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 (4) Mindscapes by Moki Yuitza

10 Jan 2022 3 Comments

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

I visisted the January exhibition at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, which will be opened officially with an event tonight, January 10th, at noon (12 PM SLT / 9 PM CET). It features Moki Yuitza with her exhibtion called “Mindscapes”. The exhibtion consists of 13 pictures.

Moki wrote about “Mindscpaes”:
SL is a virtual world in which everything is possible …. space is a mathematical/mental construction in which anything can be realized … as long as we can conceive it. When I was young, I loved building everything that went through my head with colored bricks, and here in SL I used the same basic bricks that I had available to give substance to my mental spaces.
Landscapes, formed just with simple prims, in which avatars (we ourselves) move around and to which avatars give body and dimension. One is meaningless without the other.“

Impressions of “Mindscapes” by Moki Yuitza @Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

The decoration of the exhibition space reflects the elements that you see in Moki’s pictures: spheres, cubes, pyramides, triangels, etc. As I know already from my many visits to the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery the showcased pictures are presented very well by the mirroring effect of the floor. The mirroring effect is made by having a transparent floor and placing the pictures mirrored on the floor below. For the exhibtion “Mindscapes” a lot of the decoration elements, the coloured spheres, cubs, pyramides and others are also under the floor, hence you are literally surrended my Moki’s coloured bricks.

Impressions of “Mindscapes” by Moki Yuitza @Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Some pictures build pairs, one showing the a couple in front of or surrounded by the different bricks that form an own structured building or geometrial form, in the correspondent picture Moki placed the couple or only their hands in the foreground and the structure(s) in the background. What you see or perceive is all a question of the perspective or of your standpoint. As intended one can loose oneself in the structured mindspace – mind escape – mindscape. Quite facinating and artful!

Moki Yuitza is in Second Life for over 13 years. I came across her several times lately seeing quite different art from her. I saw Geomorphism at DixMix Gallery in December 2020 (read here), CELLS at The Sim Quarterly in March 2021 (read here) and Genesis at DixMix Gallery (read here).
Moki wrote about herself: “In RL I am an architect and in this metaverse I found the possibility to realize my idea of ​​space and my architectural fantasy, as well as to share it with other people.” (taken from the accompaniny notecard.
Moki has also a flickr account and an own website.

Impressions of “Mindscapes” by Moki Yuitza @Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (3)

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. She has a separete room at the gallery to showcase her own art, the main room is mostly dedicated to feature other artists.
Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Mindscapes” by Moki Yuitza, which will be open for the public throughout January 2021. And thank you Moki for your great artwork. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1002
Moki Yuitza’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148055295@N07/
Moki Yuitza’s blog website
https://mokiyuitza.blogspot.com/

Art in Second Life 2021 (47) Genesis by Moki Yuitza

23 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

I visited “Genesis” by Moki Yuitza, an exhibition that opened May 8th at DixMix Gallery in room “Amona”.

“Genesis” by Moki Yuitza @ DixMix Gallery (1)

Genesis consists of 10 pictures in which you follow the genesis of a female being that slowly breaks through all walls and barriers until she shows in kind of a victory pose. Each picture is highlighted with a glowinf white frame that increases the expression of each pictures.

Moki Yuitza is in Second Life for over 12 years. I came across her twice lately seeing quite different art from her. I saw Geomorphism at DixMix Gallery in December 2020 (read here) and CELLS at The Sim Quuarterly in March 2021 (read here)
I found this about Moki from a notecard for La Maison d’Aneli: “In RL I am an architect and in this metaverse I found the possibility to realize my idea of ​​space and my architectural fantasy, as well as to share it with other people.”
Moki has also a flickr account and an own website.

“Genesis” by Moki Yuitza @ DixMix Gallery (2)

Thank you Dixmix for providing and curating the DixMix Gallery, thank you Megan for building it and for contributing to it, and last but not least thank you Moki Yuitza for your installation. I enjoyed my visit.
As exhibtions stay open 4 to 5 weeks at DixMix Gallery, “Genesis” by Moki Yuitza should be open for the public until June 4th or June 11th.

Landmark to DixMix Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madori%20Bay/46/213/22
DixMix Gallery website
https://www.dixmixgallery.xyz/
Moki Yuitza’s Flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148055295@N07/
Moki Yuitza’s website
https://mokiyuitza.blogspot.com/

Art in Second Life 2021 (21) CELLS by Moki Yuitza at simquarterly

06 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

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

Scrolling through scoop.it SL Destination on Sunday, February 14th, I came across “CELLS by Moki Yuitza“. The entry led to an article on “The sim quarterly”-blog: “Welcome to CELLS by Moki Yuitza“, in which Electric Monday gives some insight into the current installation at simquarterly – CELLS by Moki Yuitza.

