Tag: Art 2020

Now open at the Kultivate Windlight Gallery is their first exhibition for 2020, featuring an ensemble gathering of artists.

Located on the ground floor of the gallery space the ensemble exhibition opened on Sunday, January 26th, and it features the artists Ragingbellls, John Brianna, Skye Joubert, Lena Kiopak, Sonatta Morales, Solana Python, Nils Urqhart and Myra Wildmist. Between them, they offer a mix of Second Life photography and physical world art that is richly varied in content and style.

From stunning photographs of the French Alps by Nils (and which forms a nice companion series to his In the Clouds series I was able to review in November 2019), through unique painted portraits by Skye, to avatar studies by Sonatta, this is a selection of art to please all eyes.

However, when visiting I would emphasise the need to ensure you have Advanced Lighting Model (Preferences > Graphics) during a visit. This is because Myra’s single piece is another experiment in using lighting projectors. Entitled Snow Field, it’s a piece you should pan your camera across it to appreciate the the use of the projector in concert with the image of sunset.

Take the stairs to the mezzanine, and – for a while longer at least at the time of writing, due to the fact I’m getting to it on the late side – is an exhibition of Kody Meyer’s photography. Covering multiple genres, and with a delight in experimenting, Kody always present pieces that are stunningly beautiful in execution.

There is something uniquely peaceful within Kody’s landscape images, and his love of exploring Second Life and capturing the locations he visits is clearly evident in his work. Similarly, his avatar studies offer a depth of narrative within each that draws one into them.

Kody notes of his approach:

Each picture depicts a story or is a reminder of an experience one can reflect upon when admiring it. As a perfectionist, I take the time necessary to capture the picture, experimenting with different angles, framings and windlights, until the perfect shot is created — the one that comes alive. Using different programs and techniques to create my pictures, the result is always a surprise. My goal is to portray the magic behind the raw image. To be able to contribute to peace and happiness in this world is an honour and an endless pleasure.

I’m not sure how much longer Kody’s work will be on offer at Kultivate – as noted, I got to the exhibition late myself – so do be sure to drop into the ground floor exhibition sooner rather than later to appreciate the work there, and then hop up the stairs to the mezzanine.

SLurl Details

• Kultivate Windlight Gallery (Water Haven, rated Moderate)

-ADreNaLin- is a relatively new region venture by Cherry Manga and JadeYu Fhang, intended to offer an “Art Place & Music Venue” with a focus on “Experimental Art – Music – Events.” It’s a multi-layered environment set within one quarter of a Full private region, offering room for art installations, a venue space and a store, all interconnected by teleport and with links to other French-related regions across the Second Life Grid (via a HUD that can be obtained from the region’s Les Explorateurs Francophones level – which can be reached from a teleport point on the parcel’s ground level).

Currently, the region is home to an installation by Cherry Manga entitled Strange Garden. It’s an ethereal, subtle setting that is evocative and layered, presenting something of a dreamscape and – possibly – reflections on self and human nature.

The dream aspect of the setting is perhaps most vividly offered through the monochrome styling of the installation (the use of monochrome to portray dreams has oft been used within media, although research suggests whether we dream in monochrome or colour appears to be down to an exposure to monochrome or colour television in childhood). However, the use of monochrome might be indicative of more than just dreams, and incorporates a commentary on the mind’s state – or perhaps the artist’s thoughts -, and the fact that we so often consider matters in a binary form – or black and white.

Presented within a hemisphere, the installation is bounded by black monolith-like blocks that lean outwards like the petals of a flower, slender trees rising into a grey sky beyond them. These blocks enfold a wild landscape, home to Animesh plants that whirl, writhe and sway to an unfelt wind, like stray thoughts turning in the back of the mind. More plants rise up and remain static, as if focal points of thinking (or perhaps creativity, if we consider ourselves inside the mind of the artist), while winged figures are to be found amidst this garden – angels of brighter thoughts, perhaps, countering the darker, lower aspects of the setting that might present more dour thoughts and feelings.

It’s a setting that is undeniably rich in symbolism. Within the garden can be found both Pandora’s box, and a memento mori. The latter is symbolic of the inevitability of death, offering again a suggestion of sitting within the mind and amidst reflections of self and identity (who among us has not pondered death’s ever closing hand and what might remain once it has gripped us in an inescapable grasp?). The former conjures perhaps thoughts of challenges unmet as a result of their complexity or the woes we set upon ourselves when seeking to gain greater freedom of expression through striving to create? (I would also suggest that perhaps the memento mori is a reflection of Cherry’s installation of that name that recently closed.)

This symbolism can also be found in the central “stairways” that twist in on themselves, apparently defying gravity it their suggestion one can climb up them, yet return to their base while still appearing to be climbing, almost Penrose-like. This also might be a reference to fate and the cycle of life – or equally to the font of creativity, where ideas fountain upwards, and also fall back to feed the ground from which they first rose, helping to nurture further ideas, enriching the garden, while the submerged elements could represent subconscious thoughts and processes…

A genuinely immersive (apparently developed for use with VR headsets) installation with multiple opportunities for interpretation / reflection, Strange Garden makes for an engaging visit (please make sure you have local sounds enabled and use the local windlight settings.

SLurl Details

Note that ADRENALINA is an Adult-rated region.

