The SL Enquirer: celebrity artwork

“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” - Salvador Dali

Dali couldn’t have said it any better. Artists aren’t just limited to one craft. From painters and sculptures to poets and musicians. Art has many branches of inspiration. In Second Life, the art community is spread across the virtual landscape with many talented people showcasing their work in a plethora of mediums from photography, sketches, watercolor, and graphic arts to mesh sculptures, textures, and builds. But they are not limited to virtually created art, art lovers from all over the world, and venue curators also recognize and celebrate famous artists as well.

La Gallery, The New Art Space presents a unique exhibition experience featuring musicians like Bob Dylan, David Bowie, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and more who extended their musical talent into canvas paintings. Be sure to check out this impressive exhibition kicking off on March 25th at 3:30 pm SLT. Curated by Lalle Vanbeeck-Na and sponsored by The SL Enquirer.

SLE met up with Lalle to learn more about La Gallery, this event, and what’s to come.

Interview with Lalle Vanbeeck-Na (lallena)

SLE: How did you discover Second Life and what inspired you to get involved in the Art community?

Lalle: I believe I was barely 17 the first time I logged on to SL. It was an RL friend who took me on this adventure. At first, I found it horribly complicated. And I stayed for a very short time. I came back a little later and I learned little by little not without some difficulty at times. And 8 years later, I realize that I am very far from knowing everything. I must confess that I never thought I would stay so long in this world... Almost 10 years now!!

And what inspired me to get involved in the Art community?

Very young in RL, I visited Parisian museums with my parents. I liked... Also, I learned music and the piano... It opened my eyes to the different artistic periods... After high school and the baccalaureate, I did two years of art history at university. It's almost natural that I got involved in this in SL.

SLE: Can you define art and what it means to you personally?

Lalle: It's hard to answer that question without sounding a little... bombastic.

I remember at the beginning of my art studies, we lingered for a long time on how to define art, on the people's definitions, known or not, on the word "art". Each one according to the periods, the places, the fields of activity, can have its own definition.

In a general way, I would say that art is characterized by human works which by their aestheticism and their beauty are intended to provoke the emotions of those who look at them... We often oppose art and nature... If you are on the beach and you watch a beautiful sunset... you think it's beautiful... But it's not art except to consider that it's the work of God...

If you look at a beautiful sunset on a painting or even on a photo... You can say that it is art because it is human creation... Art is the creation of human beings. So the beauty of things is subjective, everyone with their own perception and their own sensitivity... In two words, I would say art... it's aesthetics and emotion...

SLE: Are you yourself artistic in any way or just a lover of the arts? If you are can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your talents?

Lalle: I'm more of an art lover and I won't say I'm an artist or at home in my living room...I've been playing the piano for a long time and I love it but I'm not good enough to show off in front of a public.. I'm testing myself in digital art and I'm trying to work on an idea and a personal concept but I don't know if I'll succeed... so for now, I prefer to be discreet about this: )

Parallel to this exhibition "Also Painters", I present some of the photos that I extracted from a video clip of a French group "Paradis"... I liked the song and the atmosphere of this video in red color which will also be released during this exhibition... But these are unpretentious photos.

SLE: Is this the first gallery that you have curated in Second Life, if not what other kind of art or creative gallery have you been involved with before?

Lalle: It's my first gallery... But I've been thinking about it for a long time... I even had a project with a friend on a somewhat "erotic" exhibition idea, but it didn't come to fruition. .. When I had the idea of this exhibition on these "celebrities who are also painters", the project developed little by little in my head... and it finally materializes.

SLE: What inspired you to create La Gallery and this exhibition of Celebrity art? Can you tell our readers about the exhibition and art pieces you have on display?

Lalle: First of all, it was when I found the theme of the exhibition that made me decide to create this gallery. I thought the subject was good enough to do so.

In fact, one day, I was reading an article in a magazine about musicians who were also painters like Bob Dylan for example ... I found the idea interesting... so I looked a little closer... I searched a lot around and realized that there were a lot of them: musicians, singers, actors... I gathered around sixty artists and selected around 150 different paintings. I knew their name for the most part, but not necessarily their music and even less their painting... I got to know them better. Some are well known: Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Ronnie Wood, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, Peter Doherty... actors also: Johnny Depp, Sylvester Stallone, Jim Carrey...

SLE: With this gallery of art, what is your goal here? To just show the work of celebrities or are the pieces for sale?

Lalle: As I said before, I had this gallery idea in the back of my mind for a while. This theme of famous unknown painters decided me to create it.

For this exhibition, nothing is for sale. It's just the fun of doing something concrete in SL and to show the work of these celebrities indeed. There is no idea of gain or profit in this project. On the contrary, it widens my bank overdraft... smiles.

SLE: How can artists showcase their work at La Gallery? What kind of art are you looking for?

Lalle: In the simplest way. They can contact me and present their project, their work, their idea for an exhibition. There is no predefined concept for this gallery. I'm open to anything... painting, sculpture, photography, design, performance... They can just present their work or sell it if they wish. There can also be several exhibitions at the same time. The main idea must be to offer exhibitions that are attractive enough to make people want to visit.

SLE: Can you share with our readers any upcoming events and exhibitions you have planned?

Lalle: The current exhibition will run for two months from March 25 until May 25, 2022. And possibly longer. For the future, nothing is planned for the moment... I have some personal ideas and in particular a project a little more "erotic" with performances... And I'm also waiting for proposals from artists in SL.

SLE: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Lalle: I hope I made them want to come and see this first exhibition. They are all invited to come to the inauguration which will take place on Friday, March 25 at 3:30 PM / SLT. The evening will be hosted by a DJ. We expect many of you.