I will first quote a lot from this blogpost and from a notecard I got in the welcome area at simquarterly as it is written well and contains a lot of useful and important information to fully enjoy this excellent artwork:

Suppose we can look inside the brain of an Artificial Intelligence, and above all see how it works, how its parts work. What would we see? In a digital world where everything is possible, who knows. Maybe this is what we would be able to see: Cells.
Upon arriving at The Sim Quarterly welcome area, the bot welcomes visitors via an IM with information about the installation, the artist, and settings to help with graphics for viewing CELLS. Next to her is a cone that dispenses information about a game Moki has put together for you while you explore CELLS.
To exit the landing area and enter the installation, just click the glowing center of the portal and arrive at the main part of CELLS!

Impressions of CELLS by Moki Yuitza (1) – The welcome ares / entering the installation

After the short trip to the ground, you will see before you an illuminated path leading you to the center of CELLS – along the way, don’t forget to locate the cones. Moki has created and hidden some lights that will change you, others around you, and most importantly the exhibit as you wander with this attached light. Each level has one hidden light for you to find. Look for a white cone like the one next to The Sim Quarterly avatar in the welcome area. There are 5 cones on each level, but only one of the cones has the prize in it!
Each light is different. Wear one alone or add with the other lights that you found on other levels, and the result will be different. On the last level, you’ll find the final light.

Impressions of CELLS by Moki Yuitza (2) – inside of the installation

I entered the portal and was brought to the ground. The structure is huge, really huge. It looks like a large highrise building, an illuminated path led me into it and to the central stairwell. Dont forget to explore the ground level as you find the first cone with a light on this level. climbing up the stairs you get great views. The whole building is packed with large spheres, some are solid, some are just grids, some are white, some are coloured. The floors are transparent, hence looking up and down offers even more views.

The ever changing lights, the moving spheres, the lights your wear, everything changes your experience. The pictures I made can’t be ever reproduced. They are stills taken from temporary virtual art. I was laways fascinated from the possibilities of light installations and Moki plays virtuously with light. The installation changes no only by the light you attach to yourself, but also by its own movement. You can fly, walk, and run. I enjoyed every second of my visit.

Impressions of CELLS by Moki Yuitza (3) – inside of the installation

The lights change how you look yourself. It is intriguing to see how a different colour seemingly changes who you are. The pictures I took of myself in different colours reminded me of Andy Warhol. I had fun.

Moki Yuitza is in Second Life for over 12 years. I came across her three times so far. One time in 2019 when she was participating in an exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli (read here), one time when I visited an installation of her at LEA 19 “Hypercube – labyrinth of the mind” in 2018 (read here) and just recently I saw her installation “Geomorphism” at DixMix Gallery (read here). Moki has had a lot more exhibtions and installation, that I missed. Her profile is full of installations of her that are gone in the meanwhile. The virtual world is even more short-lived than the physical world.

I found this about Moki from a notecard for La Maison d’Aneli: “In RL I am an architect and in this metaverse I found the possibility to realize my idea of ​​space and my architectural fantasy, as well as to share it with other people.”

Impressions of CELLS by Moki Yuitza (4) – coloured Diomita, pictures NOT taken by Andy Warhol *winks*

Simquarterly is a sim and initiative of Electric Monday:
“Art and the virtual world, Second Life© are very similar — you are able to both find yourself and immerse yourself (and maybe even lose yourself) in something totally unlike what you already know. The experiences you gain help you grow and form new opinions about the world. That is what I hope this sim can provide over time. I am very excited to bring to you a quarterly art project by way of The Sim Quarterly.
The project features one creator every 3 months (every quarter) as an artist in residence. The purpose of the sim is so that residents can experience something new and even create a community.”
Simquarterly has an own website.

Landmark to Cells by Moki Yuitza
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Sim%20Quarterly/7/10/1403
Simquarterly website
http://thesimquarterly.com/
Blogpost about CELLS by Moki Yuitza on Simquarterly
https://thesimquarterly.com/2021/02/13/welcome-to-cells-by-moki-yuitza/

Art in Second Life 2020 (85) Moki Yuitza – Geomorphism

30 Dec 2020 1 Comment

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

I visited “Geomorphism”, an installation by Moki Yuitza at the art platform of DixMix Gallery.

