Photographs Cause Physical/Electronic Assaults

Trying to inform through photographs and paintings about the extent of genocide and mass murder (democide) in the world is not without costs. The works excite the hatred of communists, fascists, Islamics, and others whose history of heinous murder en masse is thus made clear.

In SL, there is a group that is dedicated to attacking anyone with whom they disagree. It calls itself an antifascist group, and its charter is this:

AFA is committed to physical and ideological opposition to fascism, police, sexism, homophobia, racism, and capitalism. We say no platform for fascists—no meetings, no marches, no paper sales, no leafleting... and no SL occupation — and we mean it, as the fascists know only too well. Our aim is to cause the maximum disruption to fascist activities.

Fight fascism everywhere!

What follows is how they “fight fascism everywhere!” On Sunday, March 16, Diegolas Broek, a member of this group, assaulted my wife PikakeGinger Wylie, from behind in our The Gallery. He caused her to be flung into space, arms and legs askew, then watched her struggle. She, of course, tp'ed home. The bump information under the SL help menu named him as the culprit. She reported the assault to SL.


Then, later in the same day, I was also attacked in our new gallery at Aogashima. I was flung into space as my wife was, but I was stripped, had a box on my head, a bow in my hand, and a gun on my hip. Tp’ing home didn’t help, and so had to go off line. I thus lost the information as to who had done this, but can only assume it was the same person. Also reported this to SL.
Worst of all, the attacker attached a virus to me infected my computer. It was a self-replicating one and eventually took over the computer so that I could not even reinstall the system, or use a repair disk. I have to take it in to Apple for repair. This was also reported to SL.

I warned the artistic community about this, of course.

This is the worst consequence of my democide gallery, although an interview with me about my art was squelched when the manager of the website that was to post it disagree about my genocide gallery.

I am not deterred however.

Change in Pricing System

I am slowly getting my head around the art world in SL. One of the things I had difficulty with is the art pricing system. Initially, I toured the galleries to survey the cost of paintings, which seemed to average about L$200-300, with the highest at 1,000 and the lowest 150. So I priced my art according to this range, which on average was about L$250, or $1.00.

But on thinking about this, at $1.00 I am not about to become rich, and am in effect giving the art away. And I have still encountered resistance to prices above L$500, or about $2.00.

On thinking about this, I had to ask myself why I was selling my art. Was it to make money? No, not possible in SL. Was it to display the art in my gallery? Partly. Was it to have others hang it in their office or home, and share the beauty? Mainly.
Then how best to do this? I could give the paintings away, but then I would receive nothing to help cover the cost of two galleries, the photo/paintings in The Gallery II on democide already all free. So for the main The Gallery, I decided to price all the paintings (all originals) at L$100 each. I hope this will increase the volume, get the paintings in more hands, and help with the rent.

Will let you know how this works out.

More On Traditional Vs. Digitalized Art

This comment by Blue is very good and I want to make a blog of it and respond to it here so that more SL artists will read it. He says:

I too am an artist who has long worked in more traditional mediums and today the computer is my tool of choice. But that is what it is, a tool. I also believe that the end result of an artist's endeavor is the important part but the tools we choose are part of our process and that is also important. I believe that labeling a digital artwork as a traditional medium does injustice to both terms. It seems to me that someone calling a digital creation an oil painting is somehow ashamed of their chosen medium. I would no more call my digital images oil paintings than I would call a Second Life sculpture cast bronze.

We need to be more brave and identify ourselves as creating in a given medium and not be afraid to call it what it is. The sooner we do this the sooner art made on or from the computer will gain more serious acceptance in the art world. The state of digital art today is like the state of photography 100 years ago. Too many people do not recognize it as a legitimate art medium. Stand up for your digital work, call it what it is!

As you say, our digital art programs are tools, as has been all the tools we use in nondigital art. In nondigital art, we do not say we used our thumb to get proportions correct, or a ruler, or a shadow box, or…you name it. We simply say that this is a pastel, or more likely just name the painting. Why then say that the pastel done in Painter, which is virtually indistinguishable from a nondigital pastel, is a Painter product?

We may do so in our description of painting for exhibition, and I do this. But this only reflects the transition period we are in for our art. Eventually, even that will die as digital art becomes the norm, which it will.
I want to repeat one point I made that is not appreciated enough. We do not ask the photographer showing his art to admit to using photoshop to enhance his photo. That is accepted and expected. Then why wish this be done for other forms of art, such as an oil painting?

On the accusation of "False Art, Fake Painting"

In the SL community of artists, a controversy has erupted over an accusation by one that a painting another claimed to be an oil was in fact a Photoshop product. My response to this is, "So what?" and I wrote a blog below on it. On her blog, Caty Matova posted a clarification of this dispute and gave me permission to cross post it below. If Zephyru or Jayalli wish to respond or comment, I would be happy to post it also.

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Unprofessional behave of Zephyru Zapedzki

Dear readers, the CM Gallery, clarifies some situations that happens in the artistic community in Second Life, not that we wanted to give importance to certain issues because we feel that they have not so much relevance, however, the dedicated readers of this blog deserve a clarification on our part. Feeling that this is a post that beyond the purpose of the blog, the CM Gallery, does not stop to explain what happened. During the exibition of Violetta Biziou, when we first meet Zephyru Zapedzki, he don’t went to the gallery to see the work of the artist but to self-advertise in open chat without previously greet someone, much less the artist or the owner of the gallery. From here, we can formulate an idea of the Zephyru character.

