The partners of Angel Gallery have made the decision to move on and close the gallery. We initially hoped we could continue to provide this unique gallery in SL to the art community. However, after some long conversations. We all feel that the time has come to let it go and work with others in the community.

We would like to thank the amazing artists who have all participated in exhibits at the Gallery over the years and wish you all the best with your creativity. We would like to make a special mention to the following people; Shiny Shabazz, Rob Barber, Rose Borchovski and Sasun Steinbeck. You have all been there from day one, through it great friendships have formed that transcend beyond the gallery.

Even though this is the end for us owning a gallery, this is also a new Era, a time to be excited for what is around the corner. New projects are in the works, the website will see a new theme and focus as the Mysts Of Forzane in association with DMA and others looks to the future.

Safe Paths to all.

The Angel Gallery Team

We made that move to JourneysEnd, it lasted 6 blissful weeks ending on the last day of September. After several meetings between the key peeps behind the gallery. We had several options outlined before us. After some careful consideration we elected to go with relocating Angel Gallery to 1920 – 1930′s themed SIM called Esoterica.

We are pleased to announce that Angel Gallery after a week of SL oblivion has once again risen into the skies. The gallery is much smaller hosting the 5 artists who form the co-operative and 1 guest artist in the south gallery.

Em Larrson will continue to be hosted as the guest artist through the month of October. Her flowers exhibit is an amazing example of macro photography, or is it? That’s a question you can only find a response too if you visit the exhibit. The selected medium of this exhibit did leave me thinking.

So come and visit the new Angel Gallery

Angel Gallery has evolved since its original conception back on the Land of Angels, it was then relocated too Aisling Mysts and now finds its new home at JourneysEnd.

The gallery as a build is now in its 4th generation. The gallery, from its humble beginnings has matured into what it is now, the corner stone of Angel Compenso d Art.

The Gallery ethos is to provide the framework for artists to exhibit art in a unique setting. The central atrium is available to any SL artist for short term exhibitions of 30 days.

The 8 co-operative galleries encircling the atrium host our co-operative artists.

The grand opening earlier today was to support the Central Asia Institute, 100% of funds raised during this 3 hour event was ample funding to provide 12 months schooling for 10 children

The main stage, which also doubles up as the gallery donation Jar will split 25% of all donation on an ongoing basis to the CAI charity.

Join us this Wednesday, July 14 at 0900hrs or 9am SLT (PDT) welcome this very talented lady to SecondLife!

Meet the artist and view her magnificent CGI Art and welcome this very talented artist to SecondLife!

Lighthouse Mixmaster will be preforming live some jazzy blues guitar to groove by!

Bio:
Letty Emerald, SL name.
Letty Muntjewerf, RL name.

RL Information:
Born: 11-20-1943.

Education: Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague, The Netherlands. Kunstgewerbeschule, Basel, Switzerland. Rijks Hogere Kunstschool, Brussel, Belgium. Vrije Akademie GEMAK, The Hague, The Netherlands.

I started as a Graphic Designer. Later my focus changed to Traditional Graphic Arts, such as Etching, Monolitho, Woodcuts, Silkscreens and Monoprints.

Since 2007 I am fully focused at Digital Arts, integrating the Classical Techniques into my work.

Exhibitions o.a.: RHOK, Brussel, Belgium. Gallery VA-GEMAK,The Hague; Kunstpassage, The Hague; Gallery Inkt,

The Hague; Gallery Artiforum,The Hague;Gallery Brak-LKV, Voorburg; Gallery VWBK,Wassenaar; Gallery De Paauw, Wassenaar; all inThe Netherlands.

My Art is included in various international collections.

Regardless of policy and rules, Linden Labs should carefully proof read the public statements and the policies they write. Time after time, a statement is issued without thought of its impact. In the case of SL7B it is this statement we see as misleading. “SL7B is a showcase for the art, innovations, and ingenuity of all Second Life Residents.” This is simply not the case since SL7B is restricted too General content only.

In the case of Art, it is our hope that with the formation of LEA. Linden Labs will not only grant LEA with autonomy to make artistic decisions that sees SL used as a tool for art, they will also seek advice from RL Art foundations from across the global community. That 20+ years from now SL will be seen as one of the principle ground breaking digital platforms in RL art communities.

Historically, the defining decade in a century is the 2nd decade. Often it is this period of time that has the greatest impact on the next 100 years and is remembered in history. What legacy will we give our children’s children. It is often art and culture that become some of the most cherished legacies for future generations. Art touches the soul of the human spirit, be it on canvas, be it theatre, written word, dance or music, more recently film and now digital medium, the list goes on.

As the world sits on the brink of possibly seeing the most destructive oil spill, a legacy of human error. This decade has already had one black mark placed against it by future historians.

