Maggie Runo, Tresore Prada (tresore) and MsToya (Mstoya Bailey) for providing the space for the arts. It is nice to see new artists. Thank you Emma-Jane, Faye Nightshade and Charlotte Belladonna for sharing your art. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Michiel Bechir Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/30/228/2503
Charlotte Belladonna (charlottebelladonna)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/186968761@N05/
Faye Nightshade aka. Circe (princessginnie)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/faye_nightshade/
Emma-Jane (ratuliambcua)’s flickr Faces
https://www.flickr.com/photos/184427032@N03/page1
Emma-Jane (ratuliambcua)’s flickr Landscapes
https://www.flickr.com/photos/192240903@N07/page1
Emma-Jane (ratuliambcua)’s flickr Movies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/194069944@N07/page1

Art in Second Life 2023 (29) “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery

05 Jun 2023 1 Comment

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

Dido Haas invited me to see the June exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte. The exhibition will be opened tonight, Monday, June 6th, at 12 PM SLT (9 PM Central Europe Time)

“Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte consists of 14 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 an art piece fitting this exhibition.
Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) wrote about “Through their eyes”:
“Women have long been an integral part of society, but their experiences and perspectives are often ignored or undervalued. When we look at the world through women’s eyes, we see a complex and multifaceted reality.
In many societies, women are expected to conform to certain standards of behavior and appearance, which can be restrictive and limiting. These societal expectations can have an impact on women’s self-esteem, confidence and sense of worth. 
Women often face a double standard, where they are judged more harshly than men for the same behaviors or actions. Despite these challenges, women have shown incredible resilience and strength, and have made significant contributions to society in a variety of fields.
Through women’s eyes we can better understand the challenges they face, the unique perspectives they bring and the importance of promoting gender equality. By recognizing and addressing these challenges, and promoting women’s unique perspectives and contributions, we can work towards a more just and equitable society for all.“

Impressions of “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

Starting with the exhibition poster, Caly focuses on faces, on the eyes and the facial expressions of women, not matter how they are dressed or styled, be it covered due to religious standards, be it cute, determined, black or white. Every face shown, every expression is a bit different and if you allow yourself to get in the shoes of these women you can try to see the world through their eyes. As always at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery the mirroring effect of the floor and the way the art is presented add a lot to overall experience. Just try to focus on one of the picture and immerse yourself into the face.

Impressions of “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) is a SL Photographer from France, who joined SL in 2010. Her focus is the avatar itself as a means of expression to transport emotions. She processes her pictures with Photoshop. I have seen her work already a few times and you can recognise her style, she has found her personal characteristic artistic style. Her pictures do tell stories, like good art does. And in her exhibitions she chooses a common base or theme for her pictures.
According to her profile Caly also blogs and has written articles for several magazines. You can see her work also on her flickr account.

The longer I look at the pictures I made of “Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte while writing this post, the more I am impressed, nothing distracts from the faces you look at.

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 “Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte. Thank you Caly for your art, another great exhibition.
As it is the June exhibition at the gallery “Through their Eyes” shall be available until the end of this month.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and to “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com
Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) ‘s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/calypsoapplewhyte
Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) ‘s blog
https://calyswardrobe.blogspot.com/

Art in Second Life 2023 (28) Uncolored Journey by Awesome Fallen @ NovaOwl Community Center

21 May 2023 1 Comment

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

Owl Dragonash invited me to visit the newest exhibition at the NovaOwl Community Center named “Uncolored Journey”. The exhibition is by Awesome Fallen und consists of 10 pictures. Owl sent me a folder with a description written by Awesome and a poster. The poster summarizes the exhibition nicely as all showcased pictures are in black and white – uncoloured. The post shows how the colour is seemingly pulled out of a picture.

