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Stories from Second Life
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Fine American Art Makes History
Some time ago I interviewed an American artist named Dennis Paul Batt. I met him in Second Life as his avatar Schmonson Dalglish, and he had joined Second Life with one particular aim above any other. That aim was to bring the American Art of Lapidary to the attention of the real Art world. Lapidary, the use of gemstones to create pictures, had been largely ignored and not recognised as an art form by the echelons of the Art world. I am very pleased to announce that, thanks to Dennis's tireless campaign to bring this to the fore, American Lapidary Art has now been recognised and is going to be shown for the first time in a Museum in California. The Exhibition will be on display from 2 March until 1 May 2009 in the Parker Gallery, Oceanside Museum of Arts, CA. This is a historical moment for Art, and for the artists who have created these beautiful pieces, that they have now been officially noted. Dennis Batt will give a talk at the exhibition ‘Commesso: Made in America "Gemstone Fine Art" at the Museum on Saturday, 25 April at 2pm. Curator and Artist Dennis states: "Commesso: Made in America "Gemstone Fine Art" is the first art museum exhibition of the American made fine art of creating commesso di pietre dure e tenere, stone mosaic pictures. The artwork is made from precise placement of the hardest medium known: rocks and gemstones, with an occasional shell or other hard material. Pietre Dure means hard stone, such as agates, jades, jaspers, quartz, sugilite, and chalcedony. Pietre Tenere means softer stone such as marbles, lapis lazuli, malachite, coral, opal, and turquoise. The natural colours, textures, and patterns of these pictures made of stone are exquisite, far more durable, and like nature itself, far superior to any man-made paint or other artificial media. Each stone has to be hand cut and assembled without grout, requiring countless hours of intense concentration, patience, supreme skill, and true love of the creative process. Assembled for this exhibition are a few of the finest contemporary Californian Commesso Artists. The exhibition features the work of the late William Grundke, one of the most celebrated Commesso artists, his son Conrad Grundke, an award winning Commesso artist who currently teaches Lapidary and Intarsia at Saddleback College, Charlotte Burk, Anne Timmins, and Amy Spencer. Also shown are some of the works of San Diego County artists Dennis Paul Batt and the late Johnny Johnson. Oceanside Museum of Art has created a significant event in the history of art by exhibiting this American made fine art form" I am absolutely delighted for Dennis, that he has finally achieved so much to get this art recognised, not only for himself, but for all the other Commesso artists and their families. It has been an honour for me to watch this story unfold, and to be able to report on Dennis's success, which includes using Second Life to bring this real life Art to the attention of the Art World, finally giving it the status it so deserves. The Parker Gallery is located on the 2nd Level of the Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way in downtown Oceanside, CA. See also http://www.americanmastersofstone.com/ http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-58648 http://www.oma-online.org/.
- TAGS:
- secondlife,
- sl,
- lapidary,
- american-art,
- oceanside-museum,
- commesso,
- history,
- dennis-paul-batt
- GROUPS:
- Tech and science
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