Geomorphism is an art intallation using a lot of light effects. You should set your windlight to midnight for seeing it correctly. Geomorphism is set up in a cube. In the center is a big tree. All walls are covered with sort of geometrical forms – and they are permanently changing. The main light effect is in white and is topped with a kind of aurea borealis. Hence you get a lot of different impressions, depending where you look at, at what time, from what viewing angle.

Impressions of “Geomorphism” by Moki Yuitza at DixMix Gallery (1)

But there is more than that, there are several smaller trees that are decorated with spheres, there are flowers on the ground and grass …. and all is mainly in white. The light effects are amazing and my pictures have become an artwork themselves, unique, not reproducable.

Moki Yuitza is in Second Life for over 12 years. I came across her twice so far. One time in 2019 when she was participating in an exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli (read here) and one time when I visited an installation of her at LEA 19 “Hypercube – labyrinth of the mind” in 2018 (read here).
Moki has had a lot more exhibtions and installations, that I missed though. Well you can’t see all and everything in Second Life *winks*. Moki’s profile is full of installations of her that are gone in the meanwhile. The virtual world is even more short-lived than the physical world.

Impressions of “Geomorphism” by Moki Yuitza at DixMix Gallery (2)

I found this about Moki from a notecard for La Maison d’Aneli: “In RL I am an architect and in this metaverse I found the possibility to realize my idea of ​​space and my architectural fantasy, as well as to share it with other people.” That does fit to Geomorphism at DixMix Gallery as well.

Impressions of “Geomorphism” by Moki Yuitza at DixMix Gallery (3)

Thank you Dixmix for providing and curating the DixMix Gallery, thank you Megan for building it and for contributing to it, and last but not least thank you Moki Yuitza for your installation. I enjoyed my visit.
“Moki Yuitza – Geomorphism” will stay open for visitors at least until end of Jan 2021.

Landmark to DixMix Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madori%20Bay/46/213/22
Moki Yuitza’s Flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148055295@N07/

Simploring 2019 (97) La Maison d’Aneli in September / October 2019

19 Sep 2019 5 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I got an invite from Aneli Abeyante to the opening of the new joined exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli on September, 18th. As I knew that I couldn’t attend that day, I visited the exhibition already on Tuesday, Sepembter 17th.

The exhibition presents the art from Eylinea, Olympes Rhode, Desy Magic, Megan Prumier, Akim Alonzo, Jolieelle Parfort and Moki Yuitza

I started my tour through the exhibition with Eylinea’s art. Eylinea is quite new in Second Life, she joined in May 2018, and got in contact to recognized artists who generously transmitted their art to her. Since then she has been exploring with great pleasure the different artistic possibilities of SL: painting, photography, sculpture and even soon tattoo creation. At La Maison d’Aneli she shows some animated 3D paintings and scultures. Unfortuantely you can’t really take a picture as you caputre just one single moment, but then at least the picture is unique.

Eylinea’s art at La Maison d’Aneli

The exhibition part of Olympe (Olympes Rhode) is named “Trip to Normandy: 2019/1944 – RL & SL pictures”. Olympe says about herself: “Passionate by words and images, Second Life has allowed me to give a new dimension to my passions, poetry and photography ….. My photos tell a story. They reflect the emotions within me,  with either happiness or sadness, explosion of joy or dismay, they always are created with the same intense passion.”
The exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli shows pictures of a trip to Normandy in 2019 and mixes with some on 1944, when the Normandy was the landing site of the allied troups liberating Europe and was the site of many battles.

Olympe’s art at La Maison d’Aneli / lower right shows one of two sculptures from Mistero Hifeng that are exhibited in the area of Olympe’s corner at La Maison d’Aneli

Desy Magic is a passionate photographer and she has a unique and colourful style in which she processes her pictures and makes them real eye catchers. You can still see the original motif yet the abstract forms or objects added to her picture are a dominant element, intriguing.

Desy’s art at La Maison d’Aneli

Megan Prumier is a multimedia artist and resident in Second Life. Her skills are extended on the field of photography, mostly portraits on modern, minimal and even surreal Scenes. The exhibited pictures at La Maison d’Aneli are in black and white and they are quite dark. And they are shown at a dark corner of La Maision d’Aneli. By this artistic light setting, the women shown in her pictures are highlighted and get a mysterious aura. Amazing what can be done with light.

