mOb magazine
PASSION
Drawing by Choo Vegas
EDITOR’S note
Choo Vegas - Editor in chief Samyi Basevi - Creative director
Passion From the latin passio, patior, which means in other words: a set of states in which an individual is “passive”, passion is a psychological tendency, of variable duration, powerful and often unexpected, which takes full possession of the spirit. It’s an emotional and intellectual state strong enough to dominate you totally. To speak of a “passion” makes a particular field arise instantaneously, that of the sensibility, feelings moved by an incredible and incomprehensible force. Subjected to various judgments according to the times and mentalities, the passion remains an integral component of the human being and its soul, a discovery and an experience always intense, and sometimes painful. Turned towards oneself or towards the other, passions can be very varied love, jealousy, hatred, ambition, despair, desire for glory, games, wealth, death or a deep and concentrated affective state on a single object, which is accompanied by a reduction of criticism and self-control that can reach a pathological level. But here today as I hear the rain and thunder in the grey Paris’s sky I choose to keep the fabulous and positive aspect of the word PASSION by sharing with you the beautiful pictures of the different artists that we are so proud to present in this issue and will end with this note from Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: “Nothing great has been accomplished in the world without passion”
Samyi Basevi
SUMMARY EDITOR’S NOTE
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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Mavi Beck
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Megan Prumier
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Maloe Vansant
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Tutsi Navarathna
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Andrea DeLauren
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ARCHITECTURE
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Fanatik - Salk’s recreation
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Mopire city
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INTERVIEW
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Dixmix Source
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DRAWINGS
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Choo Vegas
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Mavi Beck
She says “I can only take pictures when a certain mood strikes me. I have a strong emotional connection to the pictures I take, and the songs I post alongside the image on Flickr are a main part of the picture itself; one cannot exist without the other.�
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Megan Prumier
One of the best and most sought after builders and photographers in SL. Her play with light and shadows are unsurpassed, sometimes sensually soft, other times hard hitting and bold, but always beautiful.
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Maloe Vansant
Surreal, sexy and raw, sometimes scary with a hint of danger. Wether she uses bold colours or shoot in stark black and white, Maloe is a powerhouse of passion.
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Tutsi Navarathna
Multi media artist, works with photography and machinima and RL documentaries. Passion, decadence and sexuality seems to be a recurring theme in his pictures which have an almost filmic quality.
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Andrea DeLauren
She has a unique sense of colour and movement that results in bold surreal images. She claims she is an idealist who’s seeking harmony and always looking for a fountain of joy and inspiration in all things. . 48
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architecture
Brutalist beauty By Choo Vegas
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FANATIK Recreation of Salk
A hauntingly realistic build, perfect both as a sim center piece, photo prop or RP build. It was 3d modeled and textured by Kendra Zaurak and Michell Tomsen of Fanatik who says: “ We tried to reduce the prim count as much as possible without compromising the visual quality. It has 70 prims and fits in 36x28 meters. No pre-made parts or textures were used to create this item.” The building is a copy of Louis Kahn’s stunning teak-and-concrete modernist masterpiece from 1965, Salk Institute of Biological Studies. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, California, Salk was founded by Jonas Salk, who discovered and developed the first vaccine for polio in 1950s. The instructions he gave architect Louis Kahn was simple yet daunting: He wanted the building to be “worthy of a visit by Picasso.” The buildings are divided by a perfectly symmetrical canyon of raw concrete and down its center runs a stream that is known as the “channel of life”. It traces a path that appears to vanish into the Pacific Ocean and feels almost spiritual in all its minimalist glory.
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Tokyo DREAMS By Choo Vegas
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MOPIRE CITY
Mopire City is a popular destination for secondlife photographers. The SIM is located on the ground beneath R2 Fashion, a cyber-sexy and erotic clothing store specializing in Barbarella-style clothing designed mainly in transparent vinyl textures with metallic embellishments. In the shop you can catch the lift down to the the SIM beneath, which lays like a modern day Tokyo, huge and detailed with skyscrapers, office buildings and motorways. The vast empty buildings and malls gives the sim a spooky atmosphere where it’s easy to get lost...
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INTERVIEW
Photo by Samyi Basevi
NO surrender! Interview and drawing by Choo Vegas / Photos by Dixmix Source
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Of all art galleries in Second Life Dixmix Gallery is a cut above the rest. It’s the Mount Olympus, the place where established and aspiring artists alike dream about having their work displayed, preferably as a solo show curated by the great man himself: Dixmix Source.
