Within the past week or so I have had the chance to visit two photography exhibitions that have recently opened and having seen both within a short space of time, I was struck by how different each was in almost every way and yet underlying both were some commonalities. 
The first exhibition I visited is at Saxmundham’s Galleria in the Mayfair sim. I attended the opening party for the gallery which is where I discovered the work of Declan McDowell (rl Olivier Hudner). Hudner is a self-taught photographer living and working in the South of France. This is the first exhibition of his work in SL. His work includes many different genres – landscapes, portraits, nature studies and what he calls “recycled art”, photographs of other art in public spaces, such as graffiti. Overall his photographs focus in on the details of life which we tend not to notice, finding the beauty in the mundane. More of his work can be seen at his website, www.hudner.net.
The second exhibition is in the Victoriana Square sim. The Nation of Victoriana is a 19th Century themed sim, beautifully designed and built and a favourite place of mine in Second Life. Currently on display in the Town Hall in Victoriana Square are the works of Callipygian Christensen. Christensen is a well established SL photographer; her work is on display at many different venues. This exhibition of scenes of Victoriana was done at the suggestion of Mayor LittleBlackDuck Lindsay, the sim owner. Some photographs are done in gentle sepia tones, giving an air of days gone by, while others are brightly, almost shockingly, coloured in contrast, reflecting the liveliness of the sim.
These are two very different exhibitions, showing the great diversity of art that can be seen in SL. Both are exhibits of photographic works; however McDowell’s pictures are of RL only, whereas Christensen’s are only of SL, and in fact only of the Victoriana sim. McDowell is a relative newcomer to the art scene in SL, Christensen is more established. At the heart, though, is the artist’s eye looking at the everyday, whether that is in SL or RL.
The first exhibition I visited is at Saxmundham’s Galleria in the Mayfair sim. I attended the opening party for the gallery which is where I discovered the work of Declan McDowell (rl Olivier Hudner). Hudner is a self-taught photographer living and working in the South of France. This is the first exhibition of his work in SL. His work includes many different genres – landscapes, portraits, nature studies and what he calls “recycled art”, photographs of other art in public spaces, such as graffiti. Overall his photographs focus in on the details of life which we tend not to notice, finding the beauty in the mundane. More of his work can be seen at his website, www.hudner.net.
The second exhibition is in the Victoriana Square sim. The Nation of Victoriana is a 19th Century themed sim, beautifully designed and built and a favourite place of mine in Second Life. Currently on display in the Town Hall in Victoriana Square are the works of Callipygian Christensen. Christensen is a well established SL photographer; her work is on display at many different venues. This exhibition of scenes of Victoriana was done at the suggestion of Mayor LittleBlackDuck Lindsay, the sim owner. Some photographs are done in gentle sepia tones, giving an air of days gone by, while others are brightly, almost shockingly, coloured in contrast, reflecting the liveliness of the sim.
These are two very different exhibitions, showing the great diversity of art that can be seen in SL. Both are exhibits of photographic works; however McDowell’s pictures are of RL only, whereas Christensen’s are only of SL, and in fact only of the Victoriana sim. McDowell is a relative newcomer to the art scene in SL, Christensen is more established. At the heart, though, is the artist’s eye looking at the everyday, whether that is in SL or RL.
Hibiscus Hastings
Lovely article Hib!! Makes me want to visit both exhibits when I log back onto SL!
ReplyDelete- Drax
Hi Drax, nice to hear from you, thanks for your comment. I hope you will have a chance to go have a look sometime.
ReplyDelete