"Because I am not here" Thesis work on four SL artists

     Recently a thesis work for a doctorate of arts was published by Francisco Gerardo Toledo Ramirez for the University of Western Ontario. Ramirez discusses the work of four Second Life artists, Eva and Franco Mattes, Gazira Babeli, Bryn Oh and China Tracy (Cao Fei).  I am flattered to have been included alongside the other three talented artists.  If you have an interest in the history of virtual art with Second Life as the medium for presentation, or rather of virtual worlds in general, then  you can download the thesis work at the top right side of this webpage listed below.

"Because I am not here"  Selected Second Life-based art case studies: subjectivity, autoempathy and virtual world aesthetics.
http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1031/

AM Radio

Blotto Epsilon

      Artists come and go in Second Life with some leaving a lasting impression, others a legion of artists they have influenced and a few who create a style that stands uniquely on its own spawning new ways to think inside this medium.  One of the very early artists in Second Life was a recluse by the name of Starax who then created a successful alt named Light Waves.  He was known for sims such as Black Swan and Greenies.   Some of his creations are still mind boggling today.   There were mathematicians and scripters such as Seifert Surface and Desdemona Enfield who suddenly found themselves being classified as artists.  There were the predominantly sound based creators like Adam Ramona and Dizzy Banjo, those with talent and personality such as Four Yip and fan favorites like Baron Greyson, Madcow Cosmos and AM Radio.  And finally the unheralded like Cutea Benelli and Blotto Epsilon whose work at the Spencer Museum is still one of my favorites to have ever been created in this medium.

Gazira Babeli observing a work by Starax

Today we have great veteran talents such as Glyph Graves, Selavy Oh, Rose Borchovski, Nessuno Myoo, DB Bailey, Maya Paris and others who are quite active.  The big names in art companies have changed from Rezzables to Madpea, and some of the newer artists on the scene making an impression are those like Claudia222 Jewell, Yooma Myoo, Romy Nayar and quite a few others.  Stellarc has even been working here recently.

     The problem with naming names is that there is always someone annoyed they were not mentioned.  So just to clarify these are only artists I can remember at this particular moment and in an hour I could recall someone who I have forgotten.   Actually to prove that I am going to think of someone right now.  Eupalinos Ugajin.  A very talented and unique artist.  Oh and of course Marcus Inkpen.  See I can keep going, but I have stuff to do dammit.  One thing I have to do is return a tv series to the library, suggested to me by Caer Balogh, called the singing detective.  I had no time to watch it unfortunately and it now also has late charges... grumble.  Those librarians they'll break your knee caps so I better get over there.

spent it

Anyway, yes this is just the history and some artists I remember off the top of my head but someone really should write a definitive one before it is all forgotten.  If this kind of history does interest you then there is a good blog called NPIRL which recalls some of the the active SL artists up until 2009.  Since then there hasn't really been such a prolific virtual art based resource blog on a scale like NPIRL, but info can be discovered as Mr Ramirez has shown us with his fine thesis research and interpretation.

spent it

And finally I would like to say goodbye to our penny here in Canada which will stop being made after today.  This was my favorite penny (the bird above) but I think I only ever came across a few in my whole life.  Was a pretty rare one.  I had a lucky one once that I carried around but I spent it one day by accident.  Then I found a rare nickel with a rabbit on it.  I felt like my luck upgraded from the penny and it was meant to be until I eventually freaking spent it by accident as well.   But yes we are getting rid of our penny today because people generally only ever use them to throw at one another when trying to get each others attention.