More (past) photo exhibits...

In the last post I wrote about my photo exhibits at R&D gallery and at MAAD. Though, I didn't realize that I never noticed I have started exhibiting my pics since a while yet!
I never should have thought to exhibit my photos; I'm not a professional photographer and my technical skills are probably poor; I'm just a passionate amateur, enthusiast witness of my own feelings about SL people, places and magic. If technics is poor, my catching eye is driven by strong feelings and emotions.

Thanks to Olympes Rhode, great Paris 1900 photographer, dancer and friend, I had had that opportunity: she trusted in my skills and she invited me to join the Photographes Inter-Sims group, asking me first some pics for the thematic exhibit "Passages" at the stunning Galerie des Machines in Paris, then for taking part in two great exhibits at the Café des Artistes.



The first one, some month ago, has been about "Paris Impressions" and I had the honour and the pleasure to share the exhibit's rooms with Zaelle Uxlay ans Shoji Kumaki.
The second one, even with the same friends, is about the theme The Bright Side of Life" and it's still open at the Café.
The first pics (you can see them on a Flickr set here) try to catch some meaningful corners of one among the SL cities i love much, where i keep stores and where i take part in great events.




The second exhibit gave me a strong impulse to reflect about things that make my SL worthy and beautiful :) Even a small tree or a bright sunshine can be a reason to love this Life and the Other One.




Faces, Places, Moments are the three words which I had in my mind when I selected the pics.




The Passages theme brought me to experiment some ideas (or questions) about SL-RL relationship: Imitation, Swap, Trespassing. Three possible ways to live both Lives, as we have the chance to do.



Merci Olympes!

Art Deco photos...

As most of my friends know, since a long time I collect pics of Art Deco places in SL (see my Flickr set). I have been surprised by the huge amount of buildings and whole towns that i found around SL.
Months ago i've been asked by a friend who keeps an art gallery to exhibit some of my photos. So bore the exhibit Second Deco, hosted by Red Bickin and Danniela Bruun at their R&D Gallery.









At the exhibit, i met Frey Bravin, who was starting with the project of a Museum of American Architecture and Design. He invited me to dislpay my works at the new Museum; so I'm grateful and proud to see there a room where my pics are shown.









Likewise, I'm proud also to see my pics shown in an Artist Walk of the beautiful SIM Campus d'Art, owned and built by Cecilia Delacroix, among great SL and RL artists's galleries.





I invite all art lovers to visit these places, that witness one of the most worthy side of SL.

(A special thank to Pandora Runo and Lulubelle Muircastle, who made me met Red and Frey; and to Laura18 Streeter, who gave me the pic of the MAAD exhibit entrance)

Another victim of a wrong policy: Primtings Museum is no longer in SL

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JUNE 24th UPDATE!
Primtings and the Shakespeare SIMs are back!!
A miracle?


Many Second Life SIMs close every day: wrong plans, weak management, lack of money, scarce advertising kill old and great commercial brands or even small communities' discos or chatting venues.
It's sad, very sad, to people who loved (and LIVED) them, even if they were just entretainment places.
It's life, it's Second Life.



But sometimes we have to regret even more, 'cause the disappeared place is a different and a special one. Closing of public interest SIMs makes all of us poorer and destroys a piece of the great puzzle-dream that SL would be.
Losing a museum, a theater, an accurate rebuilding of an historical or art town, a famous cafè or a passionate creator's fashion brand means subtracting to SL one of its aims: that of being a place were creativity, passion and skills - which often are frustrated in RL - could show themselves and could give pleasure and useful knowledge to many other people.

So, i think we can't keep silent while Primtings Museum and the connected Shakespeare (with a stunning rebuilding of the Globe Theater) and sLiteracy SIMs disappear from the SL map.



Primtings was a very special museum (i wrote several times about it) where SL artists made 3d versions of contemporary art masterpieces. An unique place, where you could hang on a tree aside to the liquefied clock of the famous Salvador Dali's painting, or you could take a cup of coffee at the counter of the Phillie's pub of the Edward Hopper's Nighthawk one. The architecture of the museum was itself a very original witness of modern design.







I enjoyed it several times, i brought there dozen of friends, and all of them had become enthusiast visitors and supporters of the place. Here you can find records about all the artwork that were in the museum.


Ina Centaur, the restless creator of these wonderful places, wrote a sad message to all her friends telling the bad story that brought the SIMs to die. I don't add anything but a short notice for those who don't have the time to read her letter.
Despite Primtings and Shakespeare SIMs have raisen the money needed to survive until half 2011, the arrear in tier payment of other SIMs brought Ina's account to be closed by LL. Consequently all her properties and items disappeared from our virtual world.

All supporters and contributors of the funding campaign have to be astonished and upset by this strict enforcement of LL rules. But even more should be astonished and upset all art and culture lovers who live in SL, seeing that LL demonstrate to be indifferent to preserve what can be considered as an achievement of SL purposes: making dreams real, showing the great opportunities of the virtual world, overcoming funding tyranny and lack of profitability that is a constant treat to art and culture in their highest forms.
An enlighted management should have to recognize what has worth and deserves support, even if it should mean departing from economic rules. LL should have been supporters of such an initiative - as hundreds of SL residents are - and not its killers.





This post is a requiem for a great place, a protest against a shortsighted company policy and a faithful witness of an art lover and of a SL enthusiast, who feels herself injured by this sad and unnecessary event.

52 Weeks of Colors Challenge - Mahogany

This Week Luna Jubilee proposes the color MAHOGANY.
Being a furniture maker, it sound to me like one of the best woods for ancient and luxurious furniture... I can't resist, though being busy...

My mahogany!