As Peter Greenaway stated in his response to Linden Labs on behalf of Rose and Susa Bubble – The Kiss. “You simply cannot enforce reactionary hypocritical standards that have been so discredited over the last five hundred years.” I ask the question, what legacy will we leave when using digital medium for Art? Will future generations see this period of history as a time of art censorship with this medium? Can the policies of an entity based in one country cross the global divide? This brave new world of communities and cultures crossing physical boundaries in cyberspace is filled with complexities. No doubt complexities that may never be addressed.

Is this a failing of the General, Moderate and Adult rating policy and the inclusion of statements such as;

“We may take into account whether apparent or reported adult content or conduct on a particular Region serves only an extremely limited or passive function, or an important educational or cultural function, and therefore would be appropriate for all Second Life audiences.”

What does that statement actually mean? Is it some vague exception to the policy norm? Who makes that decision?

In this case, Rose a good friend of mine. Did not apply to exhibit at SL7B. She was invited (I believe by an officer of the SL7B exhibitor group), was this just a frantic effort by the volunteers to fill empty exhibit spaces? I guess thats a question only the volunteer organisers know.

So from what I understand and this is 3rd party information the timeline that may have occurred is this.

1. Rose is invited to put down an exhibit at SL7B in her own parcel
2. She shows what she intended to put down to the person who asked her, (Not a Linden).
3. Nothing is said to say it is inappropriate.
4. The exhibit is put down.
5. During lock down, someone pushes a button and returns Susa Bubble stating the rules have been breached.
6. Rose sees this as an injustice, Linden Labs see it as a violation of the rules. The 3rd party volunteer remains silent. Its a communications breakdown mess.

The question here is, why did Linden Labs allow volunteers such control of SL7B without closer governance? When it comes to art, what credentials do the people in Linden Labs or the people who represent them have to determine if the Art they censor is not acceptable for the general public?

Then there is the cultural issue, SL is US based and much of the policies are centric around US culture. For SL residents in other countries, often views are vastly different. Nudity in the US may not necessarily be seen as nudity in a European country. Is this a far greater issue that will become more evident across the internet as technology brings the world closer?

In the case of this ejection, the bottom line is the volunteer should never of invited Rose to contribute based on the fact that one would expect Rose to install a Susa Bubble story. There are always 2 sides to a story. However when one sits down analysing this. It is just another example that proves the Linden Labs rating policy should be looked at too address the grey area they have introduce with the educational and cultural exception.

The safe option for Linden Labs would be that all events do represent all residents and celebrations include SIM’s with General, Moderate and Adult ratings. Give the residents the option to enter the SIM’s, we are adults and we can make our own decisions. After all, It is Linden Policy that you have to be 18 years of age and over, so why do they treat us as children?

Doran Forzane
Angel Compenso d’ Art
Joint owner of Angel Gallery, Aisling Myst

My Susa Bubble Installation : The Kiss has been returned to me from the SL7B sims where Linden is celebrating Secondlife. I quote “The images on your build are in violation of our general rating, to be clear: Nudity is not allowed at art events with a general maturity rating.”

I would like to point out and educate Linden Lab that most of classic and contemporary art is based upon nudity. Not because of Sex, but because of the beauty and the vulnerability of the human body, the human body we all share and look at in the bathroom mirror in the early morning.

The story of Susa is a sweet but savage story, told in image and text, sound and installation. It is about our dark inside, but also shows how vulnerable and lonely we all can be. My art shows a naked body, but it is not about nudity or sex.

Art being shown at a public art event of Linden means pretty pictures that bring aesthetic pleasure void of all critical thinking. Culture must be “safe” / sterile, no matter how free of content that makes it. As implemented by LL, “Community Standards” means content so content less that no viewer has even a remote chance of being caused to think about anything, to question any of their values or assumptions. Safe in SL means safe from thought.

When I protested against it in the group chat I was shut out .I was told not to discuss it in SL7B Group Chat “because this isn’t the place” — because NO place is the place to discuss it — because we don’t even want to think or let others think about the ideas we don’t want to think about

The worst part of censorship is not that which is censored, but the climate of self-censorship it imposes on all artists. Art is about having a voice. Art is about thinking differently and about thinking from fresh perspectives. When artists are not allowed to have a voice, culture is not allowed to progress.
When I hide my susas nakedness, I have stopped telling her story.

Nothing is more resistant to authoritarian control than a naked body. Control & conformity require uniforms. Nudity is too wild and uncontrolled. When you know my Susa Bubble story you can see it isn’t really even about “nudity” but that just suggests how powerful the forces for thinking-avoidance-at-all-costs are. Better to censor the world than risk allowing in a question that could topple the status quo. Authority does not like questions. Authority does not like creativity. Authority does not like art. Authority does not like nudity.

