Art in Second Life 2023 (9) Reflections by Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) & Onceagain Art Gallery

06 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

I got an invitation to visit Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s latest exhibition named “Reflections” at Onceagain Art Gallery. A good reason to visit Onceagain Art Gallery (once) again, as it is more than one year since I my last visit there (read Art in Second Life 2022 (2) Onceagain Art Gallery).

The landmark leads you to a small gazebo within a park. From there you walk through the park, cross the gate, turn left twice and walk a path upwards to reach the exhibition “Reflections” which is shown in kind of a cloistered court.

Impressions of “Reflections” by reflections by Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) (1) – from the landing point to the exhibition

Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) wrote about “Reflections”:
“I’m really pleased to host in my gallery a delicate artist, who I discovered last year by chance when I won one of her works at an auction.
In life you don’t always need to look for deep meanings, sometimes beauty is enough to reconcile you with the world and Maddy with her works is what she manages to do.”

The exhibition consists of 11 pictures all showing woman, mainly portraits, in their beauty. Most of the pictures are monochrom (not all) and the women are all dressed beautiful and they wear flowers, ornaments, jewelery and other accessories underlining their beauty and attracting the spectator to look for details and to get pulled into the picture.

Impressions of “Reflections” by reflections by Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) (2)

Maddy wrote: ““Reflections” is a journey of portraits that experiments with new ideas using A.I. technologies. The exhibit showcases photos created with Midjourney and Second Life Avatars, combined with the use of A.I. to create a melancholic and dark atmosphere that captures the essence of the subjects portrayed. The soft colors and blurs emphasize the intense emotions and intimacy of the portraits, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in the images.”

Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) is in Second Life since 2009. She’s passionate about photography in RL and SL. She writes: “I’m not an artist but a researcher of images to be developed… a dreamer with open eyes of this world “out of time”. In SL always open to new possibilities of experimentation trying to convey the magic that I see.”
I’ve seen Maddy’s art the first time back in 2017 at Enchanted Art where her exhibition “Maddy 2017” was showcased (read here). Further on I saw Maddy’s work at La Maison d’Aneli in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 and at GenovArt Glass Gallery in May 2021 (read here). You can see more of her art at her flickr page.

Once at the gallery I took the teleporter, where I landed for my visit to “Reflections” and visited the Onceagain Art Gallery.

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (1) – Two buildings / Two sculptures (Cherry Manga and Bryn Oh)

The place has changed quite a lot, the concept is still the same. In a large park are several buildings. The park and the buildings are full of Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s art collection. In the park you find 3D art as well as inside of the buildings at windows or larger spaces. The buildings are galleries and feature the art of many artists.

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (2)

I know and wrote about most of them, though I admit that there’re some, who I didn’t come across yet. The following list of artists is certainly not exhaustive, but it testifies to the size of the art collection and the many styles:
Moki Yuitza, Mihailsk Syros (mihailsk), June Langer, Kika Yongho, Eviana (eviana.robbiani), Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau), Milena Carbone (mylena1992), Filthy Fluno, Marina Münter (vivresavie), Melusina Parkin, CioTToLiNa Xue, Zia Branner, Maloe Vansant, ZYNTHEA, Mareea Farrasco, Celestial Demon (celestialdemon), Gully Rivers (gullyrivers), Karma Daxeline (Karma Weymann), Cad (cadwallader), Lika Cameo (LikaCameo), Scylla Rhiadra, Mara Telling, Frank Atisso, Cherry Manga, Harbor Galaxy, miu miu miu (miumiumiusecond), Therese Carfagno, Bryn Oh ….

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (3)

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 showcasting so many artists in a great environment and for enabling Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s exhibition “Reflections”.
And thank you Maddy for your art.
I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Onceagain Art Gallery and to Reflections by Maddy
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Peaceful%20Mountains/51/173/3502
Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdyne/
Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69389809@N03/

Art in Second Life 2022 (104) La Maison d’Aneli Dec 2022 / Jan 2023

19 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

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

Aneli Abeyante invited me to see the new exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli. The opening event took place, Wednesday, December 14th. The exhibition features the art from Traci Ultsch, Yann Gyro (sempiternel),  ZackHerrMann, Thanos Runner and onceagain (Manoji Yachvili).

I started my visit with Traci Ultsch. Traci’s skybox at La Maison d’Aneli deal with the theme written in big letters on one wall: “As above so below”. Abstract forms, that remind me of the planet earth mirror in the floor, but the mirror image is not the same. It contains clouds and trees and other forms and invite the spectator to explore more deeply. As far as I gathered the skybox was also the place for the opening event.

