Lex reminds us of September 11, 2001 with his new installation “Never Forget”…
There are hardly words to describe this event properly, I remember we were all sitting in our offices when the news of the tragic events of that day reached us.
First, we were all overcome with dumbfoundedness and then with horror and compassion as well as deep sorrow for all those who lost their lives that day.
The horror of the atrocity made my body tremble… the tears just ran down and I don’t think any of us could take care of the daily work anymore. On every monitor and everywhere were life reports from the USA.
Today, after 20 years, I look at this meaningful and powerful installation in Second Life that Lex made to teach us to never forget, to honor all those who lost their lives.
I have hope that we will all learn to be better people. I know it’s hard work to be a better person, but the experience taught me that it’s worth working on yourself, educating yourself and keeping your ego under control.
It is worth to be positive, to be compassionate for your fellow human beings and all living species, to appreciate nature and mother earth and to protect and grow all that we are, what we have and where we are.
I hearty invite you all, dear friends to take a moment to visit and pause at this installation & never forget!
“One day I wrote her name upon the strand. but came the waves and washed it away; Again I wrote it with a second hand, but came the tide and made by pains his pray
‘Vain man’ said she,’that dost in vain assay, A mortal thing so to immortalize; For I myself shall like to this decay, And eke my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so,’ (quod I) ‘let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your vertues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name: Where whenas death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.” – Amoretti LXXV by Edmund Spencer
“My thanks goes to Suzanne Graves for donating her sculpture ‘Shake our Troubles’ to display here at the gallery.
“Dido Haas is Dutch and has been in SL for a long time and still enjoying this fantasy world.
Since July 2009 I put a lot of my SL time in writing for my blog ‘Exploring SL with Dido’, however the emphasize shiftedmore and more from text to images.. In line with this I started to place my best blog images, and more private photos, on Flickr..
In 2012 my SL partner Nitro and I, we started Nitroglobus gallery and most of my SL time was dedicated to curating and promoting the exhibitions of guest artists in the main hall of this gallery.
January 2016 I continued with Nitroglobus on my own, because my beloved partner Nitro Fireguard passed away after a painful sickness. I am keeping him close forever in my heart and in my gallery, as Nitro’s awesome mesh sculptures are still on display at Nitroglobus.
Being so busy with curating I had little time left to make photos myself. When I do, my pictures showed visitors, exhibitions and parties @ my gallery.
But sometimes when I am in the right mood I do make photos, most of them black/white and portraits or avatar studies.”
“RED SKY by Mihailsk, the September exhibition @ Nitroglobus (Dido’s part of the gallery)
He’s back with 8 great works, which this time are situated at dido’s part of Nitroglobus I am sincerely happy Miha said yes when I asked him to fill ‘my part’ of the gallery.
As all Miha’s works exhibited have in common they are situated under a red sky, I ‘dressed’ the gallery hall likewise with red light poles, one throwing it’s red light on Nitro’s sculpture ‘HIGH ‘EMOTIONS and …, moreover, red/purple cloud trees with ditto growing clouds under the floor, which Venus Adored made especially for me (//me blows a kiss to Venus whispering ‘thank you’)
I invite you all to visit and feel the warmth and emotions displayed..” – Dido Haas
“RED SKY”
“The color red symbolizes intense situations and emotions but at the same time it indicates warning and danger. My red sky is a sky which reflects strong human emotions, covering them like a blanket and thus giving a sense of safety and hope. Danger, longing, visualization, power, love, pain, balance, joy: eight human moments under the red sky. I am honored to present these new works here at Nitroglobus.” – Mihailsk
I am Greek and even though I am in SL since 2014, I feel my second life started the day I decided to dedicate a large part of my time in this virtual world to photography. It was January 2020 when I started this beautiful journey in light, colors and emotions. A journey to fantastic places and loved persons, trying to capture special moments in eternity. Sometimes with a smile, sometimes with pain.
Each of my images is a part of me, an expression of my mood at that particular moment. I love light but also darkness. I am fascinated by shadows and their secrets and feel awe in front of the beauty of a landscape as well as I love open spaces. But I can be enchanted by the beauty of a soul as reflected in the eyes of a person. We are a part of the environment around us, not the main theme.
I prefer the natural movements of my avatar and when I need a specific pose, I create it myself. I wish to share with people what I see and what I feel, rejoicing when I manage to make someone see through my eyes and feel with my soul.
