Category: Art in Second Life

Vibes of Painting in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Vibes Art Gallery

I recently had cause to drop into Vibes Art Gallery to witness a new exhibition of art featuring a trio of artists – Matt Thomson (MTH63), Zia Sophia (Zia Branner) and Wan (Wan Laryukov), entitled Vibes of Painting.

Curated by Eviana Raider (eviana Robbiani), as well as being a centre for exhibiting art, the gallery is also something of a statement of purpose in its own right. In developing it, Eviana has intentionally utilised industrial elements to create a space suggestive of a warehouse facility – three storage buildings with loading / unloading bays and areas, etc., – that has been repurposed  rather than invoking the carbon-costly process of demolition, clearing and replacing. As such, the setting is something of an immersive environment for art displays.

As the name of the exhibition – which opened on July 14th, 2021 – suggests, Vibes of Painting focuses on physical world art the three artists have produced. I was attracted to it for both this reason – I do appreciate the opportunity to witness art from the physical world in Second Life – and because one of the three artists is a name new to me, whilst another is someone who is perhaps more usually associated with Second Life photography, rather than painting.

Vibes Art Gallery: Matt Thompson (MTH63)

That person is Matt Thomson (MTH63). whose work I’ve appreciated through a number of SL exhibitions, and whose sense of humour I’ve enjoyed through reading and re-reading his biography at each of his exhibitions. Here, in one of the two smaller (and linked) warehouse units, he presents a selection of vibrant abstract expressionist pieces worthy of Jackson Pollock or Jean-Paul Riopelle without being in any way derivative. Far from it, in fact, given that Matt is himself an experienced abstract artist. As such, these are pieces that can be fully appreciated as being works by an established abstract art and for the statements they make (mostly in reflection of Matt’s sense of humour and self-deprecating manner).

In the neighbouring hall, Zia Sophia offers a selection of her always layered art. Working mostly with acrylics with accents in oil crayons and in, and to which she often adds materials such as paste, gel, sand, glue, bandages and paper to give her work a tactile sense before finishes with a layer of varnish to act as a binder, Zia produces pieces that have their own unique sense of life.

Vibes Art Gallery: Zia Sophia (Zia Branner)

Embracing a range of techniques and subjects, Zia here presents a selection of pieces that include the purely abstract to a study of a flower in bloom (and which is quite marvellously attractive) and with a slight focus on pieces that feature water and / or coastal scenes. These combine to offer an engaging cross-section of Zia’s art that perfectly sits within the exhibition’s theme and compliments Matt’s abstract pieces, just as his compliment Zia’s.

Occupying the largest of the three display space, Wan Laryukov offers both 2D and 3D work that is richly evocative and oft provocative in theme and content, and which covers multiple styles and genres. Expressionism, allegorical art, symbolism art, figurative art and more are to be found in the selection offered across the floor and on the walls of the hall.

Vibes Art Gallery: Wan (Wan Laryukov)

Presented in colour and black-and white, the 2D art is fascinating in content, with the strongest lean perhaps being towards expressionism, whilst the 3D pieces perhaps lean more towards symbolism in their themes. Both 2D and 3D work make for an engaging display which, when taken as a whole, also offers a stitching of oneirology that brings all of the pieces together as it offers a central point of appreciation.

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Nekonuko’s Endless Journey through Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Onceagain Gallery: Nekonuko Nakamori
I’ve forgotten how long I’ve been wandering. In-world is infinitely large, disappearing and reappearing, and the roads are endless. My work is simple. I face with contemporary art in real life, but my work in SL is much simpler. I’ve always wanted to do that kind of work; all I have to do is walk around and click the shutter on “something”, a “moment” that resonates with me. Yes, it’s that easy and everyone does it.
I edit these photos, not to create another story, but to extract “something” from that “moment”. If you can relate to the “something” of my “moment”, then my wandering will not be lonely, and I hope you will enjoy that wandering with me. 