La Maison d’Aneli Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 – Traci Ultsch

I didn’t come across Traci Ultsch so far. Traci is in Second Life since 2017 and I couldn’t find out much about her or him- Traci wrote in the accompanying notecard: “Traci is a rubbish artist who can not write a bio… also their music is bad…you can add that traci died in 2010 and is now run by Google Images… “fine i dont care” haha..“. You can see more of Traci on a flickr page.

Yann Gyro (sempiternel) is in Second Life since 2018. He is a photgrapher and designer. Yann has his own store on the marketplace. He also has a flickr account.
At his skybox at La Maison d’Aneli Yann allows us to have a look into his head. It’s a bit of a mess but that is how he creates. He doesn’t think, he creates!

La Maison d’Aneli Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 – Yann Gyro (sempiternel)

ZackHerrMann is a French psychedelik artist from the French Riviera. He’s in Second Life since 2012. He writes about his work:
“French artist, kind of an alien from the unidentified dimension! He draws wither by hand or by digital toos or both. He has been a nightlife creature, a cyber punk LGBT glam cosmic one. He likes to create sounds and bizarre music that he uses for many projects. He is the creature of a fictive heroin called Linda Cluster. He works a lot usings the Second Lide Metavers, he loves concets, he is THE concept!“

La Maison d’Aneli Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 – ZackHerrMann

ZackHerrMann’s art is quite unique. It is mostly in strong colours. Zack uses light effects and his installation is steadily changing. You can almost hear music, even when it is not turned on. Figures are dancing, everything looks full and rich. At La Maison d’Aneli his skybox is once again an own world to get lost in. 
ZackHerrMann has a little museum in Second Life – Zack Herr Mann Universum. You can also see more of his art at his flickr page.

Thanos Runner is in Second Life since 2009. He writes about himself: “I am a multiple artist, I practice in various disciplines, but drawing is above all my favorite discipline, because everything starts from drawing. It’s the idea, it’s the mood, it’s the choice, and all artistic work begins with a drawing. I draw for several reasons first of all I like drawing whatever it is, for me it is approach to the gift of self, and a visual communication, sensitivity, character, and sentimental of the individual provided that he is sincere.”  

La Maison d’Aneli Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 – Thanos Runner

His skybox at La Maison d’Aneli is a room in form of a sphere where his pictures are displayed in groups: “There are various drawings of the human body in all their sensibilities, and it is multiple, we are all unique and beautiful, and I try to bring out this through my works. There are very personal compositions and hence various portaits are also part of this exhibition.“
Thanos has an own website here.

onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) ist in Second Life since 2007. Manoji is Italian and lives and works in Tuscany, Italy. Manoji’s skybox at La Maison d’Aneli is dedicated to the Apuan Alps.
The Apuan Alps, also known as Alpi Apuane, is a mountain range located in Tuscany, Italy. The mountains are lined with the beautiful white Carrara marble. The light colored stone gives the mountain range a look as though they are covered in snow year round. The Carrara marble remains to be one of the more popular choices among building plans, interior decor, and sculptures.
Due to modern technology, the large-scale extractions of marble from the quarries of the Apuan Alps mountains are inflicting the worst environmental disaster in Europe, and are changing the face of these mountains.
In the accompanying notecard you can find more information. onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) also provided two links – here and here.

La Maison d’Aneli Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 – onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)

La Maison d’Aneli is owned by Aneli Abeyante. Through her gallery she brought together all forms of creativity in RL and SL and the featured artists come from around the globe. Aneli’s intention was 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.”

This is the last exhibition of La Maison d’Aneli and will stay open until January 2023. More than 12 years Aneli has curated her La Maison d’Aneli with an exhibition almost every month. Thank you very much for your work dedicated to the arts in Second Life. As always I enjoyed my (last) visit and I saw another great joined exhibtion, Aneli.
Stay healthy and enjoy whatever you do in RL and in SL. It was a pleasure featuring your La Maison d’Aneli in this blog regularly.

Landmark to La Maison d’Aneli
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Holland/23/71/22
Trace Ultsch’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/190734658@N07/
Yann Gyro (sempiternel)’ store on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/fr-FR/stores/211360
Yann Gyro (sempiternel)’ flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/154701358@N02/
ZackHerrMann’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/7706
Zack Herr Mann Universum
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pop/136/214/243
Thanos Runner website
https://livlic-ateliers.netlify.app/
Apuan Alps
https://www.positive.news/environment/keeping-the-mountains-alive-saving-the-apuan-alps/
http://www.salviamoleapuane.org/chi-siamo/english.html

Art in Second Life 2022 (2) Onceagain Art Gallery

05 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

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

Following Rig Torok’s blog I came across “Onceagain Art Gallery” and visited it on January 2nd. Onceagain Art Gallery is owned by onceagain (Manoji Yachvili). In the landmark profile you find a short description:
“Hello! This is a small art gallery dedicated to women where exhibitions of various kinds will be exhibited on a regular basis.
If you want to be part of it, send a note to Manoji Yachvili with your references and a link where I can see your work.“

onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) is in Second Life for more than 14 years. 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.

