Category: Art in Second Life

Surreal Cube is a complex art installation conceived by art archivist Art Blue, known for his celebrations of virtual world art and artists, including The Surreal Tower (of which Surreal Cube could be considered a direct descendent), Art Walk on the Moon (which you can read about here) and A Room for Ferrisquito (which you can read about here).

As with many of Art’s installations, Surreal Cube is enmeshed within a lengthy narrative (provided in note card form at the landing point), involving an attempt to save Earth’s art heritage (in this case, works by Molly Bloom) by building a gigantic space ship – the Surreal Cube – in which the art should be preserved. Those familiar with science-fiction and / or Art’s previous works and activities elsewhere may recognise some of the references within the story, such as Vulcanicus and the passing mention of billionaire SR Hadden – who featured in the late Carl Sagan’s seminal (and only) science-fiction novel, Contact.

While the central focus of the exhibit is Moll’s work, the installation includes contributions by Juliette SurrealDreaming (who is also the exhibit curator), Hyde Hackl, Mistero Hifeng, Gem Preiz, and Moewe Winkler., some of which are placed one inside the next, matryoshka doll style. Mistero’s  sculptures are to be found around the perimeter of the region – perhaps those who came together to witness the landing of the great cube ship before it was frozen in time by Dr. Kawoom, who can be found in one corner of the sculpture parade.

The ship itself sits slightly canted over the dark waters of the region, caught in the moment of landing by Dr. Kawoom when it was realised it was too big for it’s intended landing space. The surface of this vehicle, designed by Gem Preiz, features his trademark fractal designs, which periodically change across the cube’s faces.

Within the vessel lies an aquatic environment designed by Moewe Winkler, occupied by alien life forms and over which a ghostly pirate ship stands-to. Here, also, is a short story by Juliette SurrealDreaming, and an LM giver to visit the Second Life Surreal Tower exhibit. At the very centre of the cube lies an enormous egg designed by Hyde Hackl, within which lies a garden and the gallery of some two dozen pieces of Molly’s art (part of which can be seen in the banner image at the top of this article).

If all this sounds a little confusing, visitors are offered a choice of ways to find their way around. The first is to take the Meta Harper chair, available at the landing point. This takes control of your camera, carrying you a visual tour through the exhibit. The second is to use the network of teleport discs found throughout the installation and which offers the best way to examine each element of the exhibit in turn. In addition, there are various interactive elements – poses, a ridable flying horse – to be found and enjoyed.

The Surreal Cube has a twin available in OpenSim, and the installation will also feature at the Santorini Biennale, running from September 1st through to October 15th, through a video of the exhibit filmed by Wizardoz Chrome. After October 15th, the core of the Surreal Cube will be cleared away, remaining only in OpenSim, and the cube in Second Life used to house further installations curated by Juliette SurrealDreaming.

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• Surreal Cube (Rated: Moderate)

Located on the north coast of Nautilus and occupying almost the entirety of a region, sits the Peace is a Choice Gallery, founded and curated by Dove (TheDove Rhode). It is the home to an art display collected / provided over some nine years, from installations and artists past and present. As well as the gallery spaces, Peace is a Choice provides an event venue and an associated dance studio / meeting place.

Originally founded as the S&S Gallery of Fine Art, the current gallery is centred on a huge steel-and-glass building of sleek, modern design, and which is home to both 2D and 3D art. Outside of this, on the surrounding waters and the shoreline behind the gallery, larger pieces of 3D art can be found, together with the other facilities offered here.

The cross-section of art on display is astonishing, with pieces from Francis Bagration, Mona Byte, Giovanna Cerise, Treacle Darlands, Asmita Duranjaya, Russel Eponym, Duna Gant, Cica Ghost, Instincta and Stem van Helsinski, Stem van Kicca Igaly, Pol Jarvinen, Gleman Jun, Livio Korobase, Daco Monday, Robin Moore, Moya, Nessuno Myoo, Fuschia Nightfire, Bryn Oh, Cheen Pitney, sChan Resident, Spiral Silverstar, Miso Susanowa, Ub Yifu, Noke Yuitza, and Jedda Zenovka. Such is the diversity of the of the art on display, it’s very easy to lose track of time wandering through the gallery and exploring outside.

Whether you start your explorations inside or outside the gallery is entirely a matter of choice; there is no set path to follow, and Dove has wisely placed the art so that there are no assigned areas for individual artists. This allows for some interesting juxtapositions of art, technique and expression, allowing visitors to gain a strong feel for contrasting styles among artists in Second Life. That said, the interior of the gallery building can be a little bewildering: during one of my trips to the gallery, a fellow visitor candidly admitted in IM that he had been admiring two pieces of art on one side of the gallery, only to realise they were part of a small stage area for musicians!

