An in depth interview with Second Life Artist
Thea Dreem
The artist known as
Thea Dreem has been traveling Second Life since September 27, 2014, originally
as her alter ego, Caelin8. By her own admission, her first photos where selfies
in which she was "crashing houses" and taking pictures of herself
drinking and stealing other people's yachts. I had the good fortune to
interview this Second Life griefer before the authorities track her down.
Dean : What intrigues you about Second Life?
Thea : At the moment
I'm intrigued by galleries - everything from building them to filling them with
photos and planning parties to show them off. I joined a couple of friends to
form an art cooperative and we're opening in a couple of weeks. I'm perhaps not
as interested in the business side of the art gallery scene, but I'm having fun
and that's what it's about for me. In general I'm intrigued by exceptional
craftsmanship and beautiful quality work, in every area of Second Life. I
really want to learn to create content that meets the standards I've acquired
since joining one year ago, so I'll be studying Blender forever! Of course, I
love SL photography and am working hard to improve my skills. It's all about
having fun, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and striving to be a
contributor in the SL community.
Dean : How did you first get involved with SL
photography?
Thea : The snapshot
tool was the first thing that I "picked up" after figuring out how to
get around the grid. I took a lot of very small, very flat photos of myself
crashing houses and just doing things I had no business doing because I didn't
understand that this isn't a game where all the content is provided by the game
creator for everyone's amusement. I deleted evidence of my crimes, of course.
Later I started a travel blog with a photography-emphasis theme because I loved
reading SL travel blogs - still do! From that I made the acquaintance of a
writer at Windlight Magazine who encouraged me to apply for a Windlight Gallery
Fellowship. I just wrapped up that exhibit and it was a great experience! So
really I'm just starting out.
Dean : I found the series of snapshots titled
"Obedience - the binding of Isaac" very compelling, could you tell me
about how you came up with the concept and the process of producing these
images?
Thea : Well, the
concept was simply to chronicle the work of the creator, Bryn Oh. The setting,
the lighting, the sculpture, story, all of it was so compelling, all I had to
do was snap. I couldn't imagine changing a thing. Great artists and creators
make my job easy. My choice of angles, the scenes that made me stop and absorb
them deeply to find a point of view that framed the theme perfectly for me was
my contribution. When I photograph an artist's work I try to honor their vision
by using the region windlights as often as possible. However, if my intention
is to photograph something editorial using the artist's build as a backdrop, I
will play with windlight settings, depth of field, push and pull all the sliders
and spend hours trying to tell a story. Mostly I stay behind the camera and
focus on the build.
Dean : Is there anything you would like the
readers of the SL Enquirer to know about you or your work?
Thea : It's a work in
progress! I just finished the Fall semester at Visionaire Institute for
photography and my graduation exhibit will be opening in a few weeks. As
mentioned earlier, my friends and I will be opening our art cooperative around
the same time. In the meantime, I'm showing my work in world at Burnsey's
Gallery
(http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Shire/216/84/26),
and at a storefront in Virtual Soho (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bembecia/160/172/104).
A year ago I wouldn't have imagined that my Second Life would take this
direction; I came here not knowing what it was, or how much good it would do me
as a creative outlet. I've blogged in the past, written poetry and fiction, and
dabbled in photography, but what I'm learning to do in Second Life is the most
fun I've ever had in the realm of online social networking. My goal is to have
a LEA grant this time next year and expand my artistic expression to create
something I would want to take pictures of today. I've said it publicly, so now
I have to do it!
You can see Thea's
photos on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/theadreem
She also writes a blog
about life and travel at http://girlgonerezzy.wordpress.com
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