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (1) – Main building and exhibition “Kaleidoscope”

Her Onceagain Art Gallery consists of several parts. The main building, where you land, features Onceagain’s own art and some pieces of her art collection. Right at the entrance you find a teleporter board that leads you to other buildings featuring “Private Collection” (Onceagain’s art collection), “Personal Exhibit” (another larger exhibtion of Onceagain) and “Artist of the month”. The latter did teleport me to an empty skybox, hence I assume there’s just no artist featured at this particular time of the year. On the ground level you can also see 3D sculptures and art objects embedded in a nice garden.

My visit started at the main building. On the ground floor is an exhibtion titled “Kaleidoscope”. Onceagain wrote about it:
“Thinking of the joy I felt as a child when I laid my eyes on the kaleidoscope and with a simple gesture of rotation thanks to those fragemnts of coloured glass I created a new world, precise, clean, an endless array of colourful emotions and grace.
In out life time each one of us must take their pieces and put them back together again to be able to look at his own inner world.
In the life time of this society fragments of an uncertain reality, often confused, rich but fragile, where past, present and future seem to overlap in mposed velocity, the persuit of bauty in a game of fragmetns of light allows me to expand the senses, give peace to the mind, feed my eyes to the vision of tomorrow.
This is the thought that has noursihed my creativity for this project: the need to catch a glimpse of a possible hope for the revival of beauty in this world, the desire to look with brght eyes of adult reality and with enlightened eyes of a child its possible future.“

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (2) – Exhibition “Kaleidoscope” – collected art on the 2nd floor

The pictures all consist of 2 pictures, on the left side a RL picture of something messed up, broken, trist and on the right side the picture of a kaleidoscope structure, where the structure repeats elements of the picture on the right. It conjured a smile on my face when I saw the similarities and I can understand what Onceagain wants to express. Well done!

Upstairs are some pieces of Onceagain’s art collection, in particular some objects of Mistero Hifeng. And there’s one room featuring Onceagain’s horse pictures. But these are not just horse pictures, Onceagain processed them and compared them with pictures of renowned RL artists. She wrote about them:
“We all have images archived, even at an unconscious level, models which we refer to because any work aof art is an act of communication involving a user, someone who enters into conversation with what is being shown.
Thus on reseeing a photo of my mare, I naturally associated it with a picture I began composing this project. Whenever an image reminding me of an artist came my way, I would set it aside, lke a jigsaw piece intent on arranging the end result, a part of which is here on display; thus, creating a personal dialogue with the works present in one’s memory by means of photographs.“

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (3) – Exhibition “horse pictures” on the 2nd floor

Again the direct comparison is intriguing!

I took the teleport board and visited the “Private Collection” which is in a separate building. You could also walk through the garden to get there and see the outdoor art objects on your way. I visited just shortly, the list of artists she collected is quite long and I know and worte about some of them: Bryn Oh, Caly Applewhyte, DixMix Source, Eupalinos Ugajin, Lika Cameo and many others.

Finally there’s another exhibtion of Onceagain in a gallery up in the skies named “NOMORE”, reached with the teleport to “Personal Exhibit”. It is really a quite personal exhibition and covers a theme, i was not aware of at all. Onceagain wrote:
“NOMORE interlaces the story of the serious illness of the palm trees, caused by the red weevil, among the inexitent and sick relationship with my father and the joyful synergy experienced by me with this kind of trees during the childhood spent in the “Boulevard Palm” in Nervi, a distrct of Genova, the which I’m particular fond of.
NOMORE was born slowly, it evolves as thought mature, white the experence is lived. With the passage of time, I’ve collectd refrelctions, informations, old photographs, creating my iconic graphic elements, assembled in this project with a contemporary and complete overview“

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (4) Onceagain’s exhibition “NOMORE”

Onceagain Art Gallery provides a unique art experience in Second Life. It combines art objects created in and for Second Life in the garden area and the art collection with exhibition space featuring onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s own art. Onceagain succeeds to explain and describe her thoughts when she sees a RL photograph and what pictures this photograph brings up in her mind. The direct comparison is intriguing. Thank you for your art, Onceagain!

Onceagain Art Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Peaceful%20Mountains/210/82/24
Rig Torok’s blogpost about “Onceagain Art Gallery”
http://rigtorok.blogspot.com/2022/01/peaceful-mountains-2022.html
onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69389809@N03/