I’m fortunate enough to have a SpaceNav, so I initially cheated with the art outside, flycamming around (although doing so does give a unique perspective for viewing 3D pieces of art). For those restricted to shanks’ pony, there are invisiprims set over the water, allowing visitors to examine the works up close without fear of vanishing under the waves.

The outdoor display also encompasses events area outside of the galley structure, where music events are regularly held. Another way to see the outdoor art is to catch a teleport to the neighbouring dance studio – still part of the overall complex – via one of the boards displayed around the gallery. From there, it is possible to stroll out onto the beach and appreciate the art (or take a dance lesson, if you’re also so inclined!).

Peace is a Choice makes for a fascinating visit, offer a lot to see. For those into sailing or boating, it’s location makes it reachable by water as well, although I didn’t spot any mooring facilities – so if you do visit boat, the teleport limo may well be needed when leaving. However, you do opt to visit, please consider a donation towards the continued existence of the gallery.

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• Peace is a Choice Gallery (Rated: Moderate)

Now open to visitors is Cica Ghost’s installation, Library, which she introduces with a quote from Albert Einstein, “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” And to be honest, this one is pretty hard to miss, being another of Cica’s installations produced on a huge scale – something visitors immediately appreciate on their arrival, being reduced to the role of Lilliputians during a visit.

All good libraries are presided over by a librarian, who is there to provide assistance or – as the movies would generally have us believe – to ensure that Quiet remains the word of rule among the hallowed bookcases. Cica’s bibliothèque is no exception: across the wooden floor from the landing point, a matronly figure sits behind her desk, apparently engrossed in a tome of sheet music while a parrot alongside her keeps a weather eye on the comings and goings. They are the first indication of the scale of this particularly library – as you can see from the shot below, as Caitlyn takes a rest from exploring, perching herself alongside Polly.

Beyond the desk, the bookshelves rise into the sky, but so engrossed is the librarian in her own studies, the fact that there are more books than shelves seems to have escaped her notice.; Thus, ungainly towers of book rise into the sky across the vast floor, and giant volumes cascade down green slopes rising above the floorboards. A gap between the bookcases provides access to the rest of the library, or for those feeling energetic, wheeled stairways offer a way up to the lowermost shelves and back down the other side.

Also, for the intrepid and the curious, the library includes places to sit and / or lie down atop the piles of books, on the parrot’s perch and librarian’s desk, across the floor in the library’s “little” truck – even up in the branches of a tree. For those who aren’t fond of heights, a couple of the library’s cats offer ballet dances to be enjoyed individually or in the company of another, and which go well with the piano soundtrack gracing the region. Visitors should also keep an eye out for a hidden room where quiet conversations can be had out-of-sight of the librarian!

Library is another of Cica’s pieces which is bound to delight and have visitors smiling; there is whimsy aplenty, things to do and enjoy, and one can feel Cica’s humour at every turn. It’s a place which can so easily draw you back for further visits – as I noticed on my return, bumping into several people who had been wandering between the books and sitting atop piles and on branches when Caitlyn and I first set foot in the Library.

Should you enjoy your visit – and believe me you will – please do consider providing a donation for Cica’s continued work in Second Life.

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• Library by Cica Ghost (Rated:  Moderate)

Song about Rain is an ensemble exhibition now open at the Pretentious Art Gallery, Crestwick Island ( a location I blogged about in June 2015), featuring images by Panteleimon Aeo, Burk Bode, MaryFelicity, Cold Frog, Nur Moo, Charlie Namiboo, Laura Richards, Mr. S., Sugar Silverstar, Maloe Vansant, and  Anita Witt.

As the title suggests, the central theme of this exhibition is rain, with each artist submitting a single avatar study on the subject. Thus, it is an eye-catching exhibition of subtle contrasts in using rain  to frame a scene, focus the eye and  / or tell a story. All of the images have much to say, but I confess that where storytelling is concerned, I found myself particularly drawn to The Rain Song by Mr. S. (featured at the top of this article), which suggested an entire novella to me whilst admiring it. All of the pictures are offered for sale at the set price of L$300 each.

Next door, at the Broad Street Gallery, Cipher (Ciphertazi Wandin), co-holder of Crestwick Island, presents eight of his superb images which mix landscapes, avatar studies and images of personal space together in an intriguing set of pieces. All are superbly and evocative of mood and place, and can be purchased for the exceptionally modest L$100 each.

Both the Pretentious Gallery and Broad Street Gallery are modest in size, making trips to see the two exhibitions easy to combine. Doing so also offers visitors the opportunity to explore Crestwick Island which, if you haven’t done so before, is very much worth taking the time to see.

Note that due to the landing point in operation, you’ll need to walk into town to reach the galleries – but again, this gives you the chance to enjoy Crestwick Island more fully than if simply plonking down in front of the galleries 🙂 .

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• Crestwick Island (Rated; Moderate)