Category: Art in Second Life

Now open at Konect Art Gallery curated by Gonzalo Osuna (Jon Rain) are two new exhibitions from two unique artists, each of whom has a gift of telling entire stories in a single frame.

On the lower floor of the gallery is Echoes and Whispers by CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinboo), a collection of 21 images, captivatingly composed and framed, all of them built around expressions of longing and nostalgia framed within an autumnal theme.

Cybele has a marvellous gift for creative images that capture not only a moment in time, but also the perfect expression of an emotion or feeling, presenting it as a story that draws our eyes and imaginations into its very heart. And this is more than the case here; among this collection are some of the most poignant images it has been my privilege to view; marvellously evocative of the emotions defined by the title, whilst in places being reflective of today’s world.

The latter is powerfully set within the monochrome We’ll Get Together Soon, Dad, a piece rich in love and longing, and The Photographers, which reminds us that whilst we must for now remain separated from family and loved ones, there will be times when we again freely mix and have fun together.

Meanwhile, the Lost Airmen of the Empire, whilst capturing a modern light aircraft in soft focus, also invokes bot thoughts of the pioneering days of flight and – given the month with are in – those who took to the air are a part of the fight against world-threatening tyranny.

On the upper floor of the gallery, Rachel Magic (larisalyn) presents a selection of 12 images captured from within second Life, and which are offered under the title Reflections. These are again images that often carry a suggestion of the autumnal months through the use of colour and processing whilst simultaneously framing a thought-grabbing narrative.

There is also a wonderful sense of escape and freedom captured within many of these pieces – time on the beach, watching baby pandas playing on stone steps, the promise of sailing away on open waters, and the chance to simply fly away. This adds a further dimension to this collection that calls to the imagination and the emotions.

I’m barely scratching the surface of wither exhibition here – but as both will be open through until November 14th, why not  hop over the Konect Art Gallery and immerse yourself in the work of two marvellous artists.

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• Konect Art Gallery (Carpathian Island, rated Moderate)

Currently on display at the Michel Bechir Gallery is a ensemble exhibition featuring five Second Life photographer-artists, offering images under the common theme of Emotions. The participating artists are AngeloDiabolico, Mya Audebarn, Max Seagate, Robyn35, and Lynx Luga, with four of the artists on display within the gallery building, and one – AngeloDiabolico – on the courtyard outside.

Given the title of the exhibition, the majority of the images presented focus on avatar studies – but within them, there are also some unexpected pieces that add a twist to the theme, whilst others offer a more narrative slant to the theme.

Take Angelo’s pieces for example; several have a powerful fantasy theme running through them that provide a rich narrative that frames their focus, bringing life and depth to the characters through the suggestion of emotion rather than a direct focusing on the subject. Just look at An Angel Without Wings as singular example: there is a story here just waiting for the imagination to open; one of beauty, fallen angels, regret, loss, loneliness and more, transmitted from the title of the piece through the setting and use of colour to focus down on the central character in such a way the the depth of emotion she is feeling is unmistakable, despite the fact we cannot see her face.

By her own admission, Robyn35 is new to the world of Second life photography and still finding her way; however, her work already has a balance and focus that makes it worthy of exhibition. Located on the upper floor of the gallery, she presents a set of images that might be seen as “traditional” avatar studies: minimal or no background, close-in, often soft focus on the subject, etc. However, in doing so, Robyn demonstrates the ability to transmit emotions through her work in a single frame without the need for us to necessarily click any of them to read the title.

On the lower floor, Mya (for the most part) follows this technique, but with a focus on the facial expression to convey emotion, whilst also using a sense of motion in some of her pieces to give an alternative expression of emotion – freedom, happiness, reflection. The balance of portrait and broader study giving her selection a richness of expression.

Max Seagate also offers a combination of solo images and those using a sense of motion to convey their emotions. He also joins Angelo in presenting several pieces that appear to be moments of broader narrative, in which the captured moment is but a single frame in which the emotional power of that broader picture is focused.

However,and without wishing to appear biased – all of the art in this exhibition is rich in content and its ability to hold the eye – I admit to finding the pieces presented by Lyna Luga within the entrance hall of the gallery particularly compelling.

Among these are the more “traditional” avatar studies, presented here as paintings or in soft focus; there is also the use of motion to transmit emotion. But this is a selection that also includes inanimate objects to generate an emotional response.  Some of these use poetry to aid their framing – but there is one, Silent Courtyard, that appears sans avatars and words or anything one might reasonably expect to generate a sense of emotion; yet it is for me the most emotionally charged of all the images within this exhibit.

With five artists drawn together by theme, Emotions will (I gather) remain in place for around another week or so – so be sure to catch it.

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• Michel Bechir Gallery (Embrace, rated Adult)

Currently open at the Janus I and Janus III galleries at Chuck Clip’s Sinful Retreat are two independent exhibitions by Jennifer Steele (Steele Wilder) and John Huntsman (Johannes Huntsman) that share a common link.

I’m going to start with John’s Latitudes, on display at the Janus III Gallery, as this has been open the longest thus far, having commenced on October 17th.

A Marine Corps officer in the physical world, John is well-known within Second Life as a multi-talented individual: photographer, Second Life entrepreneur responsible for the Kultivate brand that recently extended its portfolio to include live music, arts curator and organiser of Team Diabetes of Second Life, whilst in the physical world he is becoming more involved in his family’s art gallery and learning more about art curation in the process.