I don’t see myself as an artist, I am a passenger with open eyes in this journey of life and second life.” – Mihailsk
Previous exhibition: ‘BAPTISM OF FIRE’ at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, July 2021
Raven Haalan, Stephen Venkman, PJ Trenton and Rowan Derryth.
“This Exhibit pays homage to the AM Sims Of SL Past. The AM Radio Transitions Series series was photographed and scripted in May, 2011 following the announcement by AM Radio that his excellent art builds would soon exit Second Life. Rowan Derryth rallied a team of photographers to prepare an exhibit that would capture and present these builds before they were lost.
Linden Lab has introduced some subcategories in the ‘art‘ section of Second Life Destinations. In particular, the Art section is now divided as follows.
Art
galleries
exhibits & installations
photo studios
theatres & performances
New subcategories in the Art section of the Second Life Destinations Page
Any addition that enriches the variety of offerings for the visitor is very welcome, of course.
One addition that, in my opinion, would be interesting to see in Second Life Destinations is “Magazines.” Magazines about SL are indeed many, and all of them deserve their own category. By the way, most of the magazines have their own location, an editorial office, where you can pick up the kiosk that landers can put on their region. It should also be borne in mind that magazines perform an important information function, capture the reader’s attention, and perform an essential aggregation function.
We look forward to this, but in the meantime, we thank Linden Lab for this classification, which (further) highlights artistic activity in Second Life.
“‘Numb” conveys energy that even the most insensitive heart cannot ignore. What I find most fascinating about this art installation, a collaboration between Lex Machine (archetype.nova) and several artists is how all the statues blend together harmoniously to convey a unified message. This is not an easy task because each artist has their own style and method of communication, so combining different artists (and therefore styles) harmoniously is one of the most difficult challenges. It is tough, if not impossible, not to be profoundly touched by the words one reads in about land regarding the same installation:
“There’s a pill for everything these days… none of them actually cure what’s wrong.”
From “Numb” About Land
There was no need to add anything else, really. The same installation highlights the psychological discomfort of a sick society that thinks it can cure itself by simply swallowing a pill. And in fact, there really is a pill for everything. I remember with admiration my professor of philosophy of law, Lombardi Vallauri, who wrote the masterpiece “Terre.” The professor envisaged a future in which it would be enough to swallow one pill to produce joy, another to feel nostalgia, yet another to reproduce enthusiasm, and so on. In short, a world overwhelmed by pharmacology is a panacea for every need, from the most serious to the most frivolous.
“Numb’ highlights madness, mental imbalance. You can easily see it in the gazes of some of the statues. The installation depicted few elements of balance: the little girl attracted to roses is an example. However, even these sporadic elements of psychological balance are surrounded by mental disorders, which do not bode well. Just a few days ago, thinking about the tragic situation in Afghanistan, I wondered how people live who cannot rely on life-saving medicines and medical aid as the West can. One life, I imagine, in the uncertainty of tomorrow, but one life, probably, clearly feeling today, with all its nuances. One fights to defend values instead of dragging out days that are mostly all the same.
We really worry about having a pill for every eventuality: one for eating, one for sleeping, one for having sex, there is even one that makes you urinate. But, for goodness sake, they are welcome if they help people to feel better. What doesn’t exist is a pill against meanness, a pill against sadism, a pill against selfishness, and so on. Obviously, this is a provocation: there cannot be pills for these horrible nuances of the human soul. However, that is not the point. The point is that there does not seem to be a will to investigate the human soul to achieve a society where people can express themselves and feel good. This aspect seems to take second place in everything. Yet never before has psychological unease been so prevalent as in this era. We are not just talking about madness in its most serious forms, but also panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, claustrophobia, anorexia and eating disorders, personality disorders, excessive attachment and delusions of possession towards another person, and so on.
So I welcome art to wake us up from the sleep in which we confine our souls to adapt to a world that, let’s face it, is sick to the core of us. It is said that the clearest form of intelligence is the ability to adapt. I disagree. Adapting to a sick society is not intelligent behavior; if anything, it is self-destructive. It is a progressive suicide over the years that we realize many times when it is too late to seek remedy. We have seen this in Italy in recent days with the death of “Youtubo anche io”, a young but obese man who recorded videos in which he binged heavily to satisfy his followers. What level of malaise can lead a person to harm himself to satisfy other people, mostly unknown to him? This is just one example; we could make many more, unfortunately.
I conclude this post with a quote that, perhaps best of all, describes the thought that goes through my mind:
“Perhaps adapting is necessary to survive, but it is not enough to be happy.”
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