Ich bin ein Berliner

Logging in this morning, I got a group notice stating that the exhibition Faces by Milena Carbone in New Berlin Park would soon be taken down.  Curious as I am, I entered the taxi and was dropped off under a bridge in a somewhat sad old Berlin street with bendt and rusty fences around a park.  Going inside, I got the same feeling as when you enter a park in Old Berlin (as in IRL, LOL) - the dirt and the noises are gone, and you are in a pocket of quiet serenity, where the bird sings on top of the sound of running water in the fountains.  

And then I could walk around and also enjoy great art - Milena is scraping away our masks, not only the Covid ones but all the layers below.  The image of fear really made me feel scared, and my favourite, Contempt, had so many layers that I need to study it more when I get it home.

I am glad I made the exhibit before closing - This is SL at it's very best, giving inspiration at the start of yet another day in the home office for the person behind this keyboard.  Thanks, Milena!

Gallery round ending at Ambre Singh

 

I was delighted to discover that the Art Galleries of SL list was still active!  I took on the HUD and started a virtual tour of galleries.  After a few tries I ended up spending time with the art of Ambre in her Noir'Wen gallery.  Her art show a great ability to display emotions using avatars, combined with a cool sense of humor.  I totally fall in love with her recreation of a scene from the classic movie "The unbearable lightness of being".  This is the kind of thing I have really missed being away from SL.  A visit here is highly recommended!

Back again?

Years and years ago, I left SL to take more care of my RL - to be honest, my SL was no longer sustainable if I were to have a normal life.  

I have logged in from time to time since then, but never found anything really compelling.  However, life changes, my RL has become lighter, and in the midst of the pandemic I feel more in need of some online social contact.  Also, the joy of creating spaces and exploring new places has never really left.  So here I am, back again.

Lots of things have changed; my belowed Winterfell is now Rosehaven, but its still a place of beauty and serenity.  I got a a small plot and put up a forest with a pond, and discovered I have not forgotten everything SL!  

Writing is also something I enjoy (now, who am this "I"?  This character with a misspelled French surname?  Or the human at the keyboard?  I am not sure, but its interesting to think about) so I thought I should start blogging my second second life.  

I hope someone might find this readable, and look forward to spend some time with you people also facinated by these lands.

In the mind of a Fae

After so many years of exploring the SL art scene, I am very thrilled when I discover someone I have not seen before.  I stumbled over some pictures of Fae Varriale at the Space4Art gallery, and they made me so curious that I had to see more.  It seems she is the co-runner of an art center - Branwen Arts - so I  TP-ed over to have a look.

The first impression was that her pictures was beautifully done, with keen eyes for details and colors.  But there where something more, and I found myselves returning several times to look more.  Today, I also managed to get Jayn to join me (we meet far to seldom these days), and we spent a happy hour discussing the works.

There is a lot of symbolism and themes in the exhibit - here are bits from medeival fantasy worlds, pagan beleifs and woodoo (at least thats what Sant la Muerte made me think of). The pictures are very different, with different styles and themes, but something common at last materialized for me.

I find that it's the strength of women, or the artists vision of the strength, that flows in all the works.  One see power, violence and struggle (like the character in "stealing your heart" is fighting her way through the storm), but also self-exploring and desire.  "Fragments" contains no nudity, but I still found it extremly erotic.

I certainly want to buy some of her works, but my main problem is that they all seem to belong together.  They tell me a story from inside the artists mind, and just one or two of the will not cover it all.  In the end I think I will have to throw a dice.

I just hope she keeps them on the wall for a long time.  Anyone serious of SL art should definitely visit this exhibit and learn more about the mind of Fae.  At least the parts she gifts us insight in.

Relaxing in an artful flowerbed

Stretching out my tired writing arms

Yesterday I was walking the stylish floors of the Palais Orleans, and just as I was about to leave I got an IM from anibrm.jung, the owner of Art By Nature! (SLurl).  I had visited the place before, and now she had a couple of new photos.

I TP'ed over, and got a nice chat with her.  

ANI is doing RL nature photographs, and as you can see she has created an SL gallery that confirms with the theme:-)  You are literally walking on green pastures while admiring the beautiful shots.  She has a nice video on Youtube presenting her art too (Video).

What I like a lot is her attention to details in the scene; like in one shot the focus is on a nail in a fence, while the horses on the field behind is blurred.  It so reminds me of one of my favorite movies: American Beauty.  If anyone of you have seen it, you will remember one of the main characters walking around, videotaping odd stuff like an old bag of plastic dancing in the wind, just because he found it so beautiful:

  "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, 
I feel like I can't take it, 

and my heart is just going to cave in."

ANI gives me the same feeling with her best shots.  Eveyone (including me, lol) can make a nice sunset picture, but it takes more of an artist to show us the hidden treasures in the nature surrounding us.

I have given some thoughts about the difference between a gallery mimicing RL (like the Palais Orleans) and more NPIRL-like places like Art by Nature!   Being quite a NPIRL fan I must confess to generally liking those places best.  Even so, when art itselves is clearly SL bound, it creates a nice contrast do display it in surroundings our brain holds for real.

But when it comes to displaying RL photographs, NPIRL is definitely the way to go.  So pictures set up outside in the rain, and grass growing throutgh the floors of the few buildings works so well.  Art by Nature! is definitely worth visiting, and if you bring someone special, you can relax together on a coach by the fire, sharing the beauty around you and in your selves.