Category: Art in Second Life

April 4th, 2018, marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. To commemorate this, and more particularly his work advancing civil rights through non-violence and civil disobedience, Adams Dubrovna has put together an exhibit entitled Martin Luther King, which is now on display at the Museum of Sacred and Narrative Art.

Across 32 display panels, Adams traces key points in Dr. King’s life, starting with an examination of his education, and concluding with his final public appearance  on April 3rd, 1968 at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), at which he gave his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address.

In 1954 Dr. King became pastor of the Dexter Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. In March 1955, Claudette Colvin – a fifteen-year-old black schoolgirl in Montgomery – refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in violation of Jim Crow laws, local laws in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation. King was on the committee for the Birmingham African-American community that looked into the case – but a decision was made not to pursue it, as it involved a minor.

Then, in December that year, Rosa Parks also refused to give up her seat, and was arrested for “civil disobedience”. The NAACP, working through their local chapter president Edgar Nixon, saw Parks as the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge on the matter of segregation, and she so and Dr. King become central figures in the American civil rights movement, starting with the Montgomery bus boycott.

This – together with the bombing of King’s home on January 27th, 1956 (he was preaching at the time) and his own arrest (the first of many) – mark the starting point for the exhibition tracing his civil rights activism.  The panels the trace the key moments in his life and the civil rights movement in chronological order, many of them using Dr. King’s own words. These include the Albany Movement, the Birmingham campaign, the 1963 march on Washington DC,  and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.

Also marked is the King’s place on the international stage (through a look at their visit to India in 1959 and his opposition to the Việt Nam war). Many of the panels include Dr. King’s own words, making them particularly poignant, particularly the excerpt of his April 3rd, 1968 address at the Mason Temple. This reads as prophetic in light of the events that followed on April 4th, 1968. Wisely, the exhibition doesn’t unduly dwell on Dr. King’s death at the hand of James Earl Ray, but rather passes on to some of the monuments erected in his memory in the United States.

On the floor above Martin Luther King is an exhibition of images and plans of the Ellora caves, one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It features Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the 600-1000 CE period.

The exhibition focuses on the latter two: Hindu and Jain temples and art, referred to as caves 13–29 and caves 30–34, respectively. It’s something of a mixed media exhibit, featuring photographs, slide shows and information boards / givers. The Hindu caves form the first part of the exhibit located at the top of the steps from the Martin Luther Exhibition. It is centre on a pair of large format photographs of the Kailasa Temple.

There is a route around this display – commencing with the early Hindu period, then the Kailasa Temple images, complete with floor plans, and on through the Jian caves and art. The information note cards provide a fair amount of information, although the information buttons on the slide shows might be a little confusing – they provide a landmark to the in-world store for the slide show panels rather than information on the images they display.

For those looking for an exhibition or two with a historical lean, Martin Luther King and the Ellora Caves display could be well worth a visit. The former nicely compacts Dr. King’s life into an easily digestible presentation and avoids reading as preaching. The Ellora Caves display offers some excellent images of the caves, art and temple ruins, although it would be nice to have some form of credit offered for them – even if they are from the exhibitor’s own collection – would add a little more depth for those wishing to do further reading.

SLurl Details

• Martin Luther King (Museum of Sacred and Narrative Art, Mugunghwa, rated: Moderate)

Now open at the Serena Imagine Arts Centre, curated by Vita Theas is a new exhibition of images by Storie’s  Helendale (GlitterPrincess Destiny). Spirits of the Sea is, as with Storie’s previous exhibitions, a themed piece, the images reflecting a thought or narrative.

The core element of this theme is provided via a blank verse Storie’s provides with the introduction to the piece:

In my imagination I felt to create the sense…
… that spirits or ghosts
inhabit the sea
with maybe an untimely demise
never the less they continue with their lives
pieces of memories
as seen through my eyes… or the spirits.

So it is that, under a lowering sky befitting the theme, are more than 20 ethereal piece set out over a foaming sea broken by a rocky shoreline. Twelve of the images are set out either side of two cylindrical walkways pointing out to sea. These give the impression you are perhaps in an aquarium or under the sea, looking out at the images within the waters “surrounding” the tunnels. Ladders at the far ends of the tubes allow you to climb down to the water itself – invisiprims prevent any risk of sinking – so you can walk out over the water to see the rest of the pieces.

Taken as a whole, Storie’s pictures displayed here at first appear to be an eclectic mix. All are very ethereal in tone – again, as befitting the theme of spirits and the departed. However, some suggest memories being recalled – the woman putting washing out to dry; the children playing basketball. Others perhaps suggest past tragedies or illness which led to the people within them becoming spirits, lost to the physical world but still going about their business in the other world of our oceans.