With these words, Nekonuko Nakamori introduces her exhibition at Onceagain Gallery, curated by Onceagain (manoji Yachvili). As is suggested by Nekonuko’s words, this is another selection of her travels through the the endless world of Second Life in a collection that comes to just shy of two dozen images presented across the two floors of the gallery.

I was first introduced to Nekonuko’s art around four years ago through a couple of exhibitions in 2017. I’m not sure if it is because she exhibits sparsely, or just that I’ve managed to somehow miss any exhibitions of her work between then and now, but I confess I was surprised that is has been so long since I’ve had the opportunity to write about her art, as it really is quite captivating.

Onceagain Gallery: Nekonuko Nakamori

Eschewing the more usual rectangular format of images that tends to dominate the SL photographic community, Nekonuko utilises a 1:1 ratio for her art. This alone sets her work aside from that of other landscape artists; but what makes it completely special is the manner in which she selects the focus of each piece, seeking out, as she says, a view that sets each image as a moment in time, made completely personal through the presence of her avatar.

A specialist in conceptual art in the physical world, Nekonuko’s skills as an artist are very much in evidence through these pieces. Her selection of angle, composition – off-centre views of skylines, fire escapes, tunnels and bridges, the gently brushed touch of post-processing that offers skies of dappled colour, hazy horizons and soft lines – may not per se tell a complete story, like all great works of art, they combine to capture attention and offer a hint of a tale, making the moment that that caught into something deeper.

Also folded within her images are hints of more classical art forms, notably impressionism and realism – the latter particularly evident in her broader landscape pieces. This does much to further capture the eye and imagination, again drawing the observer into each piece.

Onceagain Gallery: Nekonuko Nakamori

An altogether engaging exhibition from an artist who reminds us of both the ever-changing vastness of Second Life (a vastness that far exceeds either the physical size of the grid or the constraints imposed by the world map) and the broad uniqueness of this digital realm we regard as home.

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Plastic People and Dead Cities: reflections on Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kondor Art Square, Jul 2021: Dead Cities (l) and Plastic People (r)

Monique “Moni” Beebe and Traci Ultsch are among a group of artists whose work I find immediately engaging, and which I always appreciate being able to see and appreciate. So any new exhibition by either of them is going to get me hopping with interest –  and when they are exhibiting together, then I’m not so much hopping as I am leaping – which has very much been the case with Plastic People / Dead Cities, which opened at the Kondor Art Centre’s Art Square, curated by Hermes Kondor, on July 8th.

Now to be clear – this is not a joint exhibition in the sense of being a collaborative project between the two artists. Rather, and like their joint exhibition at Midgard Gallery in February 2021 (see: Moni and Traci at Midgard Gallery in Second Life), Plastic People and Dead Cities stand as two individual exhibition linked by theme and reflection, allowing them to be appreciated both individually and jointly, with certain truths to be found within them that may well be discomfiting to some.

With Dead Cities, Traci explores the impermanence of Second Life through the dual medium of exploring the cityscapes that can be found throughout the grid and the medium of reflections on the ideas of so-called occultist Psychogeography as it relates to the city of London and as espoused through the work of Iain Sinclair and Peter Ackroyd.

Kondor Art Square, July 2021: Traci Ultsch – Dead Cities

In short, the latter might be said to be explorations of the myths and legends that claim much of “modern” London (e.g. from the 1660s onwards) was built on occultist practices, and the idea the “spirit” of all who have dwelt in the city combine to inform its nature down the centuries, and that “spirit” in turn informs the nature of those dwelling in it today.

Thus we are presented with a series of bold monochrome images that, rather than presenting “traditional” views of buildings, streets, and so on, are multi-faceted in the way they have been layered to present us with glimpses of buildings and structure together with the ghostly outlines of something more – that spiritual element to their nature, so to speak. Similarly, the use of scaffolding to mount the images, some of which also has skulls sitting on it, encapsulates the idea of the present being informed by the past.

In taking this route, Traci also underscores her theme of emptiness / impermanence: by presenting facets of structures in this way, with the dark and light obscuring as much as revealing, Traci points to the fact that, like it or not – and contrary to SL myth) – nothing in this virtual realm is in any way permanent; it survives and is constantly rebuilt – like a city as great as London itself – only so long as there are people to populate it. When empty, it might as well not exist – and when the novelty of the platform does finally wane, Second Life and its cities and places will won’t exist.

