Currently open at the Diotima Art Gallery curated by Redi (Red Bikcin), is an exhibition of avatar portraiture by Rofina Bronet.
I confess that prior to receiving an invitation to view this exhibition, I was unfamiliar with Rofina’s art, and that having visited this exhibition, I find her approach to presenting avatars intriguing.
On display are eighteen portraits in a mix of colour and monochrome images that are striking in their presentation. The approach taking with each of them is to focus closely on the subject’s head, an approach that in many of the images offers a unique perspective on the individual in the picture.
At times this can be a little disconcerting in the way it gives prominence to facial features and the shape of the subject’s head. The result can be a little jarring when viewing the images, but the result is also visually striking, drawing – challenging, even – the observer to closely study each image.
Many of the images – notably those in monochrome – offer the subject as the sole focus of the image, and have been taken in such a way that the subject is not looking at the camera. Rather, they are either looking to one side of the camera, or ignoring it completely, as if something out-of-frame has captured their attention.
This gives an added depth to the studies that is captivating. By having them appear as if they are focusing on something other than the camera, the portraits take on a unique and personal life of their own. Rather than appearing posed and framed, they come across as pictures taken in the moment; a chance event. Combined with the above-mentioned perspective carried within each image, this approach draws the observer into both studying the subject more deeply and create a narrative around that “moment in time” in which the image seems to have been captured.
Alongside of these images are a number – notably in colour – are several in which the subject is looking at – or towards – the camera. These images are presented against a broader backdrop, one which combines with the subject to again create a narrative within the image; one that also brings the subject naturally to life.
A long-time resident of Second Life, Barry is well-known for both his 2D and 3D art and his forward, future-thinking outlook. The new gallery space combines all of these in an environment that reflects Barry’s futuristic outlook and offers a unique setting for both his 3D and 3D artwork.
Located in the sky, the gallery is a place of two halves. Contained within a skybox with a cityscape backdrop that suggests it exists within a modern setting, it offers a central arrival point bordered by the gallery buildings proper: primarily 2D art to one side, and primarily 3D sculptures on the other, each unit comprising multiple levels.
The 2D gallery presents Barry’s digital paintings, beautiful fractal pieces so intricate in form and design, they might so easily be mistaken for photographs of physical 3D objects presented against velvet backdrops. Others appear more abstract in nature, swirls and dishes, curls and splashes; images that through their very abstract form are suggestive of dense nebulae – albeit, perhaps, without the familiar depth of colour as the pieces here tend to focus on fairly fixed palettes, although this in no way detracts from their beauty.
The 3D section offers a rich mix of Barry’s sculptures, most with its own story to tell. Movement between the levels is achieved by teleport disks (the 2D gallery space offering stairs as well), and the art structured in such a way that some levels are almost a mini-gallery of itself – particularly where the 3D work shares space with more of Barry’s fractal images. At the same time, one of the levels forms an installation in is own right, a rich blending of colour and animated pieces surrounding a sculpture Barry first presented at the University of Western Australia in Second Life.
In this latter regard, the gallery also offers a mini-retrospective of Barry work: those familiar with his past presentations will doubtless recognise some of the sculptures and designs presented here.
Considered, balanced and visually captivating, Alphalune Creations Gallerie offers the perfect insight into the art of Barry Richez, and should be a destination for all lovers of art in Second Life.
Despite receiving an e-mail invitation, I regret I was unable to attend the official opening of David “DC” Spensley’s towering – in a literal sense – art retrospective on September 22nd, 2018. However, as soon as time allowed, I did take the opportunity to jump over and immerse myself within it.
Known in-world as Dancoyote Antonelli, DC is one of the pioneers of visual arts in virtual worlds, working independently and in collaboration with other early pioneers to create 3D art that were considered ground-breaking at the time. In the United States, his work has been referenced in mainstream press, including The New York Times, Reuters, Step by Step Design, and Fibreculture Journal.
