New York City artists hold opening
by Minerva Jackalope
Second Life News Network, March 02, 2007
 HAENIM - GHava{SL} Center for the Arts is a virtual exhibition space showing the works of a select group of NYC artists and held its opening yesterday. The "you are here" exhibition, which takes place 1,805 ft high in the sky, in one of GHava{SL}'s several 16,533 sq ft glass galleries, is curated by artists Annie Ok (Xantherus Halberd in SL) and Derek Lerner (Rhizome Szydlowska in SL). The purpose of the minimalistic design of the center emphasizes the pieces in the gallery. Halberd notes, "It's always all about presenting the work. The work speaks for itself. The surroundings should be as blank as possible to provide the best possible backdrop for the pieces themselves. We refrained from doing anything that would detract." The title of the exhibition, "you are here," represents "being present in any given circumstance," Halberd said. "Being present to witness or create, emote, whatever. [But] I think the meaning of 'you are here' is also best left to the viewer to interpret in their own personal way." The purpose of the exhibition, Halberd says, is "to share art with people who may not be able to come to the museums and galleries in NYC to see it for themselves. I feel very privileged to have so many talented friends as artists. I love their work and I only want to share it with others," she added. Many of the artists who are included in the exhibition have never displayed their work in SL before but have been shown at prestigious institutions such as: Whitney Museum of American Art, Centre Georges Pompidou, Alleged Galleries, Deitch Projects, Andrea Rosen Gallery, Creative Time's The Brooklyn Anchorage, Bronwyn Keenan, American Fine Arts, Thread Waxing Space, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery and many others worldwide. The gallery includes a variety of work including still life, photography, paintings, and drawings. Patrick O'Dell, one of the artists, included in the gallery is the photo editor for Vice Magazine. His photography displays intimate moments of some well-known pro skaters. O'Dell also runs the website, epiclylaterd.com. Another one of the artists included is Cheryl Dunn, a New York-based photographer, filmmaker and sociologist,who has shot for magazines such as Spin, Vogue, Elle, Harpers Bazaar, and Dazed and Confused. More recently, Dunn's work has been included in the "beautiful losers" exhibition, which toured around the world - she was one of only a females to do so. Dunn's work in the GHava{SL} exhibition includes a fearless self-portrait taken right after 9/11.
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