Kondor Art Square, July 2021: Traci Ultsch – Dead Cities

By comparison, Moni’s Plastic People appears to be an altogether lighter, brighter presentation, both in terms of being a series of images that do utilise colour, and in their general theme.

In short, this is the idea that Second Life is a plastic – perhaps malleable might be a more appropriate term – world which we can all bend and shape into whatever we wish, and in which we can express ourselves howsoever we wish, in keeping with the old SL tenet, Your World, Your Imagination. Thus Moni presents us with a series of avatar studies that when first viewed, appear to reflect this in their presentation of “classically” posed images, touches of sci-fi, fantasy and the platform’s more adult elements.

Kondor Art Square, July 2021: Monique Beebe – Plastic People

However, I say “appears”, because – to me at least – there would seem to be a further layer to Moni’s images, evidenced through her use of a stanza from Frank Zappa’s 1967 song, Plastic People within her liner notes for the exhibition:

A fine little girl / She waits for me / She’s as plastic / As she can be / She paints her face / With plastic goo / And wrecks her hair / With some shampoo.

That song was written as a manifesto against conformity and materialistic culture. So is its inclusion in Moni’s liner notes for the exhibition simply a reflection of the malleably of our avatars, or is it a comment on the fact that whilst founded on the ideal of individual expression, SL is increasingly becoming a place of homogenised, materialistic conformity for many? Just look at the way a certain avatar body dominate the platform, or the manner in which “creativity” now seems to be more about looking good and buying the latest fashion.

If this interpretation might be seen as accurate, then it begs the further question: just who are the “plastic people”, the avatars within Second Life, or those who operate them? I’ll leave that to you to ponder.

Kondor Art Square, July 2021: Monique Beebe – Plastic People

Through these two exhibits, Moni and Traci offer collections of images that are in and of themselves captivating, whether or not one wishes to look deeper into them. At the same time, they each hold up a mirror, one of which encourages us to reflect on Second Life is a whole as it relates to us, and the other asking that will look directly on  ourselves, and how we relate to the platform.

What we might discover in looking into either might not be comfortable to consider – but that does negate either exhibition. Indeed, I’d strongly recommend that anyone who likes to ponder on this virtual world in which we invest so much of ourselves, whatever the reason, pay a visit to Plastic People / Dead Cities, and spend time with the art and the artists’ own words.

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Sinners and Saints in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Sinful Retreat: Sinners and Saints

The Sinful Retreat Sinners and Saints exhibition opens at 12:00 noon SLT on Saturday July 10th, featuring the work of an incredible 50 artists across two regions through until September 2021.

First announced in February 2021 (see: Sinners and saints, a new arts challenge in Second Life), the exhibition is in many respects the spiritual offspring of the great Art Challenges sponsored and hosted by the University of Western Australia and their partners (both in-world and out-world), and organised by FreeWee Ling and Jayjay Zifanwe on behalf of UWA.

In the wake of the UWA Gratitude Art Show back in November which Chuck Clip curated alongside Mariposa Upshaw, we here at Sinful Retreat and Angels Rest decided to carry UWA’s torch onward into the future in the form of occasional themed art shows. Sinners & Saints Art Show is our first show which serves the dual purpose of carrying the aforementioned torch and celebrating the culmination of our first year in Second Life. 

– From the Sinful Retreat team

Sinful Retreat: Sinners and Saints – Morlita Quan

The challenge has been for 2D and 3D artists and poets and writers to submit two pieces, one depicting the side of light (or goodness, or saintliness or The Force, or whatever you might like to call it) and the other the side of “darkness” (or The Dark Side,  or sinfulness or wickedness – again, whatever you prefer to call it). In this, the organisers were keen to emphasize that despite the exhibition’s title, they were not asking artists to think  along purely Christian (or general religious) lines.