In 2006, DC also founded the world’s first virtual, aerial dance company – the ZEROG SkyDancers. On seeing the troupe perform, former Linden Lab alumni John “Pathfinder” Lester compared their work as genre-expanding as the Cirque Du Soleil. More recently, in 2014, DC and the ZEROG Skydancers again pushed the boundaries of performance art and dance, with Avant Garden. This mixed reality performance featured dancer Kathleen Moore performing on stage at the Little Boxes Theatre in San Francisco, a rear protection screen allowing her to interact with the troupe as they performed within Second Life.
Kathleen Moore performs on stage at the Little Boxes Theatre in San Francisco, August 2014, interacting with members of the ZEROG Skydancers performing in Second Life.
For this retrospective, DC presents many elements of his work (and notable elements by other artists) in which is likely to be the tallest structure yet built within Second Life: rising 4,000 metres from its water level base, the Tower of Light. The art is presented on a total of 40 levels extending from the tower, with a number being interactive either by touch (control panels and media boards) or physical avatar collision. Information plinths are placed on each level to deliver contextual notes and insights on each of the elements being presented, making this an informative, as well as visual installation.
Movement between the levels is achieved via a teleport HUD available from the landing point, or by sitting on a tour cushion,. The latter also allows for direct transfer to a desired level within the two (by means of a smooth vertical ascent rather than a TP), or can take riders on a “grand tour”, visiting each of the levels in turn. All three option are valid means of travel, delivering the visitor to each level alongside its associated information plinth, although I enjoyed the “grand tour” the most.
In a considered touch, the “tour cushions” will not simply poof should a visitor stand at any given level. Instead, they remain rezzed for long enough to get up, inspect the art, try any supplied controls or watching any associated video (if trying them / watching while seated proves inconvenient) before sitting once more in order to resume a journey to other levels.
Exploring the Tower of light is also both an exploration of DC’s thinking and his approach to art and of something of the history of visual arts in SL as a whole – although it should be noted this is not a chronological journey through DC’s art. Rather it is a thematic voyage, enfolding within it his concept of “hyperformalism”, exploring the nature of “native” art produced within a virtual world.
Rather, the historical aspect is born out of the majority of these pieces either being created before the advent of true mesh capabilities in Second Life, or which eschew the use of mesh in keeping with the aim of hyperformalism. Thus, these are primitive art, a term I use in reflection of their construction, not as a suggestion of any lack of sophistication they might otherwise contain; rather the reverse in fact: the nature of primitives actually requires these pieces to be sophisticated in design and scripting (and examples of all the scripts can be found in the relevant information note cards provided by DC).
It is also the information cards that offer insight into DC’s thinking and ideas around hyperformalism, with some also acting as a glimpse of part of the platform’s history. Of those who, like me, have been active in SL for the last decade, some of the names mentioned are liable to set memories tumbling: Qarl Fizz, Dekka Raymaker (who only returned to SL in August 2017 after a 6-year hiatus), and Nomasha Syaka to name but three (Nomasha’s sculpted horse was a decorative mainstay in many of my early SL homes, and is still to be found within the Library section of inventory).
When visiting, I would suggest allowing sufficient time to visit all 40 levels within the Tower, rather than breaking a tour up over two or more visits, as this offers the fullest potential to appreciate both the art and the concepts involved in DC’s work. And as a purely subjective opinion, I would suggest using the viewer’s default midnight setting when travelling through the installation. This removes the distraction of the surrounding clouds, and more particularly adds a tangible depth to the colours within the Tower and the art it presents, giving a greater sense of presence whilst touring.
The Galleries, curated by Ernie Farstrider is an extensive gallery complex ideal for those wishing to explore many of the rich facets of art in Second Life. As I last wrote about the complex nearly a year ago, I thought it about time I talked a little more about it, this time taking a look at the Ground level facilities of The Galleries Museum.
Modelled on New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright, the building is very much a gallery space, despite the “museum” in the title, and at the time of my visit had just opened a new exhibition of art by Violetta Carolina, who returns to the gallery for the first time in five years.
The exhibit features Violetta’s 2D the 3D art, the former presented as a series of bold paintings, rich in colour, leaning towards an abstract look, but each piece individually striking in tone and look. With a distinctly modern cast to them, the sculptures offer both contrast and compliment to the 2D pieces, making this an unusual (in the positive sense of the word) and imaginative exhibit.
