Tag: Art 2020

Currently open at the Michiel Bechir Gallery, curated by Michiel Bechir, are three exhibitions of art indirectly linked by themes, making for an interesting excursion for patrons of art in Second Life. On the ground floor, and in the north and south halls respectively, are selections from the portfolios of Hazel Foxtrot and Pavel Stransky, each of whom offer pieces largely focused on landscape images.

Hazel’s work appears to be largely without post-processing, a fact that leaves them with a raw and  – in an age where every image of Second Life is expected to be subject to PhotoShop and GIMP – refreshing naturalness to them. This is not to imply I have anything against the post-processing of Second Life images – such treatment can be used to add significant depth to an image or even transform it. However, it is refreshing to see images that have not been so treated, as they capture the places Hazel has visited as they might be seen  on a first visit.

Across the gallery, Pavel Stransky also presents works also largely focused on landscapes, although in difference to Hazel, he does use post-processing. This allows Pavel to present his work in a variety of styles: oil painting, water colour, photograph – all of which are highly effective in their presentation and in given that depth mentioned above, to each and every piece in the selection.

On the upper floor of the gallery is Balance, a join exhibition by Jessamine2108 and Zoe Ocelot. Offering a mix of words and images, it is a reflection on the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and its impact around the globe – but perhaps not in the manner you might expect. As has been noted in the news, the lock-down that has impacted the majority of the world has served to have a significant impact impact on pollution, leading to cleaner air within and beyond cities, and also cleaner water that can benefit humans and animals alike.

Thus, through images taken and selected by Jessamine2108, and the words presented by Zoe, the two artists to offer their own view of how the pandemic is affecting humans and Nature alike, with an emphasis on the idea that – as one of the natural brakes on human activity – the pandemic is helping to bring the Earth back into balance.

While that balance may be – in the scheme of things – short-lived overall, Balance serves as a reminder than Nature actually doesn’t require human kind; that – as the artists note – the rest of world moves on as humans huddle and hide in their corners.

And the link between the lower level exhibitions and Balance? All of them remind us of how important open spaces and the freedom to travel are to us and – hopefully – how much better we should be as caretakers of beauty present in the worlds around us.

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• Michiel Bechir Gallery (Embrace, rated Adult)

Gonzalo Osuna (Jon Rain) is the director of Konecta Radio, a streaming radio service based out of Bilbao, Spain. Offering a 24/7 service, Konecta has been streaming into Second Life and to the world since 2012. Gonzalo is also a patron of the arts in Second Life, and offers two gallery spaces at Konecta’s in-world home.

The first, on the ground level is an invited artist exhibition space. At the time of my visit, and through until June 28th, this is home to an exhibition by artist Dhyezl,entitled Travel Diary: Among Sand and Sea. On offer is a baker’s dozen of images depicting, as the name suggests, views that predominantly feature views that incorporate the sea and sands.

From tropical islands through to pyramids rising from a desert, it’s a mixture of landscapes from around Second Life, the majority of which are rendered in sun-washed tones that, with the more desert-like images, does much to add to their atmosphere and depth, giving them a richness of environment.

Other images in the set offer their own unique elements : the suggestion of clouds racing the sky over a coastal headland,the ageing, haunted beauty of a deserted fun fair as it fades into the arms of nature and more, all awaiting appreciation.

On the upper floor of the gallery is a special exhibition curated by Ciara Orssinni entitled Amoure Rouge. Comprising images obtained from the real world, it is described thus:

The red colour is always a sign of passion, danger, blood, sensuality, sex, and without a doubt it transmits strength with is own pulse.These photographs, studied by Ciara Orssinni from several aspects reflect all of those adjectives and much more – what everyone wants to imagine. Welcome to the world of “red hot” in “Amoure Rouge”: images transferred and obtained with the permission of the authors, from Pinterest, and whom you can follow on Konecta Radio.

A teleport from the ground level gallery offers the way up to a sky gallery that is also open to the public, offering a selection of art from Gonzalo’s personal collection.

At the time of my visit, the selection comprises pieces by Patrick Ireland, Sophie Marie Sinclair (Perpetua1010), Tayren Theas, Moora (Moora McMillan), Raging Bellls, Ana (oceanida) and … yours truly.

Given the names involved, this is a rich mix of of art from well-known Second Life artists – and I’m flattered to have a piece included among them.

Both galleries offer a worthwhile visit for any patron of the arts, and I’ve not hesitation in recommending both.

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Konecta Radio and Konecta Art are located on Carpathian Island, rated Moderate

• Konecta Art Gallery Ground Level
• Konecta Gallery Skybox

Open as of June 14th, 2020 at The Sim Quarterly is Le Déraciné (The Uprooted), an installation by JadeYu Fhang.

Described as being a study about “How to transform the pain of uprooting into a poetic vision”, it’s a typically layered and semi-interactive piece by JadeYu; one that invites interpretation more than it offers one for itself.  Also, and in keeping with YadeYu’s viewpoint, it is a piece that perhaps blurs the line between the physical and virtual dimensions, being present in one whilst created from the other, whilst also standing as a dream linking both.

The landing point sits above the main installation, a board presenting the required graphics settings needed to best appreciate the installation, while local sounds should also be enabled for the fullest experience. Once visitors are set, an Anywhere Door teleporter offer the way down to ground level and the installation proper.

Here the setting is made up of multiple parts: a central hill form which grows an enormous tree; a great vale of flowers that extends out into the water; and a village in the air, set as if floating upon wafer-thin clouds. The tree at first appears to be denuded, but slivers of green flow over the branches and wrap around the trunk, which is in part carved into a female form, while more green floats around the branches as orbs. A second figure lies in the shallows below, legs entangled into a network of roots. As well as the green on and around the tree, paths of light glimmer as they rise from the lowlands to pass over the tangle of roots that form the hill’s crown, offering a way up to the tree as then converge upon it, whilst a single path rises to the cloud village.