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The Belgian artist and curator is always present at his art show openings, dancing to the tunes of his favourite DJs, the Dixmixers, wearing his signature black shades and black suits. He personally handpicks every art piece that goes up on the walls in his gallery, and as music is one of his great loves we suspect he is as choosy about his DJs as he is about his art.
How do you pick artists and curate an art show? “Well, many photographers ask me “what is the theme you want me to work on”. But usually for me the photographer is the theme. I like to find “new” talent and when I’ve my eye on somebody it usually doesn’t take long. I keep their Flickr page for a few weeks and look every day until I get an idea for a show. If I then select pictures from an artist’s Flickr, I’m always thinking how it will look here. Sometimes how I display the pictures in the gallery brings a whole other point of view on all the work. With time I also have my own little group of photographers who’s work I like, and if they have been here once, why not to come back one year later? Do people come to you and ask to be considered for a show? “No, not many ask directly. Sometimes a friend might introduce someone’s work to me, but most of the time I’m the one calling. Wow I assumed you had people climbing the walls begging you... “Well, maybe? If they are, they’re not making much noise, unless am I deaf, he smiles.
In RL Dixmix Source is an artist, photographer, director and musician with a longtime media career. “I started working in the music business and ended up working for television as the head of music at the pay tv (canal+). I was producing TV shows and a lot of live concert for television and I learned a lot from that job, he says and continues to tell how he draws a lot of inspiration from music. Only this morning before our interview he was dancing around his kitchen to his favorite tunes. “A bossa nova!! he laughs and jokes: “Yes, I still have a few animations in my rl dance hud.” 85
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Every day he opens his google chrome, and finds himself with at least 30 tabs open, with various artists work. Do you ever get a picture-fatigue, going through so many images? “Well, I’m always tired, but not watching pictures” he laughs and adds: “I’m even following more RL photographer than SL, and going on other parts of Flickr or 500px, saving bookmarks or even looking for themes on Pinterest.” Can art created in a virtual world be relevant in RL to people who’s never been to SL? “Of course, some can make the crossover, but I don’t know if anyone is doing it, it’s already so hard to find a gallery to show your work. I was recently invited to show three of my SL pictures in a little gallery in Japan and it was a group exhibition.” I am always thinking that would be a cool thing to do... “Yes, if the quality of the picture is good, it’s possible.” Among his favorite RL photographers are Peter Lindbergh and Anton Corbijn, the first most famous for his photos in publications like VOGUE Italia and the second a shooter who’s become synonymous with THE rock’n’roll photographer. Both shoot most of their photos in black and white. “Peter Lindbergh, yes he’s a fashion photographer but a little bit more than that. I met him in the nineties when he was living in Arles (France). He invited us to make an “end of a shooting party” with the crew at his house. A very nice guy. Since then I have always followed his work, but sadly we didn’t stay in touch.” You say “more than a fashion photographer”, but surely fashion is a field with a lot of more artistic opportunities than most other fields? “Yes, Vogue and some other magazines have understood that the photography is more important than the dress on the model when it comes to communicating a vibe or a trend.” 89
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Your other favourite, Anton Corbijn is especially famous for his work with U2, “War” was the Irish band’s first record to feature Corbijn’s photography.... “I really do admire his work. You know music and images are very connected, and both music and visuals are very important to me. When I was young I was spending lots of time looking at music photography, studying the details.” Can you remember what it was that made you go WOW like so much you knew art was what you had to do? “As far as I remember I always had it inside me. But growing up I also understood that most parents hope for other sunny roads for their children to pursue. Many follow their parents’ dreams, but I never did ... My mum still doesn’t understand how I’m living.” Is she still waiting for you to get a “real job”? “Well, I hope not. But the deal is the less she knows the better she is. We live in turbulent times, what would you say is arts purpose today politically and morally? “Art has always been political. And photography especially is “of the moment” - the instant you push the button. Before and after is not the same, never. Do you have any advice for new artists? “Try to stay new, even when you’re getting old.” Would you say art is your passion? “I’m only living to do what I want and enjoy it. So, you can call it passion ... for me it’s a way of life, lifestyle, and I decided that when I was 14 ... 44 years ago . No surrender!” 91
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DRAWINGS
“Love is a dog from hell. And so is drawing...” Choo Vegas .
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support
Featured artists Mavi Beck Megan Prumier Maloe Vansant Tutsi Navarathna Andrea DeLauren Dixmix Source Choo Vegas A big thank you to all for your participation
Mob may 2019