Uncolored Journey by Awesome Fallen @ NovaOwl Community Center – Exhibition poster / the gallery wing at the NovaOwl Community Center

The 10 pictures show a girl holding a ballon who is exploring and discovering the world. Awesome wrote a short story about the girl, but of course every spectator can make up their own story about this girl:
“Once upon a time there was a naive being who enjoyed wondering and wandering the metaverse…………. everyday she went a little further, confident, enchanted with the no boundaries world, entering the unknown, unaware of danger………. in her pixelrides traveled many whereabouts and villages always following soulless paths………. but sooner rather than later arrived, unexpectedly, to the feelings meadow where this little being met a seasoned sorcerer who blinded her eyes, tore out her heart, and then by dint of tears erased her words………… after months imprisoned in his spells, she was left to fend for herself in the sea of emotions………. adrift, helplessly, she had to smother the sorrow with lights and colors, and reckon with images……..“

Impressions of “Uncolored Journey” by Awesome Fallen @ NovaOwl Community Center (1)

For me personally the pictures aren’t that dark. Being monochrome makes them look vintage. Yes, the girl, which we always see just from behind, is wondering around, is exploring the world, be it a real world or a virtual world. But I don’t see her heart being torn out or her words erased. For me she looks just curious and maybe surprised by what the world has to offer.
I like the 10 pictures that build up a storyline. They are artfully reduced to focus on what the girl sees and they are processed and look like etching.

I came across Awesome Fallen in January 2021 the first time when I visited “Mind the Gap” at Itakos Project and Art Gallery (read here).
Awesome Fallen is in SL since 2010, yet the profile does not give away much: “…… just another wave in the ocean …….”. Awesome has a flickr page tough with a lot of followers and I can understand why. The pictures are intriguing, invite you to take a closer look and to comprehend what Awsome wants to express or to make up your own story to the picture.
In the folder I got from Owl is a bit more information. Firstly there’s a quite long list of former exhibitions by Awesome, and secondly Awesome did give away a bit more of herself: “RL or SL, it doesnt matter, I love telling and creating…….. photography, painting, modeling, writing, glass lampwork, since ever addict to any artistic expression ……. First in RL, and later in SL when I discovered that offers unlimited options to create and to tell …….. studied but also self-taught …… I don’t know if I’m an artist or if I even could call myself that……….. I just know that strong emotions fire up my inspiration …. telling with colors, painting the silence…..
Endlessly grateful to the ones who allow me to share my work and to those who take the time to observe it“

Impressions of “Uncolored Journey” by Awesome Fallen @ NovaOwl Community Center (2)

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 “Uncolored Journey” by Awesome Fallen. I enjoyed my visit.
“Uncolored Journey” by Awesome Fallen shall stay open through June.

Landmark to NovaOwl Commuity Center – Gallery & Club and to the exhibition Uncolored Journey by Awesome Fallen
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Novatron/131/102/23
Landmark to NovaOwl Sky Gallery – current installation “Memento Vivere” by Selen (read here)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Novatron/122/39/2001
Awesome Fallen’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/awesomefallen/

Art in Second Life 2023 (27) Nothing is real: Portraits of Non-Existing Women by Madoka Kawabata

18 May 2023 Leave a comment

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

Madoka Kawabata invited me to visit her new exhibition at the Kiku Art 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.
Last year in March I saw her very first exhibition in Second Life at Michiel Bechir Gallery (read here).

Madoka Kawabata’s exhibition at Kiku Art Gallery is named “Nothing is real: Portraits of Non-Existing Women”

The roughly 20 pictures are exhibited in a seperate building. Each of them is titled. They are not very large. You should step or cam close into them to see the details. As the name implies the exhibition focuses of portraits of women. None of them exist in real life but they look very real.
Madoka wrote in the accompaying notecard: “As I began experimenting with AI digital art, Midjourney in particular, last year, I decided to mix the portraits approximately half and half between Second Life and those created by Midjourney. Although Midjourney can use a photograph as one of its inputs, I think that most of those in this show are purely based on word input.“

Impressions of “Nothing is real: Portraits of Non-Existing Women” by Madoka Kawabata at Kiku Art Gallery (1)

The result is amazing! These pictures look so damned real – and vintage of course as it is Madoka’s style. You wouldn’t think that these pictures are fake, if you wouldn’t know better. And some of the pictures clearly also express Madoka’s wit.