Sinful Retreat and Angels Rest are mirrors for each other, highlighting the dichotomy of light and dark in art and humanity as a whole. We thought it appropriate that our first show should reflect that … With submissions from 50 artists and poets from across the grid, and over 20 hours of performances by musicians and DJs, plus poetry and science fiction readings, this show is sure to encapsulate all of us and serve to start some interesting conversations. We cannot wait to gaze deep into the mirror with you.

– From the Sinful Retreat team

The result is an incredibly diverse range of art that is mixed – as noted above – with more than 20 hours of music throughout the event, together with live reading of prose and poetry. The canvas of participating artists could not be broader, featuring name both well-known, and those who many not be so familiar, as well as some those who enjoyed visiting the UWA challenges will likely frin familiar from those exhibitions as well.

Sinful Retreat: Sinners and Saints – Traci Ultsch (l) and Chuck Clip (r)

Just how broad a spectrum of art the theme of the event has provided can be seen in the fact that within the pieces offered, are works that might reflect the nature of human nature – that we can be led by turns by the inner voices of our better angels or our worse demons;  on the broader suffering we can inflect on one another through multiple means, all of which lead to so many displaced and lost people; how our selfishness has led to untenable climate and environmental damage – but has also awakened the need for us to do more to reverse that damage; and more, all mixed with more familiar offerings on the themes of saints / angels and sinning / demons. There are even cosmological pieces drawing on idea of yin and yang, universal balance, and creation and entropy awaiting discovery.

Readings and music will be provided throughout the event, as noted, and the activities for July are now available via the Sinful Retreat website – expect August and September’s activities to be posted at the start of each month.

Sinful Retreat: Sinners and Saints – Meilo Minotaur

Richly diverse, Sinners and Saints will open on July 10th, 2021 with a 3-hour event featuring singers SpiritLed (nnon-13:00 SLT), Semina (13:00-14:00 SLT), and Acoustic Energy (14:00-15:00 SLT).

When visiting, I’d suggest using the local EEP settings and strongly recommend you have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled in your viewer (Preferences → Graphics → make sure Advanced Lighting Model in checked).  Also note that following the end of the exhibition, selected pieces from Sinners and Satins will be displayed in rotation on Sinful Retreat and Angels Rest.

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Carmel Air Fair 2021 in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
2021 Carmel Air Fair

Now open at the Carmel Art Community, is the 2021 Carmel Summer Art Fair, organised by Martha and Robert McFarren. An open-air air show the winds its way through the streets of the community’s village and passing it shops and studio galleries, the Fair is organised for members of the Carmel Art Community and their guests.

This year, around 28 artists (assuming I’ve not missed anyone, which is always possible!), are exhibiting at the Fair, with members of the community displaying up to three pieces of work, and their guests two pieces each.

2021 Carmel Art Fair – Emeline Laks (l) and Deyanira Yalin (r)

In all, the participating artists include: Carelyna, CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinoo), Martissima (Marta Gabardini), Mousie (Malia Kenyon), SecondHandTutti, Venk (Stephen Venkman), Victoria (VictoriaBlue), Willow (cutewillow Carlberg), Xirana (Xirana Oximoxi), Aneli Abeyante, Anouk Lefavre-Huntsman (Anouk Lefavre), Audie Whimsy, Dhyezl Ravenhurst (Dhyezl), Deyanira Yalin, Elle Thorkveld, Emeline Laks, Jaelle Faerye, Life Charron (Zeroys), LilyKitty Sixpence, Maggie Starr (maggiemagenta), Michiel Bechir, Robert McFarren (RobertMcFarren, Tara (TaraAers), Trinity Ermintrood, Vanessa Jane (VanessaJane66), Viktor Savior (ViktorSavior), Zia Sophia (Zia Branner) and moi.

The art itself is an engaging mix of physical world paintings and photography, avatar studies and Second Life landscapes, all presented in a broad range of styles: watercolour, oil, mixed media, digital manipulation, abstract, colour, monochrome.  Thus, there is much for visitors to appreciate and, if the mood takes them, purchase. And of course there is the opportunity to pop into the studios used by members of the community and see more of their work.

