Tag: Art 2024

One of the common weapon in the extremist political / religious toolbox is that of demonising others. It’s a tool which has been used for both political and religious gain pretty much throughout history: making the “others” appear dangerous, alien and a source of fear. or something to be removed or eradicated.

Currently in the United States and Western Europe, the weapon of demonisation is very much one of the tools of choice of the Right, wielded in an attempt to instil fear and worry among citizens and leverage that fear into power. Invented and manipulated crises are created, falsehood levelled, and more. Currently in the US, much is being made of a so-called “crisis” at the southern border, which not only over-dramatizes and  misleads on the influx of illegals and drugs, it also paints Mexico, as America’s southern neighbour, as a country entirely given over to the shovelling of said illegals and drugs across the border as fast as possible.

It is a depiction that is greatly divorced from reality, and it does a huge disservice to a country as rich in heritage, culture, music, architecture and so on as might be found anywhere in the United States. And to remind us all of this, Maximus W North (MaxNorthern) presents Border Archetypes, a small, engaging and richly furnished selection of photographs intended to reveal something of the realities of the people south of “the border” and directly contrast these realities with the hate-led rhetoric from the American political Right when it comes to the people of Mexico.

In this, and in introducing the collection, Max is (correctly) unapologetic in pointing the finger and making facts plain:

Hey, vatos locos (crazy dudes), think you’ve got the border all figured out just ’cause you caught some headlines on Fox News or CNN? You really believe we’re just peeking out the window, making bets on what migrant can dodge “la migra” (Border Patrol) the fastest? Or that we’re all out here hustling shady deals… (quickly hides his car trunk from view)?

Drugs and migrants don’t define us. What crosses the border isn’t what the border is all about. Sure, they bring heavy law enforcement, check the border wall. Full of agents. What passes through here brings a rough rep, thanks to the channels you watch. But they also leave behind beautiful, strange, exotic bits of culture that shape our identity on both sides. This exhibit showcases images from Tijuana-San Diego, Juarez-El Paso, and Laredo-Nuevo Laredo—sister cities separated by either the desert or the tiny Rio Grande, which isn’t so grand, by the way.

– From the introduction to Border Archetypes

Within this exhibition, hosted by Carelyna at her excellent ArtCare Gallery, Max presents us with photos of actual people living along the border – some of them people he knows personally – offering us a glimpse into their lives both visually and through supplied notecards (click the small triangles on the floor in front of each image to receive a card).

These are raw photographs in that they are offered as taken and without and post-processing or other digital play (although they might be possibly cropped a little) – and Max admits to taken at least one whilst somewhat the worse for having enjoy a certain amount of wine along the way! As such, they are rich a a natural flow of life and mood; the people in them are real, not because they have been captured on film or digitally, but because there has been no attempt to professional frame or pose; we seen them as they are – relatable human beings, driven by the same creativity, the same brightness of mood or pensiveness of thought as marks each of us.

Or to be more succinct (and following Walt Kelly in playing on the words of Oliver Hazard Perry): we are shown the lives of “others” – and they are ours.

As a debut exhibition from a long-time patron of the arts in Second Life, Border Archetypes is small, but speaks with a clear voice. Do take the opportunity to see it and read Max’s words in hi introductory note card (which includes a lot of worthwhile links) and those accompanying the pictures.

SLurl Details

• Border Archetypes, ArtCare Gallery (Emotion, rated Moderate)

Currently on display at the Kondor Art Club is a richly engaging exhibition of images captured by Bee (Filipa Emor) paired with words (mostly) written by Anaïs Nin. Entitled Anaïs Nin – Feelings, Love, Passion, Life, it’s both a highly personal exhibition, forming a tribute to Anaïs and her writings from someone who admires her work, and t the same time an approachable and artistic means of introducing those less familiar with her life, her writing and her influence to all three.

Born in France in early 1903 to Cuban parents, Anaïs Nin is hailed by many as one of the finest writers of female erotica. She was one of the first women known to explore fully the realm of erotic writing, and certainly the first prominent woman in the modern West known to write erotica. Her work in this regard is both rich and deeply complex; she first became aware of erotica literature in the 1920s or 1930s, after she, her first husband, Hugh Parker Guiler and her family moved to Paris in 1924, and her fascination with it grew from there via interests in psychoanalysis, her own emerging sexuality and her explorations of self.