Megan’s art at La Maison d’Aneli

The art of Akim (Akim Alonzo) is in a seperate room. The floor, the ceiling and the walls are black, green letter, symbols and figures run along all walls and are the only source of light beside the exhibited pictures. This setting fits to the name of this exhibition part at La Maison d’Aneli – “The Matrix”. The pictures are loosely based on the cult movie The Matrix. A metaphor for a world of people trapped in a simulated, virtual reality that has many aspects in common with the Secondlife world.
Akim is a traveller and photographer in Second Life and he owns “The Itakos Art Gallery” and runs a website.

Akim’s art at La Maison d’Aneli

Jolie (Jolieelle Parfort) work in virtual/digital art is a new direction in a long art career. “After finding myself retired I discovered an extremely enjoyable virtual world with my new computer and became immersed in Second Life.  In this world the landscapes and tableaux available seem never ending and various;  there is always a new scene or setting to challenge me and to capture.“

Jolie’s art at La Maison d’Aneli

Moki Yuitza is in SL for over 11 years now: “From the beginning I found myself more comfortable working with SL basic prims. With simple, basic shapes, and some manipulation possibilities, I can create almost everything. Although I appreciate the possibilities offered by the meshes, I continue to create exclusively using prim base. In RL I am an architect and in this metaverse I found the possibility to realize my idea of ​​space and my architectural fantasy, as well as to share it with other people.”
When you visit her art installation “La SERRE” at La Maison d’Aneli make sure that your set your windlight to midnight, otherwise you’ll be blinded by the light. Moki is inviting us to sit down, to watch the moving and ever changing ojects and light, to mediate and to be drawn into her installation.

Moki’s art at La Maison d’Aneli

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 Aneli for another great exhibition and thank you to all artists. I don’t know how long the current exhibition will last, but I guess that you have at least a month to see it. Enjoy your visit, if you go there yourself.

Landmark to La Maison d’Aneli
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oak%20Park/101/136/3502
Website Akim (Akim Alonzo)
http://www.itakos.it
The Itakos Art Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ATL/212/189/1009

Simploring 2018 (90) Hypercube – labyrinth of the mind

28 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

On scoop.it SL Destinations I saw a picture of “Hypercube – labyrinth of the mind“, an installation by Moki Yuitza at LEA 19. In Oema’s “Virtuality”-blog I read a short interview with Moki, then I visited it myself on Monday October 15th.

You land outside of the cube where you can grab a notecard with recommendations how to adjust the settings of your viewer, but there’re also boards explaining it. Hypercube is a maze within a cube with 3 floors, each floor contains 8 scenes, so in total there’s 24 scenes. For Moki it is “a personal journey through dreams, emotions, memories and nightmares in search of the path to the exit” and she invites the visitor to find an own story.

In most of the scenes you will see doll avatars. At the landing point you can grab a female or a male doll avatar, which you can use for your visit of Hypercube. Each scene offers two poseballs, a heart for a female pose and a star for the male pose. With these poses you can get involved into the scene yourself. I can imagine that visiting as a couple using these dolls avatars will provide another experience. I decided to visit Hypercube without using the doll Avatar.

There are two ways of exploring, either on foot or using teleport points that lead from scene to scene. The three floors are connected by a staircase in the center of the cube. Due to the transparent walls of the labyrinth and due to the many colourful light beams, that cross the cube, the scenes appear different depending on the viewing angle. Sometimes you see other scenes in the background through the transparent walls, in one scene a transparent walls seperates the two doll couple.

The 24 scenes deal with different situations of life, with love, with fear, with family, with hope and even with mortal peril. You will find scenes with large and scary monsters, monsters that seem to have sprung directly from a nightmare. You see the dolls trying to hide or to protect themselves from the monsters. Depending on your own thoughts, you will find situations of your own life expressed by the dolls.

Hypercube is creative art. By the light effects and the transparent walls every visitor gets a different view on it and makes a unique experience. In addition, the possibility to visit as a doll avatar or as a couple provides even more variations. The scenes are thoughtfully built and cover a wide range of possible interpretations, from birth to death. Hypercube is a the kind of art you can only see and experience in a virtual environment like Second Life.
Thank you Moki for this installation. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Hypercube
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA19/238/242/21
Interview with Moki Yuitza published in Oema’s “Virtuality”-blog
https://virtuality.blog/2018/10/11/hypercube-by-moki-yuitza-lea19/