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

13 Jul 2023 2 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Art in Second Life 2023 (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 2022 (103) Michiel Bechir Gallery December 2022

17 Dec 2022 Leave a 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 been opened yesterday, December 16th. It features the art of Maggie Runo, Tresore Prada Hawkins (tresore) and Michiel Bechir himself. Michiel, Tresore, Maggie and MsToya (Mstoya Bailey), who was the dj for the opening event, also build the team, that is running the gallery.


On the ground floor of the gallery are two exhibitions rooms, a third exhibition space is on the 2nd floor. Michiel, Maggie and Tresore Prada have a similiar approach in creating her art. All take pictures in Second Life and process them carefully. And all pictures shown in this December exhibtion have a touch of the current season, a touch of Winter and Christmas.

Impressions of Michiel Bechir Gallery December 2022 – Maggie Runo

The exhibition room on the left shows the pictures of Maggie Runo, an artist that I haven’t covered in this blog so far. Maggie is in Second Life since 2007.  You can find more of her art at her flickr account. 

The room on the right side features Michiel Bechir’s art. Michiel has started his long virtual journey into Second Life as a photographer in 2009. Michiel enjoys seeing new places, meeting new people from all over the world and expierencing the creativity in Second Life (just like I do!). Michiel discovered the possiblities of different tools to improve his pictures. By editing them he also tries to add a personal touch and feeling.

Impressions of Michiel Bechir Gallery December 2022 – Michiel Bechir

The 2nd floor shows the art of Tresore Prada Hawkins (tresore). Tresore is in SL since 2011. She writes about herself “I love SL because it allows me to explore, discover new parts of myself, be creative, connect and experience others. It enriches my life. I have found in photography and visual arts the perfect outlet for creativity.”  For the December exhibition Tresore presents a selection of her art, that clearly is related to the season. More of her art can be seen at her flickr account.

Impressions of Michiel Bechir Gallery December 2022 – Tresore Prada Hawkins (tresore)

The December exhibition is a real Christmas exhibition, full of the magic that Christmas develops also in Second Life. Thank you Michiel and the whole team (Maggie Runo, Tresore Prada (tresore) and MsToya (Mstoya Bailey) for providing the space for the arts and for your personal art. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Michiel Bechir Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/26/226/2502
Maggie Runo’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie_runo/
Tresore Prada Hawkins (tresore) flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/149003763@N08/

Art in Second Life 2022 (93) Art walk Paris Eiffel – Thus Yootz

23 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

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

Michiel Bechir sent me an inviation to an exhibition at Art Walk~~ Paris Eiffel ~~ Paris 1900. It features pictures from Thus Yootz. Thus’ pictures are arranged outdoor around a court.

Impressions of Thus Yootz pictures at Art Walk~~ Paris Eiffel ~~ Paris 1900 (1)

It’s the second time I came across Thus Yootz. I first saw her at in 2020 (read: Art in Second Life 2020 (63) Third Eye Gallery October 2020 – Poppy & Thus Yootz).
Thus is in Second Life since 2008 and has many different passions here. She plans and organizes weddings (see her website here), she designs sims and gardens (have a look here). She creates trees and plants and sells them on the marketplace in her store Thus Magic. And of course she has a passion for photography. Her pictures can also be found on her flickr account and on a new flickr account.

Impressions of Thus Yootz pictures at Art Walk~~ Paris Eiffel ~~ Paris 1900 (2)

Thus is from Greece and studied the arts. She has taken part in many group art exhibitions in Greece. Her pictures might be pictures taken in Second Life originally, or at least parts of it. Thus uses them to create something new from it, she adds texts of colour effects, the uses several layers in her pictures. This way you can discover new details every time you look at them.

Impressions of Thus Yootz pictures at Art Walk~~ Paris Eiffel ~~ Paris 1900 (3)

The exhibition at Art Walk Paris is curated by Michile Bechir. I visit his “Michiel Bechir Gallery” regularly.
Thank you Michiel for enabling this exhibition, thank you Thus for your art … and thank you to all who were involved in realising this exhibition. I enjoyed my art walk.