Beyond it, in the great atrium section of the building, are exhibition spaces given over to multiple artists, all of which can be toured by climbing the familiar ramp up from the lowest level (or, if you prefer, but taking one of the elevator teleport to the uppermost level and then winding your way back down).
The atrium provides space for at least eight artists on the ramp itself, with additional space on the lowest level, and the range of large on display mixes images captured in-world and creations from the physical world uploaded for display in Second Life. I’m not going to offer a cast list of artists exhibiting their work at the time of my visit, simply because I’m not sure how quickly displays change, and all too often such lists can look more like the reading a cast list. However, I did enjoy seeing images by Graham Collinson, and Kayly Iali during my visit, as I’ve always enjoyed their work.
Located outside the front of the building is a teleporter that will carry visitors up to the sky complex of galleries, where a further exploration of art can be enjoyed – see my review from October 2017, but please keep in mind the artists on exhibition may well have changed.
In September 2017, Dixmix Source opened DiXmiX Gallery (read here for more). Since then, the gallery has run a series of exhibitions, running on roughly a monthly basis, featuring some of Second Life’s most impressive artists from across the grid.
To celebrate the gallery’s first anniversary, Dixmix held a special party on Saturday, September 22nd, 2018, which including the opening of the latest exhibition, featuring images by Harbor (Harbor Galaxy), Maloe Vansant and Isa Messioptra. All three are making a return to DiXmiX gallery, and between them present an intriguing – some might say disturbing, in places – series of studies, some of which appear to have come as much from the physical world as from Second Life.
The majority of the images are close-up studies, rich in emotional content and expressiveness, each with a story to tell. Some do involve nudity, and should be considered NSFW. All and carefully framed to ensure our focus is solely on the subject of the image, and unlikely to be distracted by sundry elements of their surroundings.
Such is the evocative nature of all three displays,that singling out individual images proved difficult; all three artists have sought to convey feelings through their selected images, and each display deserves to be seen in its own right, and the images I offer here are purely to encourage you to pay a visit for yourself.
As a part of the new season – but not yet in use – The Womb, the underground display area at DiXmiX has been re-developed. “It’s now an 8,000 square metre black room,” DiXmiX informed me during my visit. “We will have new installations there,” he continued, “Alo [Aloisio Congrejo] will be first in there, in October, and then Nevereux.”
I look forward to seeing the installations of both, and in the meantime, the current exhibition will run through until into October.
Rainbow Painters is an art gallery curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Dumpling (patience Roxley). Described as “an art gallery for the new artist in SL … a place to show off your skill at no cost to you”, it is in fact open to artists “old” and “new”, with an open invitation for them to contact the curators about displaying their images within the gallery.
Located on a quarter region, the gallery shares its space with an open-air games area (table games and 10-pin bowling) and dance / events space. Within the gallery building, artists are offered a modest amount of wall space in which to display their art – but which is more than enough for visitors to gain an appreciation of their work. There do not appear to be any restrictions on the nature of the art, so long is it is in keeping with the SL Terms of Service / Community Standards, and meets the region’s maturity rating.
The range of art is as broad as the list of artists, featuring images captured both in-world and original art uploaded to Second Life. In what I take to be a respect for the gallery’s title, many of the in-world images offered had been processed to give the impression of being painted, while the uploaded art covered photography through a variety of painting styles. One of these, by an artist from Sri lanka (and provided by Asmita Duranjaya) particularly caught my eye for it modern take on traditional stylised paintings I’ve seen first-hand when visiting that country.
Second Life landscapes – my preferred form of SL art – were much on display during our visit, but I confess to being particularly drawn to Siobhán Muintir’s display, which featured three avatar studies quite powerful in their depth and presentation (two are shown above), displayed with an image again processed to appear as if painted, and which offers a further captivating view of the model, but in a broader setting.
3D artists need not feel left out, either. The gallery provides space for small displays of 3D art. Mistero Hifeng, for example had a sculpture displayed alongside his 2D art, while Asmita Duranjaya and Faith Maxwell were both displaying their 3D sculptures.
All told, an interesting venue offering space to artists old and new – and a chance for visitors to discover the work of people they might not yet have encountered in SL.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 