Meanwhile the CM Gallery was contacted by a person, which promoted the artist (Zephyru), which proposed the exposure it in the gallery, so through an act of good faith, we accepted. However, the gallery was closed for change of location, when the new gallery was ready we contact Zephyru and another artist Jayalli Hawthorne, to express their work (during the period that the gallery was closed we still advertise the artist through the blog). In a first reaction, Zephyru, proved to be very helpful and nice. As soon as it was assigned the space for its work, its conduct changed dramatically (for those who do not know the gallery, it is divided into three levels, Zephyru was in the first, where people entering the gallery, is the first image of the gallery). Despite this, Zephyru showed displeasure about their space, however the Jayalli had its exhibition mounted.

The following day, Zephyru addressed in a “arrogant” way to both owners of the gallery, saying that the paintings of oil Jayalli were false and mere photographs of the internet processed by software, using a similar effect of oil to convert the photo in a painting. Zephyru, argues with mere speculation and say that leave the gallery and their works because he’s next to a “Fake artist” (their words). After a meeting between the owners of the gallery and previously confront Jayalli, and she said that paintings were real we decided that without sufficient evidence we couldn’t take a position for any of the artists, however, we respost Zephyru’s position without any opposition, respecting its pointing.Unfortunately, after the Zephyru know this decision, his not limited to withdraw their works but he starting to seek evidence to support their argument. After several attempts presentation of evidence (which not passed from mere speculation), including disturbing jayalli with another avatar trying to take him information by force, which could not, even then did not hesitate to send the conversation to owners of the gallery (to us, a profound lack of character and an extreme cowardice). Even after Jayalli having submitted photos witch prove the veracity of his paintings in oil, Zephyru decide ultimate the owners of the gallery to take a position for or against it “if you are not me, then they are against me!”

Thus begins of the quest “against the fake artists,” which is characterized by abusive notices in groups of Art accompanied by notecards to defame both, the artist jayalli and the own gallery. This attempt to give a bad name to the gallery and the artist Jayalli, can only have one interpretation, in our opinion, an frustrated attempt to self promotion and by a childness act. With the “open war” to the gallery by Zephyru, even after Jayalli feelling extremely offended and humiliated, and runing the risk of undermining the exclusivity of their paintings in the RL, send us more photos of their work that were no doubt that it is authentic works and not attempts to forge art. The CM Gallery, knowing what Jayalli‘s happening and may suffer will not publish any of these images, however, as we had said, our readers deserve to know the truth, and we focus that at no time was used other suport of comunication in Second Life by CM Gallery contrarily to Zephyru, to defend or attack this one.

We want to leave now the impartiality side for a moment, and analyze the situation, we have self-conscience that we never acted incorrectly, with bouth parts, just (although we are portugueses as Zephyru is); we just decided only be impartial, what to Zephyru is an affront and shows a lack of intellectual ability (though Caty Matova is licensed in Art History and ScorpionSoul Paine is Designer), even after being shown for the owners of the gallery and to be said that the works are authentic to Zephyru’s, it continues its demand. We all know that 90% of SL artists expose false art (question: scanning a paiting is already tamper an artistic work?). We know that art is an expression and creativity, we know that the monetary value assigned to art in the SL is infinitely lower to the RL, why Zephyru chose to Jayalli to label as “Fake Artist”? And a gallery run by people linked to the area? By the way, why do you pick someone, instead yourself?

In way of conclusion, the blog and the gallery, CM Gallery, has since its beginning the purpose of gathering the Artists in the SL (whatever the term of the Art) and add a community artists, we regret greatly that in our quest of this objective, we chose this artist who goes against this principles, ignoring all the facts and dont caring about ruining the artist career in SL to win reputation. So we give our apologies…

Caty & Scorp

In Defense of “False Art, Fake Paintings"

There has been a dispute in the SL artist community over the use of digital programs like Photoshop, Painter, and other digital applications to produce “paintings” and calling them, for example, oil paintings.

Before defending this, I will establish my credentials, since some have claimed that those doing this digital art do not have artistic backgrounds in RW, like going to art school. I went to the Cooper School of Art and also took painting courses in College. I was doing oils, watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils before the desktop computer, and before most artists in Sl were born. This is not to say I am right, but since I also do digital art, I am informed on both sides of the issue.

First, for perspective on this issue, consider photography. There is no question it is art. And even when Photoshop is used to alter a photograph to enhance it, the photography is still art. And the photographer-artist can hang and sell the digital result without mentioning that it was altered in Photoshop. That is simply never done.

Now, why is this expected of a digitally produced or altered oil painting, watercolor, pastel, etc.? Such paintings can be done off a photograph, or as a creative painting in Photoshop and Painter. To say this is false is to define art by the approach, which forces me to ask why what is done on the easel, table, floor, or by tossing a bucket of paint on a canvas, is art, while what is digital is not. Art should be defined by the skill involved, and the effect on the senses and the mind. To dismiss a painting produced digitally as not art is to define out of existence a vital area of human creativity and beauty, and the same way traditional artists considered early photography and modern art unart.

Ah, but is it not misleading to claim a digital painting is an oil painting? No, in Painter, for example, one uses oil brushes, thick oil like strokes, and a canvas. It is in many ways a better way of painting in oils to me then actual oils (the smell, cleanup, and wait for the oils to dry is gone). One has then only used a technology to improve the art.

And in the history of art, the master artists also did this. They used light boxes and proportionate lines and calculations to well reproduce on canvas what it was they were painting. Now, we have photography and the computer. And this is a tremendous advance for the artists, and with the digital applications, makes new kinds of art and the representation of beauty in all its forms possible. Need I mention fractal art? Three Cheers for digital art in all it is variety, even if the results annoy traditionalists by calling the result a pastel, oil, or watercolor.

First Discussion Today

Today, Sunday, March 2, at noon, there will be the first discussion of art, genoicide, and mass murder in Gallery II. The photos/paintings there will provide an appropirate context. Address is Reil 51, 47, 27, or IM MarkMonet Thor for a landmark.