Landmark to Art Walk~~ Paris Eiffel ~~ Paris 1900
and to Thus Yootz exhibition
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Paris%20Eiffel/89/231/22
Thus Yootz’ SL wedding website
http://thusspake111.wix.com/lucid-dream-weddings
Thus Yootz’s demo sim
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bristol%20dAlliez/118/90/22
Thus Yootz’s store “Thus Magic” on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/89831
Thus Yootz’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/154858142@N07/
Thus Yootz new flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65476505@N07
Landmark to Michile Bechir Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/30/228/2502

Art in Second Life 2022 (77) Michiel Bechir Gallery September 2022

06 Sep 2022 Leave a 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 been opened on September 3rd, 2022. It features the art of Raisa Reimse (raisareimse), Vanessa Jane (vanessajane66) and Scylla Rhiadra. I hadn’t yet came across any of these three artists so far.

The gallery itself has been renewed. Michiel wrote: “The outside gallery, lobby and rooms have been redesigned by Maggie Runo, who has been recently added to our team (which consists of Tresore Prada (tresore), MsToya (Mstoya Bailey) and me)“

The main gallery building hasnt’ changed. On the ground floor are two exhibitions rooms, a third exhibition space is on the 2nd floor. I first visited Raisa Reimse’s exhibition.

Raisa takes her pictures in Second Life. I think that the pictures are a little bit processed to achieve perfectness. Raisa has an eye for the right view, for capturing the beauty of landscapes and nature in Second Life. She’s not restricted on landscape only though but also takes pictures of animals, art, portraits and even objects like a small plane in the skies.

Raisa is in Second Life since 2018. She has a flickr account, a store on the marketplace and she has her personal gallery “Raisa Reimse Photography“.

Vanessa Jane (vanessajane66) takes her raw pictures also in Second Life, yet she’s focused more on objects or strange buildings or fantasy places. Her artwork is broad and she also has beautiful landscapes as a motif. Vanessa also processes her pictures to give them the touch, the light and the expression she desires to see. Right along the window are 3 pictures in almost black and white, where colour is only used to hightlight an element.

Vanessa Jane (vanessajane66) is in Second Life since 2014, but she joined Sl with another avatar already in 2009. You can grab a biography in her exhibition room at the Michiel Bechir Gallery. Vanessa wrote about herself:
“2D and 3D Artist in SL. I have done various forms of Art and Crafts for many years in RL and have an Art degree.
In my SL 2D Art I strive for ‘painterly realism’ and have a passion for capturing the elusive light and life in a scene, which brings a unique atmosphere. I bring my real life training as an artist to my aesthetic sensibility in the images I create in SL. When I get the chance I also enjoy opportunities to do 3D art using tortured prims.
After a break from SL Art I am back mixing my SL photography with creating in a new medium, Digital Paintings using Rebelle 5 Pro. This is enabling me to paint as I would using real life media but also to play using the best that digital art packages can offer.“

Vanessa Jane (vanessajane66) has also a flickr acoout.
She has exhibited her artwork at many places and galleries already. A list of exhibitions can be found in the biography notecard as well as published reviews of them. In the Kultivate Magazine June 21 she gave an interview.

Scylla Rhiadra’s exhibition is on the second floor of Michiel Bechir Gallery. Her exhibition deals with shadows. Shadows can attract the eye of the spectator, it can lead the view to a certain detail or a shadow can hide a detail so that the spectator has to add it in mind according to imagination. The text at the entrance of the sxhibition expresses this perfectly: “No mystery so ompelling as that obscured by the dark”
All pictures are from 2022 and they are all titled. You find the title next to the pictures. The title gives you a hint about the artists thoughts.

Scylla Rhiadra is in Second Life since 2008. She’s from Canada and decribes ehrself in her profile as “Reborn oldster. Feminist activist, leftist, reasonably active forumite, retired SL bookseller, interested in literature, history, art, and people”
Scylla also has a flickr account.

Another great exhibition. Thank you Michiel and the whole team (Maggie Runo, Tresore Prada (tresore) and MsToya (Mstoya Bailey) for providing the space for the arts and many thanks to the artists of course. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Michiel Bechir Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/30/228/2502
Raisa Reimse (raisareimse)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/193534621@N03/
Raisa Reimse (raisareimse)’s store on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/241744
Raisa Reimse (raisareimse)’s gallery “Raisa Reimse Photography”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Triumphal/126/132/3401
Vanessa Jane (vanessajane66)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/188095651@N07/?
Vanessa Jane (vanessajane66) Interview about her work in Kultivate Magazine June 21
https://issuu.com/kultivatemagazine/docs/kultivate_magazine_-_june2021
Scylla Rhiadra’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/gp/144085527@N07/939jJ1