Category: Art in Second Life

I dropped in Kultivate Magazine’s Windlight Gallery in the week, which is recently opened its April ensemble exhibition and – for the time being – is hosting a long-running exhibition by Elise Sirnah on the upper level. The ensemble exhibition opened on April 10th, with the featured artists listed as Jaime Poutine, Carmelia (captainofmysoul resident), Lucas Tiros, Johannes Huntsman, Tempest Rosca and Veruca Tammas.

Occupying the centre and right sides of the exhibition space, these six present engaging mix of art bringing together avatar studies, SL landscapes and physical world art in a combination that immediately captures the eye. In this, I admit to being particularly drawn to the selection by Lucas Tiros, an artist whose work I don’t think I’ve encountered before (he states he’s been absent SL for a number of years and is now just returning, so that could be the reason why).

A professional photographer in the physical world, Lucas here presents ten images in what might be said to be three groups, all of which are utterly absorbing in their content, use of colour, expressiveness and emotion. From portraits through landscape to wildlife, these are ten pieces that carry within them a captivating deep of life and vitality.

While is not to say the work of the other artists is not also worthy of praise and appreciation; all offer much to admire as one come to them, and  – as noted – all six together offer a rich and complimentary mix of art that is guaranteed to please. This is also true of a further group of artists waiting to be found on the left side of the gallery’s lower floor.

Although not listed on the April exhibition advertising (and so might actually be from an earlier exhibit, and so might be subject to vanishing soon), Jamee Sandalwood, Reya Darkstone, Pam Astonia, Kalina Sands, Anouk Lefavre, Jesie Janick and Vanessa James all – at the time of my visit – added a further engaging mix of SL landscapes and avatar studies.

On the upper level of the gallery (again, as she noted above, at the time of my visit) Kultivate presents The Art of Elise Sinah, a selection of predominantly avatar-focused pieces mostly offered as moments-in-time photographs such as might be found in a personal album.

Some are joyous celebrations of life (Dog Walk, Penalty, Coffee, An Oasis), some are considered studies designed to further engage both the grey matter and the emotions (Head in Clouds, Thoughts, Cling, Friend Hugs) whilst other offer a more personal glimpse of life and desires (and for some might be considered NSFW). All, however, are beautifully lit, framed and post-processed to convey their narrative and depth, demonstrating the eye for balance and nuance that marks Elise’s work as both a photographer and region designer.

Two (or three, depending on your point of view!) exhibitions that are well worth viewing whilst they remain available!

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• Kultivate Windlight Gallery (Water Haven, rated Moderate)

Having opened on April 6th, 2022, Kicca Igaly and Nessuno Myoo present two intriguing installations at La Maison d’Aneli (curated by Aneli Abeyante) that stand a both individual pieces and as installations that might – in the mind of the visitor – also be intertwined in terms of theme and potential interpretation.

Before getting to the exhibits – both of which can be reached from the teleport disc at the gallery’s ground-level landing point – please note that to appreciate these installations fully, yo should ensure Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) is enabled and render quality is set to High (if your system can handle it) – both set through Preferences → Graphics, and that the viewer is also set to use the Shared Environment.

Within Pulsions, Kicca explores the idea that the human condition – the lives we lead and how we interact – is propelled by the decisions we make individually and collectively; pulsion itself being the act of driving forward (as opposed to being drawn forward involuntarily as a result of influences over which we have no direct control).

Within the setting, we are presented by scenes of everyday life: mothers with their children sharing a conversation; children at play, a mother and daughter passing a (presumably) homeless man asleep on a park bench; a tall man watching the children at play, and so on. Over the shoulders of each character float two little figures – their better angels (or positive pulsions) and darker demons (or negative pulsions) that drive their behaviour – whether or not a group conversation descends into gossip and rumour-spreading; whether a discussion remains calm and reasoned or descends into a heated, angry exchange; whether a game played remains friendly and fun or embroiled in bitterness on losing, and so on. By using the term pulsion, Kicca reminds us that the negative choices we make may not always be driven by a need to hurt or upset and so are not necessarily “evil” or “cruel” – although the tall figure watching the two youngsters also perhaps reminds us there can be intentional evil driving the decisions some make…

Within As Mammoths In The Middle Of Butterflies, Nessuno presents a single, stunning sculpture of the skeletal forms of two mammoths of unequal size apparently locked in combat, the smaller forced down onto its rear hunches and attempted to ward off a blow from the foreleg of the larger as it rears up on its hind legs in order to deliver the blow with greater force. Around both rises a cloud of butterflies, their peace and innocence shattered by the warring beasts.

Quite what we make of this is left entirely open to interpretation, the artist only stating At the sunset of existence, immersed in the wonder of its own nature. Thus, how we respond to the piece is entirely subjective. For my part, the use of mammoths (now long extinct) and the term “sunset of existence” suggests the piece can – and as with Kicca’s Pulsions –  be taken on a statement about the human condition.

That we are, for example, so polarised in views on subjects such as global warming and so focused on arguing about it, we cannot pause to address the fact that we really are disrupting the global ecosystem and hastening our own demise. Other might see it as a commentary on the the danger of the old truism “might is right”, that some countries have grown so arrogant in their own superiority and might, they care little about the manner in which the decisions they make can have shattering and disruptive impacts on others.

But rather than add further subjective thoughts of my own here, I’ll leave it to the sculpture to express itself to you. All I’ll say in closing is that once again, Kicca and Nessuno present two installations that engage both the eye and the mind.