I did not bring my installation to the celebration to publicize myself, I make in art in SL because I want to share my Susa story and touch people

Greetings Rose Borchovski

Peter Greenaway’s response to Linden Labs

SECOND LIFE NUDITY CENSORSHIP

Dear Courtney Linden,

As a reaction to the rejection of Rose Borchovski ‘s art installation : The Kiss at the Celebration Sim, I would like you to read this.

It seems to me incredible that you are enforcing censorship concerning nudity in public forums on Second Life.

Traditions of nudity in Western Art have for centuries been legitimate, honourable and creditable.

The cyperspaces of Second Life – and Second Life has so far proved itself to be among the very best of such events -
are among todays’ cutting edge of visual languages – continuing an enviable tradition of new technologies in the visual arts now that the orthodox cinematic arts are proving themselves moribund and archaic, and enforcing new efforts to avoid artistic elitism and the encouragement of egalitarianism in artistic expression Any artist worth his or her salt, always must engage in contemporary technologies – it has been the very reputable tradition of the most worthwhile artists that has benefitted us all. Visual artists have always taught us to look. The man-made world owes them everything.

Just because you have eyes does not mean you can see. And the political and social emancipation of the naked and the nude by artists has been essential for humanist civilisation – it has given you and me great liberalities of thinking and self-respect.

Whatever else you think you may be doing with Second Life, you have created a very sophisticated tool that combines traditions of painting with cinema and the graphic arts in present tense terms that permits visual expression of language like never before. Do not underestimate what you have created – but to remain creditable you simply cannot enforce reactionary hypocritical standards that have been so discredited over the last five hundred years.

Like any self-respecting artist of course I am against gratuitous exploitation that demeans and insults intelligence and sensibilities but by your blanket censorship you are now doing both those things – insulting artistic intelligence and demeaning sensibility.

I suspect you are responding to pressure, to some form of mind-police, certainly to some form of political correctness that is related to money and the slow swing to the political right that is happening all over the world related to civilisation’s fear of financial insecurity. Don’t go that way. You are endangering a tool that is greater than you.

When the cultural histories of the early 21st century are written from hindsight, you will undoubtedly find the possibilities and successes of Second Life being eminently lauded and praised. Too many art forms in the 20th century have been stunted and deformed and deflected into ineffectuality and banality by small mindedness. If you really insist in so-called protection of innocence (and I really wonder what that really is – is it a synonym in fact for ignorance and intolerance?) then do so on a careful case by case basis with intelligence and foresight. This will be troublesome for you to do, if you want to do it well. But it willbe very well worth your while,

Yours, hoping you will see sense, and not be influenced by short-term gain.

Peter Greenaway, film-maker.

In the exhibition ‘ A Toast to Life’ I take you on a little stroll along some aspects of my artistic life(s). A life that started about 20 years ago with a pencil, soft pastel crayon and my fingers as tools. Finally after a long time ignoring my desire to draw (
teenagers are busy with far more ‘important’ things of course:)) I gave in and,… was lost! I really got the hang of it!

In pastel crayon I found soon satisfaction in making ethnical portraits. The challenge to make them almost photographic was high, and came out as I liked it. As example I took photo’s that triggered me. A look or expression in the faces or simply how
someone sat or did was enough. I took what I found important and let out what was not essential. If you are interested to see these pastels you will find some of them in ZRM Gallery. (see my picks)

But the smell of oil paint was calling and it did not take very long to change my direction. First oil paintings, but because of my impatience ( it takes sooooo long before
oil paint is dry) I started soon after that with acryl paint.

Looking back I see that my subjects often expresses things of (my) life. Things were I am thinking about, a feeling or emotion. I try to tell that in bright and harmonious colours and painting with my intuition and inner emotion as guide, I let myself float with the motions and colours. Normaly starting a
painting and not knowing were it ends.

When I came to Second Life, one of my main goal was to have my own gallery and show what I made in RL. In those nearly 3 years I found so many satisfaction in being creative in more ways SL offers. The landscaping, the building,… the drive to make your creations better and better.

Very careful I stepped recently on the artistic
SL-road and make digital art and vases. And so my SLigital art and RLainting art and life’s meet and unite to something were I am very happy about. Reason enough to pour a good glass of wine and ‘Toast to life’!

Thank you for visiting and,.. To Life!…. a toast to you too! Enjoy this little trip through life!

Elin Egoyan

PS:
For some paintings I give you an explanation. You find
it in the name signs of the painting.

100% sales of work will go to-ward raising $s for helping ‘Cypress Rosewood’, who has had a personal disaster loosing much of his property in the Nashville flooded, except for the instruments and computer he had in his car.