Madoka Kawataba’s Second Life began already in 2005. All along she took photos, but it was only about 4 years ago that she finally began spending more time and effort on SL photography as the graphics and quality of the visuals got better: “This coincided with an increased in interest in RL photography, especially with vintage film cameras. It’s a very different experience taking pictures with a 1950’s era mechanical film camera. But the experience in SL and RL helped my photographic abilities in both places!”
Madoka has an account on flickr and you can find her on deviant Art.

Impressions of “Nothing is real: Portraits of Non-Existing Women” by Madoka Kawabata at Kiku Art Gallery (2)

Many thanks to Suzanne (suzanne Logan) and Rafael (rafaelnightshade) for enabling this exhibition at Kiku Art Gallery. And many thanks to Madoka for these outstanding virtual reality pictures. I was impressed and can only recommend a visit. The exhibition shall be available until June 30th.

Landmark to Kiku Gallery and Madoka Kawabata’s exhibition
“Nothing is real: Portraits of Non-Existing Women”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amatsu%20Shima/44/38/22
Madoka Kawabata’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/madokakawabata/
Madoka Kawabata on deviant Art
https://www.deviantart.com/madokakawabata

Art in Second Life 2023 (26) A dark star by Gem Preiz

12 May 2023 1 Comment

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

I got an invitation from Gem Preiz to visit his newest installtion “A dark star“, that opened May 10th.

I follow Gem Preiz and his work for several years already. His installations and exhibitions are unique. Gem works with fractals and his work has brought fractals closer to me and aroused my interest in this form of art. Lately Gem Preiz experiments with light and reflections. He got a full sim grant for 2023 at SLEA 3 during the first half of 2023. There he started with “Lines of Light“. This installation is still available. I wrote about it in January 2023 in this blog here.

When you enter “A dark star” make sure that you switch the Avanced Lighting Model on, use shared Environment, set draw distance and particles maximum or as high as possible and set your graphics to high or even ultra if possible.

Impressions of “A dark star” by Gem Preiz (1)

I zoomed out first in order to understand the installation. You land on the top of a planet or star. You’re surrounded by light, by glowing buildings, the ground is mostly covered with small objects in different colours, looking up you see smaller objects flying around followed by smaller particles so that they look like comets.
You can walk around on the surface.

Impressions of “A dark star” by Gem Preiz (2)

I noticed several spaceships on the ground and used one to fly around. That is not only fun, you also get great views. As the particles move, and some objects move you get a different view whereever you look at!

Impressions of “A dark star” by Gem Preiz (3)

I stepped out of the spaceship and walked around a bit. I found a seating opportunity where I could watch. I turned the music on and watched the scenery for a while. You can relax and enjoy! Then I further explored … walked over the edge and could walk down for a while before gravity kicked in and I was on another part of the planet or star.

Impressions of “A dark star” by Gem Preiz (4)

I had fun exploring and looking at all the colours, light and reflections. Well done, Gem!

“A dark star” is the 3rd installation Gem Preiz opened on the full sim grant. It all started with “Lines of Lights“. I missed the 2nd installation “Color & Glow“. As all three installations are available, I visited “Color & Glow” next. Incidentally Gem Preiz was present and I met him there.