John’s photography spans both the physical world and the virtual, and encompasses many genres – landscape, architecture, machinery, vehicles, nature, the parts of the world to which he has been deployed on active duty. He presents his images in a variety of styles from colour to monochrome, whilst using post-processing to offer some with a vintage look and feel. More recently he has started to use digital techniques to render his photographs as paintings, and this has led him into a deeper examination of digital painting.

It is that latter that is particularly offered for display with Latitudes, a selection of 20 pieces, with those on the lower level of the gallery offering a marvellously abstracted series of images that are striking in their use of form, colour and style. Some are richly geometric – straight lines, right angles, etc., others present a more fluid, natural flow of line.

These are complimented by a mixed set of images on the upper level of the gallery that brings John’s other artistic talents to the fore, with marvellous natural images of insects, together with photos-as-paintings of vehicles and boats, a combination that offers a rich diversity of John’s work.

Located in the Janus I Gallery is The Art of Jennifer Steele, which opened on Sunday, October 25th. I  admit I think this exhibition is the first time I’ve seen Jennifer’s work, which is odd considering she has exhibited at the likes of BURN 2 and the original LEA. As with John, she is multi-talented: an artist both in the physical and virtual worlds. She is also a chef, voice-over artist and business woman running her own company, whilst in Second Life she has worked as a volunteer and mentor among many other aspects of her involvement in virtual life.

As an artist she studied Fine Art and Fine Art History at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo Ontario Canada, under the mentorship of Michal Manson. Her work has been featured in the Robert Langen Art Gallery in the late 1980s, and also in the TAG Art Gallery, The Hub On Queen in Niagara Falls and at Niagara Night of Art, all in Canada. Since graduating, she has studied art in both the United States and Europe, and also presents her own art classes on-line.

Jennifer’s work has been influenced by a number of artists and moments, including the Algonquin School (the Group of Seven), Alex Colville, Ken Danby, Wassily Kandinsky and Claude Monet. Some of these influences are notable within the art presented within the Janus gallery. The eight smaller pencil (and chalk) pieces, for example, lean towards the Realist movement and so echo Colville and Danby. Together, they make a series celebrating the female form and are rich in emotion and energy.

These pieces are accompanied by 16 pieces that are of a more abstracted nature, thus offering that thread of connection with John’s exhibition – although Jennifer’s pieces perhaps lean more towards abstract expressionism in places. These are again pieces rich in colour and form, well suited to the large format in which they are displayed.

Taken individually or together, these are two remarkable and attractive exhibitions which sit well within the broader displays of art to be found within Sinful Retreat (see: Unveiled: a new art experience in Second Life), and should be visited both as a part of that, and / or individually.

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Sinful Retreat is rated Adult

• The Art of Jennifer Steele, Janus I Gallery
• Latitudes, Janus III Gallery

Memories Of A Foreign Reality is a new exhibition by Etamae and Imaginary Footprints (01Matthew10) that opened recently in the White Hall of Akim Alzono’s Itakos Project gallery. It’s a fascinating and complex exhibition in terms of concept and execution, although I admit to finding myself slightly at odds with its central tenet as defined by the artists.

Back in the 60`s and 70`s there was a need to raise this individualism as the holy grail. We evolved the individual to the highest goal, and now we see the result.

Millions of confused minds are searching for a hold. Entangled in political and economical strategies. The American dream, or the possibility of being a important person on the world wide web has given us a tenuous hold, a fragile rope that can easily be severed…

…The soul… a character in a context… equal to others… seem to be forgotten. but it is there… it suffers… and it tries to be seen.

– Artist’s statement, Memories Of A Foreign Reality

This description leads into a set of 13 monochrome pieces which I understand have been produced through a collaborative effort between the artists, passing images back and forth , allowing it to evolve in accordance with their individual perceptions. This in itself gives the pieces a unique reflection of the concept of individualism and the merging of ideas and thoughts can be positivity received.

These are pieces that offer multiple aspects. Some are almost abstracted in form and despite being monochrome, bring to mind ideas of the 60’s counter-culture and flower power, and carry suggestions of psychedelics and dream states, the rainbow swirls and bright colours represented by the use of grey and white (vis: Reflected Into The Ether, Hypnotic, 3 Faces of Eve).  Others are a lot darker in imagery and tone, that are both chaotic and oft depicting scenes edged with violence.

However, taken as a whole, all 13 images convey the element of soul (inner self), struggling to be seen / heard. The monochrome nature of the pieces helps to further emphasise this idea of of an inner voice struggling to be heard, as it gives the images the look and feel of photographic negatives, yet to be developed (as in seen and heard).

As such, these are provocative, compelling images, make no mistake; and they do marry to the final part of the artists’ statement as quoted above. So why then my sense of being at odds with that central tenet?

It’s a minor point, but for me (admittedly through the lens of history books rather than personal recollection) while the 1960’s and 1970’s did see a dramatic shift in emphasis in our understanding of “individualism”, given it encompassed the likes of changing in ideas of equality and our understanding of the environment,  together with a broadening of our technical and scientific understandings, this shift was of a broadly positive impact, collectively and individually. Thus, for me, it appears that the disconnect of “self” (/ soul) to which the artists’ refer, didn’t really commence with the rise of the Me Generation, and the coming of utterly partisan socio-political (/religious) drives that occurred at the same time.

But this is is subjective differing of viewpoints, one that might well encourage discussion and debate – but which ultimately doesn’t impact on one’s ability to appreciate Memories Of A Forgotten Reality, or from exploring its concepts and message.

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• Memories Of a Forgotten Reality (Itakos Project, ATL, rated moderate)