Throughout the setting, the motif of roots is clear: but what of the idea of being “uprooted”? Perhaps it is in relation to physical relocation: there is the village in the air and the one at the landing point – are these then symbolic of the pain of moving home? Or is the meaning more bound in matters of ecology or in the erosion of cultural identity due to the demands of an increasingly homogeneous modern world, perhaps invoked through the dancing figures?

As noted above, interpretation is down to the observer. What is apparent is JadeYu’s rooting in surrealism, edged with a sense of spirituality.

Open through a period of three months, Le Déraciné offers plenty of time for you to visit and consider it for yourself.

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• Le Déraciné (The Sim Quarterly, rated Moderate)

Currently open at Focus Magazine is The Truth About Trees, another thought provoking exhibition by Milena Carbone. It offers something of a multi-media installation, combining images and text (accessed via links to web pages), bound together by themes of life, ecology, harmony, and nature, and carries a vein of religious metaphor.

There is a path through the exhibition that starts to the right of the entrance beyond the window with a text element, and then proceeds counter-clockwise around the walls to the exit. The opening text is that of a dialogue Milena had with a friend in Australia who witnessed the 2019 brushfire there first-hand. It serves not just as a reminder of those events, but also that the Australian brush is a part of nature; a living environment in which we either share or seek – for better or more often for worse – try to dominate.

From here the story unfolds as pairings of image and a link to a story element, each to be taken in turn. It’s a story that mixes fable, the story of creation, the balance of nature. Folded into this are cosmic themes such as our place in the universe, raised through a story around ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object to have been detected passing through our solar system.

It’s a story that enfolds the images presented in the exhibition and reaches beyond them to pictures also found in the web pages of individual stories. In part it follows themes those who know Milena’s work will find as being familiar: questions about God, he nature of God’s existence the aforementioned issues of ecology, nature and harmony. However, these themes are not just presented through the stories – or perhaps mythology might be a better term – but also through the setting of the exhibition itself.

The latter appears as a walled garden with a central apple tree surrounded by police crime scene tape. The metaphor here is clear: the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge, the transgression against God’s will in the taking of the Apple and the fall of human kind from grace.

But here as well the metaphor in deeper than may first appear: were we really created in God’s image? If so, then were we not as flawed as God from the outset? If so, then was the crime committed by Adam and Eve not so much the eating of the apple against God’s orders, but rather God’s own failure in not making us better than just imbuing us with “his” own frailties; frailties that have prevented us living in the kind of natural harmony that has marked the rest of his creation?

Involved, rich in detail, theme and substance, The Truth About Trees will remain open through the rest of the month.

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• The Truth About Trees (Desert Shores, rated: Adult)

Friday June 12th, 2020, marks the opening of the Kultivate’s Magazine 5th anniversary art show in Second Life, with the event running through until Sunday June 14th, inclusive, which art, music and entertainment for all who visit.

Kultivate Magazine is a publication about the cultural aspects of Second Life, its goal is to support art, culture, photography, music, and fashion. The brand includes the magazine, The Windlight Art Gallery, The Edge Gallery of Black & White Imagery, The Kultivate Loft Gallery, Signature Gallery, AIR Gallery and the Select Gallery. It addition, Kultivate Magazine is the media partner and primary sponsor of Team Diabetes of Second Life, an official and authorised fund-raising team for The American Diabetes Association.

For the anniversary weekend, Kultivate presents a 2D and 3D art exhibition with some 31 artists participating, including: aht1981, Akiko.Tripsa, AlexAvion, Angel Heartsong, Anibrm Jung, Anouk Lefavre, archgothica, DrusillaGwind Resident, Elle Thorkveld, Francis Bagration, Hana Hoobinoo, ilyra chardin, Inara Pey, Jamee Sandalwood, Johannes Huntsman, Kapaan, Karma Weymann, KismaKSR Resident, Myra Wildmist, Reycharles Resident, Rissy Feiri, Sabine Mortenwold, Sheba Blitz, SkinTrader Greyskin, softandred, Syphera Inaka, talligurl resident, Tempest Rosca-Huntsman, Vanessajane66, Veruca Tammas, Vita theas, & wintergeist.

Obviously, with so many artists participating, the range of art on display is broad, with avatar studies, landscapes, colour images, monochrome, physical world paintings, mixed media, and more. All of the art is displayed in the open air, with the region’s default windlight providing a strong neutral background light to fully appreciate the pieces on display.

Entertainment for the weekend comprises (all times SLT):

• Friday June 12th:
  • 16:00-17:00: live performer Nina Setner + 10 slide show frames giveaway, 1 Templar Poses poseback giveaway, & L$1,000 Trompe L’Oeil Gift Card giveaway.
  • 17:00-18:00: live performer Melenda Baptiste  + 10 slide show frames giveaway, 1 Templar Poses posepack giveaway, & L$1,000 Trompe L’Oeil Gift Card giveaway.
• Saturday, June 13th:
  • 16:00-17:00: live performer Samuel James + 10 lucky winners of L$250 each & Templar Poses posepack giveaway.
  • 17:00-18:00: live performer Aislen Sings +10 lucky winners of L$250 each & Templar Poses posepack giveaway.
• Sunday, June 14th:
  • 13:00-14:00: live performer Max Kleene + 1 Lumipro giveaway.

So be sure to hop along and join the celebrations and enjoy the art!

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• Kultivate 5th Anniversary Art Show (Water Haven, rated Moderate)