• -ADreNaLin- Ground Level arrival point
• Strange Garden

All4Art opened its January / February 2020 exhibition on Saturday, January 25th. Featuring another ensemble of artists, the exhibition this time has moved to Beau Belle Village, offering visitors both the opportunity to visit the art on display and to explore the region itself – although for those who wish to focus their time on the art, a series of teleport discs are available to carry them back and forth between individual displays and the main landing point.

Established by Carelyna Resident, All4Art has a mandate to move art in Second Life beyond the more traditional exhibition spaces, as the group’s description describes thus:

The vision of this group is to make art inclusive and not limit them to the galleries in SL. This is a group of artists who are driven by the need to express themselves and create art for art’s sake. The artists will show their artworks in public places other than galleries in successive itinerant exhibitions.

For this exhibition, All4Art is showcasing Etamae, EvangelinaBurroughs, Kimeu, MTH63, Mylena1992, Nabrej Aabye, Leonorah Beverly, Judylynn India, Agleo Runningbear and Carelyna herself. Together they present a rich mix of SL and physical world art, with a lean potentially towards the latter, given some of the Second Life images are rendered as paintings. Almost all of the artists confine themselves to 2D works, although Nabrej Aabye offers a trio of sculptures alongside his paintings.

Meanwhile, Beau Belle’s Village offers an intriguing space for the display, mixing as it does public spaces and private rentals. Those wishing to view the art by exploring the region should do so by following the arrows pointing the way from exhibit to exhibit – the first of these arrows can be found just down from the landing point teleport discs, directing people over a humpbacked bridge.

This route will take you first along the waterfront, passing JudyLynn’s art – a set of abstracts on the them of circles, thence to Leonorah Beverly’s Second Life landscape studies presented as paintings, and onwards still along the waterfront to Carelyna’s display (down on the wharf) which again offers Second Life scenes as paintings which might be said to have something of a Van Gogh influence to them, before arriving at Agleo Runningbear ‘s quite marvellous ink wash studies of New York City that are bracketed by two colour paintings.

A little back tracking from here is required to return to the tunnel leading to the rest of the region and the remaining artists (or you can scramble up a snow-sided hill and descend by wooden steps to reach the rest of the art!). Perhaps the most striking exhibit in this part of the region is Milena1992’s; this is in part because it is contained within a hard-to-miss semi-transparent yellow surround, but mostly because it pricks at the conscience by presenting concerns about the increasingly worrying state of the planet’s climate, and exhibition in part presented with a backdrop of trees engulfed in flames – a reminder of the wildfires that visited themselves on so many around the world in 2019.

Also to be found inland are the displays by EvangelinaBurroughs (which includes a part of eye-catching paintings-as-drapes), Kimeu, Etame and Nabreij, while nestled on the north-east beach is a selection of abstract expressionist pieces by MTH63.

Taken together, this is a richly diverse selection of art, for which there is no official closing date – the exhibition will remain in place as long as the region holders are prepared to host it.

SLurl Details

• Beau Belle Village (Beau Belle, rated Moderate)

Have you ever imagined a painting come to life? When the image from the canvas expands the frames and steps towards you? When do paints and brush movements turn into folds of fabric falling over a figure?

So reads the invitation sent to artists requesting they participate in Art and Fashion Union, and ensemble exhibition of art that opened on January 19th, 2020 at the Dragon Sanctuary Gallery. It was an intriguing invitation: to offer three pieces of art for display, with creators / models invited to use the art as inspiration to produce new fashion pieces that are to be featured in a special fashion show to take place on the last Sunday of January.

I didn’t have the confidence in my work to participate, but I’m pleased to say some 27 other artists weren’t so shy, and have come together to participate in the exhibition, with each – as noted – offering three pieces of art. The result is an intriguing selection of pieces from artists who may well be familiar to some, new to others and some of whom may not have exhibited that widely of late.

The complete list of artists comprises: Carelyna, Etamae, EvangelinaBurroughs, Jessamine2108, Lampithaler, LydiaFairmount, MTH63, Mylena1992, SecondHandTutti, ViktorSavior, Alpha Auer, Michiel Bechir, Sisi Biedermann, GeeJAnn Blackadder, Sheba Blitz, Zia Branner, Ilyra Chardin, Kayly Iali, Anibrm Jung, Silas Merlin, Saul Morigi, JolieElle Parfort, Melusina Parkin, Tom Prospero, Jamee Sandalwood, Talullah Winterwolf, and Callum Writer.

The display is presented across the two floors of the gallery, and given the nature of some of the pieces, it will be interesting to see the fashion items produced for the show. Will designers seek out an individual piece for inspiration, or see several pieces as a means to visualise a design, or will they be drawn to a specific artist rather than one or more pieces?

Thematically, the work of Sheda Blitz, Alpha Auer and EvangelinaBurroughs, as three examples, present pieces that might collectively inspire a fashion design, rather than one of the three pieces each presents forming a single point of inspiration. By contrast Sisi Biedermann, Lampithaler and Callum Writer – to keep the list to another three – perhaps offer pieces that individually encourage designs based on each of them.

Exactly how designers will get to choose which work or works or artist they see as an inspiration is unclear to me. But regarding the art on display as potential incentives for design work isn’t the only reason for visiting the gallery during this month-long exhibition: each selection of three pieces by the participating artists offers a unique insight into their work and how they look upon art and Second Life.

Those wishing to attend the fashion show at the gallery can do so on Sunday, January 26th, 2020 at, I believe, 11:00am SLT.

Surl Details

• Dragon Sanctuary Gallery (Dragon Sanctuary, rated Adult)