Impressions of “Color & Glow” by Gem Preiz (1) – Gem Preiz and Diomita in the lower left

Gem explained to me how the 3 installations build on each other:
Gem Preiz: In all these builds I tried to play with reflections and lights and changes, either switching colors or adding movements of particles and physical objects here. It started in a closed place, kind of an underground maze, with “Lines of Lights“. “Color & Glow” sort of added a dimension, by opening the build to the sky and extend horizons. Here the colours change every 5 minutes. The last one, “A dark star“, is a combination of both, colours of the first, structures of the second, but adding another dimension, and the build, instead of being flat as many builds in SL, has become a whole 3D construction. It is surrounded by orbiters, and nested in an isotropic 3D universe of glowing lines, the boundaries of which are unreachable.
Diomita Maurer: yes, if you walk down … you reach other parts, intriguing
Gem Preiz: limited by the gravity however, which is not like on the Earth. If one could walk beyond the limits of the sim, one would fall. But visually, it looks like sort of a planet.

Impressions of “Color & Glow” by Gem Preiz (2)

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.” (taken from an older notecard about Gem). To see more of Gem Preiz’ art take a look at his flickr page.

I enjoyed my visit a lot and was impressed by all the light effects. In addition “Color & Glow” and “A dark star” are great places to wind down and just enjoy as particles, comets and objects fly by submerging the world in different colours and light.
All three installations are available until June 30th, 2023.
Thenk you Gem!

Landmark to SLEA3 – Gem’s A dark star (part 3)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLEA3/80/61/3199
Landmark to SLEA3 – Gem’s Color & Glow (part 2)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLEA3/2/197/1916
Landmark to SLEA3 – Gem’s Lines of Light (part 1)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLEA3/204/128/993
Gem preiz’ flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187894176@N07/albums

Art in Second Life 2023 (25) “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery

10 May 2023 2 Comments

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

Dido Haas invited me to see the May exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy. The exhibition was opened Monday, May8th.

“Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy consists of 12 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, the creative light art was provided by Adwehe.
Dido Haas wrote in her notecard about “Intimistic Journey”:
“I have been following Nowhere Boy on flickr for some time now and saw his work at the collective exhibition Vision of Imago land. He definitely has a style of his own, which attracts me and made me decide to invite him to create an exhibition especially made for Nitroglobus.
The works shown are made at various places in SL, but they all bare the unmistaken signature of Nowhere Boy. Walk around and enjoy the meditative mood of the works, let them distract you from every day (SL) life.”

Impressions of “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

The artist Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire) wrote about his exhibition:
“The “Intimistic Journey” exhibition is composed of images which I made during my many travels on Second Life. For a few months I have been exploring the mystical and spiritual side of Second Life, which inspired me to choose this title. An inner and spiritual journey, almost meditative. It is with this state of mind that I made my recent work. The pictures were never shown before.“

I myself am not a big fan of fantasy worlds, but of course Second Life is a perfect platform to create such worlds. Nowhere Boy picked great backgrounds for his pictures. Some of them made me smile like the one where he placed his head into a bear costume, the one where he rides a cow or when he stands on a flying duck. Others were taken originally at Grauland – I think – showing big concrete blocks almost randomly placed into the nature. All of them shows him (or someone else) exploring what others have created. Nowhere understands how to process the pictures perfectly to get the spectator focused. My personal favourite picture is taken in a cow barn. It is right next to the sign “Intimistic Journey” at the corner between the two wings of the exhibition hall. The light in this picture is selected that artfully that I had to look twice, first I really saw bats, but that are the faces of the cows *winks*. Well done, Nowhere Boy.

Impressions of “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire) is in Second Life since 2007. He’s French and describes himself as romantic and old fashioned. In 2021 he first started to make images (he calls them captures) in SL, which he posted on his flickr account. He took part in several photo contests and got his first invitation to join a collective exhibition (Vision of Imago Land in July 2021), which is where Dido Haas saw his art the first time. “Intimistic Journey” at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is his first personal exhibition.

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 “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire). And thank you Nowhere Boy for your art.
As it is the May exhibition at the gallery “Intimistic Journey” shall be available until the end of this month.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and to “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com
Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire) ‘s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nowhereboy

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