Msg sent by Cypress Rosewood to his SL group; “hello. i am logged in from a hotel and wanted to let everyone know that me and my family are ok, but we have been in the middle of a 500 year flood here in West Nashville, TN. I just got word that water was up to the top of the windows on the houses on my street. So i fear I have lost everything. I will keep everyone posted, but I will be unable to do concerts for quite some time i would imagine. Your thoughs and prayers are appreciated.”

Artist statement.. Sarah King

Plant and insect species of the Tasmanian rainforest’s is a dominant theme in my work. This is my passion. My work is about loss of landscape and Gondwanaland fauna and flora. The beautiful rainforest’s has highlighted its perilously fragile future. I am concerned about the loss of indigenous species and biodiversity due to human intervention and the onslaught of forest industries.

I have observed the changing environment; as a young girl living at Bondi Beach, Sydney for 22 years, and noticed the pools in the rock areas were becoming vacant from sea life. I often played in the polluted drains that ran down the beach into the sea unaware of the health risks. The week I left Bondi Beach to live in South Australia, the beach was closed for the first time, warning swimmers, of the pollution that came from sewers, road ways and industries. I moved to South Australia looking for a healthy life with my children, and 22 years later the same thing happened there the very same week I planned to move to live in Tasmania. The Semaphore beach to Grange beach closed for the first time due to industrial pollution. I could not live there any more as swimming there, which I did often, was a health risk. The reason for my moving was to find a place without any industrial interference for my family and I to live, in a natural environment.

Now a mature woman, living near the Tasmania’s hills, rivers and mountain regions for the last 18 years, I have noticed an accelerated changing of the landscape, blue-green algae in the ponds and rivers, and the pure rain that once was the cleanest water in the world has become scares, with drought 20 weeks in summer and winter. The ground has opened up cracks as wide as my hand drying the soil in my back yard and the rainforest’s have started to stress out causing diseases and some species are slowly dying.

This is a tragedy that has serious consequences for the future which has inspired my art work. Forest Industries have moved into the fragile alpine high country and removed Gondwanaland old growth rainforest’s, changing forever this unique ecosystem, destroying through clearing, poisoning and the use of fertilizes the biodiversity of 65,000,000 years heritage. Contamination of down steam ecosystems have resulted in degradation of the land, rivers and the sea. I hope to highlight the loss of, the unique species of Gondwanaland rainforest’s and downstream events, in my work.

All small invertebrates such as mayflies and butterflies of the Gondwanaland rainforest’s have survived here, for more than 65,000,000 years. I believe the past event, over the last 200 years, is the climax of global warming due to our lifestyles and land uses. It will change the futures of mayflies and humans as we have both become fragile and are threatened by extinction due to our political and industrial hold over the land. The plantations that are now growing here were planted specifically for pulp to send to the Japanese for the production of their newspapers. How global carbon friendly is that?
Science research states that the ‘Old-growth Rainforest’s hold the most carbon so we should stop destroying them and even replant the trees that take 2,000 years to grow and try to replace them for future generations to enjoy as we have. Tasmania is really ‘Heaven on Earth’ and without the forests in there natural state we will loose part of the home we call earth that keeps us dreaming and continually amazes us with its secrets.

My work is symbolic of our time on earth, I am merely an observer. I wonder about the survival of my grandchildren and the beautiful creatures that have lived here for eons of years. My work includes documentations in photography, drawings, paintings, digital movies, and sound. I work with metals, clay, plaster, oil and acrylic paint. I use silk screen techniques for printing onto glass, fusing the paint on permanently. I hope to see my work in public places, homes and working with architects for city art work.

I like to use recycled glass and found materials.

Glass Gallery… http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cradlemountain

Painting, Photography.. .http://fineartamerica.com?profiles/sarah-king

Prints calenders and T/shirts… http://cradlemountain.redbubble.com/

Poems, Music, Blog, Film clips… http://www.myspace.com/cradlemountain

The Follow

“The Follow” are considered family at the Mysts Of Forzane, they perform concerts in SL on a regular basis at a growing number of venues and have in many eyes set a benchmark for others. SL provides many of these RL Indie artists to reach out to audiences that they would possible not even meet in a lifetime.

The cultural diversity of SL and how it can be used for all art forms in our eyes is what makes SL a unique place. To us it is the best of what SL offers. Art in SL goes way beyond the Art sim or Art Gallery, The Follow are a shining example of this.

RL company Fast Break Music features The Follow in their blog today. Read about the band’s coming DVD release, the new album, and the band’s chance to work with SLASH. Take the time out and vote for them and lets see a group who has entered the world of SL be given an opportunity of a lifetime.

We thank you all, Angel Compenso d’ Art was accepted today by Linden Labs for Showcase/Destinations listing.

http://secondlife.com/destination/angel-compenso-d-art