 

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• La Maison d’Aneli (Virtual Holland, rated Moderate)

Following my review of Landscapes – My Personal View, by Alexa Wulfe (Alexa Bouras) – see Alexa’s personal view of Second Life – I was contacted by Ruben (yvan Slade), who offered my an invitation to visit the gallery he operates and curates, and which is currently host to two very different exhibitions.

Ruben’s Art Gallery is located on its own sky platform. The gallery sits within a model, clean concrete structure with two levels and a walled courtyard outside.  Both levels of the gallery offer the same amount of exhibition space and are linked via teleport disks, allowing them to exist as independent display spaces with easy access from one to the other. At the time of my visit the gallery was playing host to exhibitions by Mareea Farrasco and Zia Sophia (Zia Branner).

Visiting Salt Lakes of Florence is a series of twelve images captured by Mareea of Gnaaah Xeltentat’s Florence region, which at the time Mareena capture it lay as a setting inspired by the Salin d’Aigues-Mortes (salts of Aigues-Mortes), Camargue, in the south of France, as interpreted by the talented Iska (sablina), assisted by Tippah.

As I noted in The pink salt lakes Of Florence in Second Life, the region is remarkable in the manner in which it captures the spirit and look of its namesake – and Mareea has fully captured the beauty of the region in these images that have been gently post-processed in order to give them the look and feel of watercolour paintings. Most of the images present the landscape of the region, although several offer a more personal look through the inclusion of Mareea’s avatar (and those of friends / others).

On the upper floor, Zia also presents a total of 12 images, although these are drawn from the physical world, being copies of Zia’s fascinating paintings. Four of them are Zia’s coastal and sea views that have been features in some of her recent SL exhibitions and the remaining eight copies of her natural abstract paintings that are, as ever, rich an form and colour.

Both artists are very different in their choice of art – both are united in their eye for colour, tone, and mood, allowing these two exhibitions to stand individually whilst also richly complimenting one another. And for those who enjoy Zia’s work, a gift can be obtained via the artist’s easel within her exhibit.

I’m not sure how long art displays run for at Ruben’s, but at Mareea’s opened in mid-March, I would recommend visiting sooner rather than later, just in case a case of artist is on the horizon.

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• Rubens Art Gallery (Sarastro, rated Moderate)

Ernst Jünger (29th March 1895 – 17th February 1998), is a complex figure from Germany’s history in the 20th Century. Born to an affluent family, he rejected his background, serving briefly the French Foreign Legion before serving in the German army throughout the First World War, seeing action in several battles and hard-fought skirmishes on the Western front, being wounded seven times – including to both the head and to the chest (the latter piercing a lung). During the Second World War, he again served in the German Army, where he was both an inspiration for, and had some involvement with, the German anti-Nazi movement (in fact, in 1943 he penned a proposal for peace with the allies which included the removal of Hitler from power and he was involved at the fringes of the 1944 Stauffenberg bomb plot to kill Hitler.

He is perhaps most well known for penning two works: In Stahlgewittern (literally “In Steel Weather” but given the English title Storm of Steel), published in 1920 which brought together his personal experiences of the Great War as recorded in the diaries he kept from 1914-1918; and Auf den Marmorklippen (“On Marble Cliffs”), published in 1939 and most readily seen as a parable against national socialism, written at a time when Jünger had rejected overtures from the Nazi Party on numerous occasions on account of his personal rejection of the German democratic movement and spoken out against liberalism as a whole.

Whilst Auf den Marmorklippen and In Stahlgewittern might be interpreted in several ways, the latter has come to be seen as an anti-war treatise and the former a warning against the rise of authoritarianism in any hue. In this, and given the way we appear to be re-treating elements of history experienced a century ago, both books perhaps have particular relevance today.

For Gem Preiz they offer metaphors for the stark choice humanity is facing: to allow ourselves to be ruined through the prettiness of nationalistic politics or to strive harder ad reach our fullest potential. He does this through a new exhibition of his fractal art in which he combines the titles of Jünger’s works, and which can be see at Carelyna’s ArtCare Gallery, itself in a new location.

Storm of Steel; On Marble Cliffs offer three rooms of Gem’s art. Within a central hall that forms the landing point, are six images mounted on marble walls that show the potential: gleaming cities that stand (or float) as havens of humanity. Bracketing this on either side are two further halls. In one, this theme to a gleaming future expressed through architectural marvels is continued – although at its centre is a reminder of the dangers inherent in our make-up that may still try to tear down all that we have – and might – achieve: black arms and hands that rise from the floor or drop from the ceiling, reaching out, fingers bent as if to grasp and tear and break whatever they find.

Within the other hall, we see the outcome in allowing the pettiness to prevail is revealed in the form of broken and smashed buildings, sitting with atmospheres heavy with smoke (or pollution) and in places lit by what appears to be fire or burning fires.

It might be easy to reconcile Storm of Steel; On Marble Cliffs just as a commentary on the situation in Ukraine; but as he notes – and I hope I’ve indicated here – he net is cast far wider. As such, the exhibition should be seen and appreciated free from preconceptions of our current political climate, just as Jünger’s works were both rooted in their political times but have meaning that reaches well beyond those times.

Do take note of the music suggestions included in the exhibition’s note card, available at the landing point, use the links to play the pieces via You Tube, if so minded.

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• ArtCare Gallery (Nagano Valley, rated: Moderate)