But is their existence a happy one? Again, some suggest being caught in a particular moment – that point of death where, beneath the surface of the waves with lungs aching, that final inhalation has been taken, and the body started on a slow journey into the Deep; the torment of helplessness evoked by wheelchair and straitjacket as fears are manifested in the form of sharks circling.

But not all of the images are dark like this; there is also a sense of friendship continued, a flicker here and there of love, dance, companionship – and waiting. In this the clue to all that is going on within these timeless moments is perhaps encapsulated in another blank verse, rising from the waters close to the landing point.

Your arrival makes us certain
our spirits will remain
preserved
as we breath in your colours.

we … have become so
fashionable
as we sleepwalk past our lives.

In echoed depths
Blended well.

An intriguing, captivating exhibition.

SLurl Details

• Spirits of the Sea, Serena Imagine Arts Centre (Serena Imagine, rated: Moderate)

The Kultivate Magazine 2018 Spring Art Show officially opens on Friday, April 6th, and runs through until Saturday, April 14th. This celebration of 3D and 2D art features more than 40 participating artists, with both juried and non-juried art competitions, with those participating in the juried event competing to win a shared prize pot, gift cards, and more.

The event – which is taking place on a specially constructed show area at Kultivate Magazine’s home region of Water Haven – will also feature live performers, two hunts, a photo contest and learning opportunities.

The juried 2D and 3D artists are: AJ, CalystiaMoonShadow, Maaddi, Carly Afterthought, Wintergeist, Wild Alchemi, Sheba Blitz, Chanasitsayo, Eucalyptus Carroll, Avalon Chrome, Erkek DeCuir, Bellissa Dion, Slatan Dryke, Gwen Enchanted, Bri Graycloud, Syphera Inaka, Lala Lightfoot, Aquarius Lowtide,  Dakota Lavarock, Sabine Mortenwold, Pipit Peacedream, FiordiligiDaPonte Resident, KodyMeyers Resident, M8ty Resident, SecondHandTutti Resident, Jamee Sandalwood, Elle Thorkveld, Lucia Tophat,  Silverwind Tzedek, FreeDom Voix,  and Myra Wildmist.

The non-juried artists are: Eleseren Brianna, Jasmin Currier, Bellissa Dion, GlitterPrincess Destiny, Slatan Dryke, Hana Hoobinoo, aht1981 resident, Johannes1977 Resident, Kimblecoles Resident, M8ty Resident, Mangrovejane Resident, Eviana Robbiani (La Robbiani), Catalina Staheli, iSkye Silverweb, and Veruca Tammas.

Event Schedule

All times SLT.

• Friday, April 6th, 2018:
  • 08:00: Art Show opens and hunt, quest and photo contest begin.
  • 16:00-17:00: Live Performer Parker Static
• Saturday, April 7th, 2018:
  • 13:00-14:00: Coffee-house Learning Hour – Beginners or Refresher’s SL Photography with Kaijah Chrome.
  • 16:00-17:00: Coffee-house Learning Hour – Marketing Yourself as an Artist with John Brianna.
• Sunday, April 8th, 2018:
  • 13:00-14:00: Coffee-house Learning Hour – Using Flickr to the Max with John Brianna.
  • 16:00-17:00: Coffee-house Learning Hour – Basic Photo Editing with John Brianna.
• Monday, April 9th, 2018:
  • 16:00-17:00: Live Performer Nina Bing.
• Tuesday, April 10th, 2018:
  • 16:00-17:00: Live Performer Wolfie Starfire.
• Wednesday, April 11th:
  • 12:00-13:00: Coffee-house Learning Hour – Useful Stuff For Making Art with Eleseren Brianna.
  • 16:00-17:00: Live Performer Lark Bowen.
• Thursday, April 12th, 2018:
  • 16:00-17:00: Live Performer Melenda Mikael.
• Friday, April 13th, 2018:
  • 16:00-17:00: Live Performer Dimivan Ludwig.
  • 20:00: Photo contests ends.
• Saturday, April 14th, 2018:
• 13:00-14:00: Coffee-house Learning Hour – Copyright & Creative Commons in Photography with Veruca Tammas.
• 15:00-16:00: Seanchai Library.
• 16:00-17:00: Awards Event & Closing Party.
• 20:00: hunt and quest end, photo contest winners announced.

For details on the hunt, quest and photo contest, please refer to the information boards at the event.

SLurl Details

• Kultivate Magazine Spring Art Show information Page
• Kultivate Magazine Spring Art Show landing point (Water Haven, rated Moderate – available when the shoe opens on Friday, April 6th)

 

Now open at the Artists In Residence gallery in the InterstellART, curated by Asmita Duranjaya, is a new exhibition of physical world photography by Fuyuko Amano (Wintergeist). Entitled Entscheidungen (decisions), it is dedicated to her father, who recently passed away, and so forms something of a personal exhibition of art.

