"13 Most Beautiful Avatars"

Plurabelle Posthorn på går på utstilling i Second Life...

(Siden jeg ga til kjenne at jeg hadde besøkt utstillingen dems i Second Life fikk jeg i dag invitasjon til the real life utstillingen dems i New York...(Jeg har laget flere lenker i pressreleasen dems under..))

The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University invites you to the Opening Reception for the Fall, 2006 Premio New York Exhibition:

Eva and Franco Mattes (a.k.a. 0100101110101101.ORG)
"13 Most Beautiful Avatars"

November 30 - December 19, 2006Opening: Thursday, November 30, 6-8pmThe Italian Academy, New York

EVA and FRANCO MATTES (a.k.a. 0100101110101101.ORG) present "13 Most Beautiful Avatars," a portrait series at the Italian Academy and in an online exhibit organized by Rhizome and co-presented by the New Museum of Contemporary Art. The Matteses have been living in the virtual world, Second Life, for over a year, exploring its terrain and interacting with its peculiar inhabitants. The result of their "video-game flanerie" is a series of portraits, entitled "13 Most Beautiful Avatars." Not unlike Warhol's entourage of stars, captured in the "13 Most Beautiful Boys" and "13 Most Beautiful Women" portrait series, the Matteses' "13 Most Beautiful Avatars" captures the most visually dynamic and celebrated "stars" of Second Life.

The portraits reflect Second Life aesthetics, featuring the bright colors, "artificial" light, broad flat areas, 3D shapes, and surreal perspectives that are typical of this virtual world. Overall, the series draws on the technological developments which allow the creation of alternate identities within simulated worlds. Despite the relative newness of using video game-derived source materials, the avatars' icons recall questions common to earlier eras of portraiture, including the cultural and psychological context of the images, and the relationships between high art and subculture, between contemporary art and "traditional" art forms, and between art and life itself.

Concurrent with the show at the Italian Academy is an online exhibition organized by Rhizome and co-presented by the New Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition, in Second Life's increasingly popular Ars Virtua gallery, mirrors the Italian Academy's art gallery, and is visible here: http://rhizome.org/events/timeshares.
Highlights of the online exhibition will also be projected during the opening reception.

Eva and Franco Mattes are known for their controversial artworks, such as staging high-profile hoaxes and defeating the Nike Corporation in a legal battle over a fake advertising campaign. Their works have been shown worldwide including the Venice Biennale, Manifesta and Postmasters Gallery, New York.

The Premio New York is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Academy and the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.

Few of the avatar paintings will be shown by Postmasters, the Matteses New York gallery, at the PULSE Art Fair in Miami, and a portfolio of prints produced by Jean-Yves Noblet Contemporary Prints is also available.

The Italian Academy, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue (just south of 118th Street), New York.Subway #1 to 116th StreetMonday through Friday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.CONTACT: Allison Jeffrey, 212 854-8942, aj211@columbia.edu

http://www.italianacademy.columbia.edu/IA_premioFall2006.html
http://www.0100101110101101.org/