Art Korner Blog & Gallery Show Featuring Monique Beebe
and Traci Ultsch
Opening Party: April 13th 12-2pm SLT
With Daddio Dow streaming the tunes.
A new art exhibition featuring the work of Monique Beebe and
Traci Ultsch kicks off on April 13th with an Opening Party from noon
to 2:00 SLT at the Art Korner Blog and Gallery. The Art Korner show is a
two-person display of work by Monique Beebe and her artistic soulmate, Traci.
These two exceptional Second Life artists have had four shows together thus
far. This will be there fifth show together.
The opening promises to be a lot of fun because Moni and
Traci are hilarious together:
Monique: we are good at openings
Traci: really I’m just her alt, used to explore the seedy parts of
SL
Monique: pinch your butt
Traci: haha, you did invite me here, I blame you
Monique: yes I did
Traci: be funny if we are both Moni’s alts
Fynn: hahahaha
Monique: yep I like to talk to myself and pinch my butt
Monique and Traci. Photo By Fynn.
Their humorous interactions aside, they are serious artists.
Monique began making images in Second Life in 2015, developing her skills over
time she found her brilliance and inventiveness. In a notecard she gave me it says, “She uses
pure photomontage. She does not use
photography as a replacement for painting but uses the medium as an independent
form of imagination.” And imagination and technique are clearly evident in her
unique style.
Her series of 12 pieces show the many faces of Monique. Titled,
“Still Waters Run Deep,” we have a study in emotional hieroglyphics. Intense
with broken darkness, her work reflects her emotions at any given point in
time. Rich in multiple techniques, Monique uses several photo apps and PhotoShop
to create the visual virtuosity found in her creations. The way she plays with
balance and imbalance with intense emotion via close-up imagery is her message.
In fact, PhotoShop is her favorite program for editing pictures. She also knows
her way around with photo apps.
Look. By Monique.
She says she is her own worst critic. She needs to be “okay”
with what is created. She can make 100 images and only one will be just right.
The lighting, the angle, the right “look,” all must add up to the right emotion
in her imagery. Her use of close-ups is for their emotional value, the facial
expression, the eyes, the hair, the shadows, and more, all contributing to
feelings associated with anger, depression, anxiety, trust, or lack thereof. “I
want viewers to think what is behind it,” she told me. The interplay of balance
and stress as her subject dances between the tension points of compositional
framing adds to the feeling of her work. Indeed, Monique is an expert with
close-up facial imagery and has done many profile images for her friends and
acquaintances in SL.
Women. By Monique.
Her work is equally balanced between excellent graphical
techniques and excellent avatar design. Moni is art herself, though she would
never admit this. And so is Traci. Both avatars are studies in excellent and
unique avatar design. Moni uses herself as a model for most of her images. A
study in patience, style, beauty, and the transformative powers of Second Life
avatar changeability, I am always awed by her look and fashion sense. In
combination with the complexity of her image-making creativity, Monique’s art
is thought-provoking and emotionally stimulating. But she hates exhibiting by
herself and likes to exhibit with Traci. They met through a mutual friend. “I
just ride her fame,” Traci told me in her modest, humorous way.
In general, Traci doesn’t like talking about SL art, only
her own work because, as she says, “I tend to upset people.” And really, isn’t
that the point of art, to piss off some people? At least in my opinion, art as
little meaning unless it does. Her part of the exhibit is called “Hell Is Other
People.” It concerns the idea that people have a need to be seen to feel they
exist. Most of her subjects are obscured in some way.
Unlike Monique, who uses herself primarily as a subject for
her imagery, Traci is in only one of hers. On Flickr she does more
self-portraits, but she deletes everything every week or so. She doesn’t show
her work twice either. As she told me, “I dislike my work after a while, lol.”
Crash. By Traci.
She usually does more abstract stuff or landscapes.
Portraits were a change for her, but she doesn’t ask people to pose. She takes
photos as they do whatever they are doing and their choice of AO and the like,
all adds to the person. Her photos are then layered with silhouettes from the
area the photos were taken in over and around them, then some freehand drawing
to add a few bits. Most are made up of a few different shots. A few other
techniques such as printing the photos and hand drawing on them, scanning, and
cutting them up help contribute to her unique style.
She assists in running Eskol, the SL group, “Specialized in
experimental music and art.” Traci is multi-talented in the arts arena. Having
seen one of the recent audio-visual shows, one would get a good idea for her
visual and musical talents. This non-mainstream group and space, take you for
an experience that SL was made for. Join the group and receive notices for
upcoming shows. Traci told me, “sl art really works when you look at people
like adwehe and other light/sound artists like jade and cherry manga. Wonderful.”
Crash (2). By Traci.
Speaking of her current work that will be shown at Art
Korner, she says, “stuff like my portraits is just rl thinking in sl....too lazy,
but it's odd, the way people think in rl terms when doing sl art, "well
you can fit 9 images in this space . . . ” god forbid if you don’t have your
art nice and tidy and up against the wall, in a virtual world we can fly in and
be furry animals... but we still need to 'hang' art.
Traci: I’m guilty myself
Fynn: what would you do instead?
Traci: I don’t have an answer... but I think we all need to
start thinking more about what sl can do with art, or at least how we experience
it.
Go to the show and the Opening Party on April 13th.
It’ll be fuuuUUUUUUUuuuuuuunnnnnnnn.
You can find more of Moni’s work on her Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moniquebeebe/
You can find more of Traci’s work on her Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/190734658@N07/
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