The Albright-Knox art gallery in Buffalo is currently holding an exhibition, Screen Play: Life in an Animated World. The exhibition will run until Sunday September 13th and in part describes itself as :
Screen Play: Life in an Animated World is the first exhibition devoted exclusively to examining the work of contemporary artists who use the techniques, technologies, and tropes of animation as tools in their practices. This unprecedented exhibition gathers together almost fifty captivating film, video, and immersive installations created during the past twenty-five years by more than three dozen artists from nearly twenty nations, filling the galleries of the 1905 Building and its Sculpture Court as well as the Gallery for New Media and the Auditorium.
There are many exhibitors, including at least a couple who have had a presence in Second Life. One is Chinese artist Cao Fei, whose exhibit at the exhibition is a tour of RMB City, which once had a place in Second Life. RMB City generated a hell of a lot a publicity back in the day and it seems, it still causes quite a buzz as I see it mentioned in many articles.
Hamlet Au over at New World Notes is a friend of Cao Fei (AKA China Tracy) and was an unpaid adviser on the project. Hamlet posted quite a few blog posts about RMB City, here’s one : RMB City Opens In London and Second Life: Metaverse-Based Art In An Internationally Renowned Gallery.
The New York Times also seem to like the project, here’s an article from them : Flying Avatars Admire the Artwork.
The second piece of Second Life related work I have noticed at the exhibition in Buffalo is from Canadian artist Jon Raffman. I should warn you now that you should take caution before watching some of his work, it’s does veer to the very adult side of Second Life and elsewhere at times. However his exhibit at this exhibition is Codes Of Honor, which is pretty much safe for work.
Chris Hampton has posted about the exhibition in the New York Times – Unpacking and Decoding the World of Animation. In that post, Jon Rafman’s exhibit is covered :
Jon Rafman’s “Codes of Honor,” filmed partly in Second Life, considers obsolescence and nostalgia in the digital age, elevating the story of a professional gamer to that of a celebrated athlete or ancient warrior. “If your greatest memories are about having these intense experiences in front of a screen,” he said in a phone interview, “why can’t those be the important moments that define your identity as a human being?”
Second Life and art are often a good mix and it’s always good to read about virtual world art reaching beyond the virtual world sphere.