2021 Carmel Art Fair – Zia Sophia (r) and someone called “Pey” (l)

As well as the art, the Fair features a range of events, all of which are promoted through the community’s in-world group, highlight of which can be summarised as (all times SLT):

  • July 8th, 13:00: Special July Chatnic hosted by Jaelle Faerye, and guest artists.
  • July 12th 13:00: Particle Show with VENUS ADORED & music by DJ Hein.
  • July 19th 12:00 noon: DJ Riff Gaffer Music & Poetry.
  • July 21st 12:00 noon: Live Stream with artist Kisma Reidling as she shares a 40 minute “Come Smudge With Me” class.
  • July 24th 12:00 noon: Concert with Bsukmet with a particle show by Roxy & 1Earthling.

Those visiting the art fair also have the opportunity to take the stairs down to the little courtyard alongside the two large gallery buildings, where Hermes Kondor is exhibiting a selection of his utterly mesmerising digital art.

Carmel Art Community – the Art Fair also offers the opportunity to visit the current exhibit by Hermes Kondor

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Mihailsk’s Baptism of Fire in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Mihailsk’s Baptism of Fire

Sometimes the best art exhibits come from a chance encounter. Dido Haas, owner and curator of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (and a talented photographer in her own right), bumped into Mihailsk while he was visiting Nitroglobus in March. A couple of days after that first encounter, he posted an image taken at the gallery, which was then displaying Daantje Bons’ work (see here for a review of that exhibition) – and this image led to Dido looking through Mihailsk’s Flickr steam and then approaching him to exhibit at Nitroglobus.

Even so, he took a little persuading. Despite being active in SL for several years, Mihailsk has only recently entered the world of SL photography and artistic creation, as he explains:

Even though I am in SL since 2014, I feel my second life started the day I decided to dedicate a large part of my time in this virtual world to photography. It was [in] January 2020 when I started this beautiful journey in light, colours and emotions; a journey to fantastic places and loved persons, trying to capture special moments in eternity. Sometimes with a smile, sometimes with pain. 

– Mihailsk describing his journey into SL art

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Mihailsk’s Baptism of Fire

Given this, Dido’s invitation marked the first time he has been asked to display his art in-world – which can be a daunting prospect for an artist-photographer, even when well-established on a site like Flickr. Hence the title for this exhibition: Baptism of Fire.

Mihailsk’s work is probably best defined as avatar-focused; a term I use in preference to the more usual “avatar study”, because while a fair portion of his work does focus in on an avatar (either his or that of a friend) in order to frame a story, he also frequently sets his canvas much more broadly, framing an image that blends avatar and surroundings into a richly layered composition that is utterly captivating – as can be seen time and again throughout his Flickr stream.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Mihailsk’s Baptism of Fire

He is also an artist who uses a variety of styles to express his work, from full colour, to gentle tonal work through to monochrome, with techniques that touch upon sepia colouring, chiaroscuro, post-processing and digital layering. The result of all this being pieces of great visual depth.

Given this, there might be a temptation to pull together a multiplicity  of styles and display them together; instead, Mihailsk has focused on presenting pieces that focus on black-and-white / monochrome, and which also fold into them elements of  silhouette art, chiaroscuro and minimalism that very much help to focus on his use of emotion in his art. In this he also differs from many other SL artists, who often construct their images to frame what amounts to a pre-determined emotion that they wish to convey to their audience. Instead, Mihailsk frames his pieces in a manner more designed to convey the emotion he felt within a scene or setting; thus they become windows into his feelings and outlook.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Mihailsk’s Baptism of Fire

The above all said, given the sheer depth and beauty of Mihailsk’s art, I admit I would have perhaps liked to perhaps see some of his colour art included here, simply because it is equally emotive. But make no mistake, what is shown within Baptism of Fire is utterly engaging and a more than worthy display of art from an exceptionally talented individual. and as well as visiting, I encourage you to also take the time to peruse his Flickr stream; you will not be disappointed.

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