Category: Art in Second Life

Now open at Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko ‘冬子’ Amano (Wintergeist), are two small exhibitions by Eviana (eviana Robbiani) – under the name La Robbinani – and Wintergeist herself.

For her exhibition, La Robbiani uses the theme of Shoshin (初心) – the idea of separating yourself from all preconceptions when studying a subject -, and of being open to all ideas in an attempt to avoid becoming trapped in a closed loop of thinking and missing everything a lesson my have to teach us.

It’s a concept that has its basis in Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts – although it can be applied to almost any subject. For her exhibition, La Robbiani uses it to encourage the observer to come to each of the six images she displays with fresh eyes and to avoid any preconceptions about their nature clouding our ability to see them as they are.

This actually makes reviewing this exhibition, beautifully presented within and Oriental structure (perhaps more Chinese than Japanese), a little hard: anything I say here is liable to result n readers visiting the exhibit to enter it with at least some preconception. But – that’s why it is important to keep the idea of Shoshin at the forefront of any thoughts about the exhibition on entering.

What I will say is that each of the six studies are beautifully presented, each with its own theme – but again more Chinese in nature that Japanese. A couple of them should perhaps be considered as NSFW as they contain a degree of nudity, but all six should be considered both individually and in the context of its title.

Also located on the ground floor of the gallery is Wintergeist’s own exhibition.

Comprising twelve images, both easels and wall mounted,  this is an exhibition that demonstrates the full beauty of her work; they cover landscape images and avatar studies presented in both colour and black and white. Some have admittedly been previously exhibited, but this doesn’t lessen the fact that all of them speak to the art and craft of a gifted photographer and artist.

Taken with the exhibition by oYo (Oyona), which continues on the gallery’s mezzanine level (and which you can read about here), these make for a further engaging visit to Club LA and Gallery.

SLurl Details

• Club LA and Gallery (Amano, rated: Moderate)

In September 2018, I wrote about the Rainbow Painters Art Gallery. Curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Dumpling (patience Roxley), the gallery offers free space to artists both new to exhibiting their work in Second Life and those who are established on the exhibition circuit.

The open nature of the gallery means that it presents a broad range of art, both from within Second Life and from the physical world, with the Second Life art encompassing both 2D and 3D work.

At the time of my second visit, the gallery featured another broad spectrum of art, including 3D work of reycharles, the physical world art of Moya Patrick (Moya Janus – actually French artist Patrick Moya), the physical world photography of Black Rose, the marvellous mixed-media portraiture of Cybele Moon (hana Hoobinoo), the fabulous nature photography of Anibrm Jung, the surreal art of Tani Thor, and Monroe Snook, displaying some of her fractal art.

These artists alone make a trip to the gallery, however, they are also joined by a number of artists I’ve not previously encountered, and their work adds further depth to a visit.

There is the fascinating physical world art of Pure Lovee, for example, or the line drawings of Viktor Savior (which includes a stunning portrait of David Bowie), to name but two of the talents on display. Of them all, I confess to being particularly drawn to the two pieces offered by Siobhán Muintir (Qorell); taken from within Second Life, they are in a world, beautiful.

Those wishing to add their art to that being displayed at Rainbow Painters should contact either Timo or  Patience in-world. As I noted in September, the gallery shares a quarter-region with an open-air games area (table games and 10-pin bowling) and dance / events space. Join the local Rainbow Painters group for details of local events.

SLurl Details

• Rainbow Painters Art Gallery (Chadara, rated; Moderate)

Monroe Snook has a new home for her art, courtesy of Milly Sharple. Called the Art Bistro, it offers an impressive insight into Monroe’s art, both from the physical world and from within SL.

Art expression for me is in the experience of the creative process. The thrill of a piece as it unveils itself as I work. The process can be slow and tedious or a quick snap. The work is in command – I am but its servant.