One by one, I read these books, which were completely new to me. I had never read erotic literature in America… They overwhelmed me. I was innocent before I read them, but by the time I had read them all, there was nothing I did not know about sexual exploits… I had my degree in erotic lore.

– The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Volume 1 (1931-1934)

In truth, Nin’s life was complex – she never divorced her first husband, but this did not stop her from marrying again in 1955, this time to actor Rupert Pole (later annulled in 1966 as a result of – essentially – tax complications!), and throughout her life she had multiple affairs and relationships.

Of the latter, the one that influenced her life to the greatest was with American novelist, short story writer and essayist Henry Miller. What started as a friendship grew into a deeply passionate and complex relationship which influenced both Nin’s sexuality and her writing. Nin was also an avid diarist throughout her life, recording her thoughts and feelings daily, reflecting on her growth as a woman, on her sexuality, on her loves and desires.

This desire to give expression spilled over into her relationship with Miller, the two of them sharing intimate thoughts in prose as well as engaging on a heated affair whilst Miller’s wife June (to whom Nin had initially been drawn) was away. Within Anaïs Nin – Feelings, Love, Passion, Life, Bee offers a series of black and white images encapsulating a sense of erotica whilst also offering to illustration Nin’s thoughts, feelings and – as one travels on through the exhibition – her desires for Miller.

Presented with a passage from one of the volumes of Nin’s collected journals or later publications which drew together her writings that focused on Miller and his wife), the images are a marvellous reflection of Nin’s thoughts and emotions, her feelings towards Miller (and also his towards her).

In this, the exhibition appears to be progressive in nature, with the images and texts starting on the left side of entrance to the hall and then proceeding around the inner and outer walls, gradually progressing from Nin’s inner thoughts through to her thoughts on, and exchanges with, Miller (with the images also shifting from singular pieces to those involving couples). Thus Bee weaves a visual journal, if you will reflecting Nin’s thoughts in an intimate and engaging manner.

All told, an emotive, poignant and visually captivating exhibition.

SLurl Details

• Kondor Art Club, Kondor Art Centre (Royal Tea, rated Adult)

For those who may not be familiar with the term, Blinn-Phong is a reflection / shading model which, in terms of Second Life has been the mechanism by which materials and their reflectivity worked exclusively prior to the arrival of glTF / PBR in SL (and indeed, still work – they haven’t gone away with the arrival of PBR).

While Blinn-Phong is the correct name for this type of shading / reflection model, the fact is that for many, it is another odd term being ushered in alongside a tonne of others as glTF makes its presence felt in Second Life. There’s glTF and PBR themselves, together with metallic roughness, base colour, emissive, transmission, index of reflection, and so on. All of which can start to sound like a foreign language and seem quite frightening when really all they signify is an effort to bring SL graphically and technologically in line with modern rendering engines and the toolsets and standards used in content creation.

And that’s something of the “message” behind this art exhibition: don’t worry about all the terms; they are either just new ways of expressing what you’ve been doing all this time, or indicating there are new ways of doing things you’re always done, whilst offering new little tweaks you can make to things.

On offer are a series of beautifully abstract pieces by Eta, 15 in a larger format, created using Blinn-Phong materials and seven smaller pieces (including the one at one of the entrances to the gallery space) created using PBR materials. Each set incorporates subtle animations, and both look very similar – emphasising the fact that whether you call them Blinn-Phong, PBR or just “materials”, nothing has changed in terms of what the finished results can be – or might be; we can still build and create and display – and have a few new treats to boot, such as the mirror elements Eta has added to her PBR art (and which could have been as easily built using Blinn-Phong materials).

It’s an elegant, simple statement; as Eta notes: it’s not profound, it’s not deep – but it it is illustrative. Just because the terms are new and the technology is changing, there’s no need to be frightened or object to what’s going on. SL is still a place where we can express ourselves (physically and artfully). So just chill, have fun – and enjoy!

SLurl Details

• It’s All Blinn-Phong to Me! (Akijima, rated Moderate)