A further dedication to her father sits alongside the landing point for the exhibit, which reads:

One morning you do not wake up. The birds sing as they sang yesterday. Nothing changes this new daily routine. Only you left. You are free now and our tears wish you luck.

Inside the gallery space, a dozen photographs are offered for viewing. They at first appear to be a curious mix: a building, an autumn leaf, a deliberately blurred night scene, an empty corridor, and so on. They seem to be random – and perhaps they are; yet, a considered look at them, taken with their titles (just right-click and edit to view), and perhaps something more is revealed.

When we lose someone, the mind becomes a waterfall of memories and mood, thoughts and feelings. The closer that person was to us, then the more tumultuous the thoughts. We can feel alone, caught between places and feelings – sometimes happy, others sad; places we can go to and remember, places that remind us, unbidden by conscious thought. Our moods become complex, layered; the familiar seems emptier, stranger, and it’s hard  – at first – not to count the passing of time when they are no longer there, doing what we know was part of their life.

This is this cascade of thoughts and feelings that might be reflected in the images offered here: rather than being a study of leaves turning red with the passage of the seasons, Herbst (Autumn)  becomes a reminder of what has now come to an end; Night City personifies the way the once familiar can seem suddenly strange to our eyes after the loss of a loved one; Here and There captures that sense of being capture between moods and memories; while In the City of Ghosts, Allein (Alone) and Don’t lose Your Way, speak powerfully and clearly without the need for translation here.

This is – as I noted – something of a personal display of photography, both in the way it is dedicated to the passing of a family member, and because of the manner in which Wintergeist appears to be opening her heart and feelings to use, allowing us a glimpse inside. Artistically speaking, it is also a visually captivating set of images; each beautifully framed and cleanly presented without the distraction of framing.

SLurl Details

• Entscheidungen (InterstellART, rated: Moderate)

The Rose Gallery, located at Kaya Angel’s stunning Angel Manor has re-opened its doors with an ensemble exhibition, focused on art and photography by Shadow (MyShadowSelf) and Melodiyaa (aka Aphrodite Pandemos), a display of Fabergé eggs, and which includes a selection of images from curator Shakti Sugafield (Shakti Adored).  The art is displayed over two floors of the Manor, which has a total of seven rooms forming the Rose Gallery.

Melodiyaa is both a writer and a photographer. She has written for a number magazines in the Netherlands, and had always regarded photography as a hobby. However, when writing one article, she found she was without an assigned photographer – so she took along her camera and submitted her own photos with the article. As a result, she found herself in demand as both a writer and a photographer.

For the exhibition at the Rose, located in Gallery 1, on the ground floor, six photographs Melodiyaa took whilst in Venice are presented to visitors. It’s a superb selection, mixing familiar sites: a view across the canals with St Mark’s Campanile in the background, gondolas moored along the canals, with more unusual – dare I say intimate studies – the décor on a gondola, the shuttered window of a house, the broken adobe of a wall, exposing the brickwork beneath.

In galleries 3 and 4, also on the ground floor and across the lobby area from Gallery 1, Shadow offers a broad selection of her digital art. She notes that she has little formal training in art, her degree being in philosophy, and that she views her art as meditative; a counter-balance to her mental activity, which often ranges to thoughts of the nature of existence and consciousness, from both scientific and spiritual perspectives.

The art on display spans landscapes, mandala-like pieces, chakras, fantasy-like works and more. some appear to have been grouped thematically. They also show a rich mix of materials and approaches: acrylic, pastel and pencil, mixed media, pastels and coloured pencils; all of which offer the visitor an intriguing insight of the artist and her work.

The upper gallery spaces host a historic display of events from Angel Manor’s past and the selected art from Shakti’s personal collection. These bracket the main exhibition hall, in which is the display of some of the most delicate Fabergé eggs I’ve seen in Second Life, with marvellous models by Pandora (Heloise Ghostaltar), Claire-Sophie de Rocoulle (tjay007), Pamela Galli, and Alia Baroque. Camming in on these is highly recommended, as they are exquisite (see the GIF below). They share the hall with a display of miniature bunnies by Eeky Cioc, Leo Maven and Apple Falls, and are preceded by a short history of the painted eggs.

An interesting ensemble exhibition, with a rich mix of art, my one critique is that it might perhaps be easy to miss the displays of work by Shadow and Melodiyaa, simply because the landing point and signage tends to direct arrivals to the upper floors, and with the ground floor galleries set back on either side, they might easily be missed.

An official opening for the gallery is set for 12:00 noon on Sunday, April 1st, featuring the music of Oblee.

SLurl Details

• The Rose Gallery (Angel Manor, rated: Moderate)