– Monroe Snook

Monroe’s physical art is a fascinating blend of nature and abstract; wonderful plant-like creations, some mindful of sea anemones or even triffids, others organic forms of fractal images. There is a rich vibrancy on the use of colours in these images that adds depth to the feeling they are each alive, whether plant-like in form or more crustacean in shape and feel.

Within her photography, Monroe demonstrates an equally rich ability to present mood or narrative – so much so, that I actually regretted finding three example of her photographic work on display in the gallery space.

Art expression for the viewer is in the interaction with the completed work. Spend time to get to know a work. Make [it] yours. Listen to its song.

– Monroe Snook

This is a selection of pieces that also demonstrate the richness of Monroe’s approach to her art: and approach that encompasses paints and brushes, scans of objects, original sketches, digital art tools such as fractal generation programs and tools like Photoshop.

All told, a welcome return to exhibiting her art from a talented artist.

SLurl Details

• Art Bistro (Serena Montecito, rated: Moderate)

Wintertime in the northern hemisphere is when thoughts turn to snow and holidays, and within Second Life, this is no exception. Many regions take on a winter look and feel, the ground, trees and buildings caught under white blankets or dusted with snow, even as more often falls from the sky. For many in the physical world, despite the cold, it is a time of joy and for treks through virgin drifts of snow or – in the case of the younger at heart snow fairies, snowmen and sledges and sleighs.

Celebrating this time of year is not new; people have always found enjoyment with winter and the changes it brings to the world, and right now we can witness this for ourselves at a recently opened exhibition of art at The Vordun Museum and Gallery, created and curated by Jake Vordun.

Entitled Frost: Visions of Winter, it offers selected reproductions of classical pieces of art spanning 500 years, celebrating winter in all its glory, as the introductory notes explain:

In this exhibition, you will see twenty painting, drawings, prints and manuscripts depicting different aspects of the season. Be it landscapes, winter costumes or feasts by the fire, these pieces will show you glimpses of winter from the  15th century to the 20th.

The Vordun has a reputation – thoroughly deserved – for bringing high-quality reproductions of physical world art, properly licensed, into Second Life. This exhibition, located in the gallery’s rearmost hall, is no exception. Including paintings and drawings by the likes of Francesc Masriera i Manovens, Jacob van Ruisdael, Sebastiaan Vrancx, Claude Monet,  Jean-Baptiste Pater, Francis Wheatley and Hendrick Avercamp, this might at first be considered a wholly European view of winter – but not so; America is represented via James Abbott McNeill Whistler, as is China through the ink on paper Winter Forest in Flying Snow by Wen Zhengming, with Scandinavian artists also being present among the images.

I really cannot stress the quality of these pieces, which together with the environment in which they are set. As I noted when it first opened in July 2016, The Vordun beautifully recreates the experience of visiting a physical world art gallery – so much so that it one of the those select Second Life experiences that leaves me regretting we cannot have fully immersive virtual reality in Second Life. Certainly, for those building in Sansar, it is perhaps the model of how to plan and build a virtual gallery space.

This is not only because of the look and feel of The Vordun, but in the way Jake has developed a visit as a Second Life experience in the technical sense of the word, presenting visitors with the opportunity to view the works in the main hall exhibition of European Masters: 300 Years of Painting as immersively as possible, via scripted camera control and the use of both voice and text to impart information on each piece on display.

Sadly, this aspect of The Vordun doesn’t extend into Frost: Visions of Winter, but that is not to say the latter is lessened in any way; rather the reverse. Frost stands as a captivating exhibition in its own right, while for those who haven’t visited The Vordun before, the presentation of European Masters: 300 Years of Painting, makes a visit to the gallery doubly worthwhile – and also gives the opportunity to appreciate two other long-running exhibitions there: Pictures of the Floating World and Dutch Proverbs (both of which you can read about here), which are as equally stunning as Frost and European Masters, and sample Postcrossing, a celebration of the website of the same name and the use of postcards to bring half a million people around the world a little closer together.

SLurl Details

• The Vordun Museum and Gallery (Rated: Moderate)