As I traversed the great terrain of Machinima over the last few of weeks, I stumbled across a gem of a find! The works of virtual resident Spyvsspy Aeon really impressed me on many levels. His work is a unique type of artistry, almost dream-like, ripe with elegant imagery that makes it's viewer refrain from blinking for fear of missing a single poetic shot in his tableau of storytelling.
He is a director with a firm mastery of his camera. His eyes takes us on an adventure through these elegant landscapes that are a bit like medicine for the virtual soul. When I was shown his piece entitled "Machinima Metamorphasis" I sat glued to my PC anxiously awaiting the next moving image that would grace my screen. Accompanied by the most exquisite music, every sequence is brilliantly realized, from the text manifesting from morphing Fleur De Lis, to the doves that seems so real that they may fly from your very monitor, the talent exemplified in his work is undeniable.
While the work of Second Life artist AM Radio is exceptional without question, it has been the subject of countless machinima productions, from the simplistic to the hyper embellished. Ultimately, I believe even the most sacred works can suffer from being overly interpreted by other artists, and the gifted AM Radio's pieces, as they are so cinematic in nature, not to mention inspiring, has provided constant gravity for creatives since his introduction to virtual mainstream. His work has been photographed, filmed, re-imagined, set to music, used as sets, re-processed in post production and at some point the viewer has to say; "Okay, offers the viewer an explicitly unique perspective. One that takes the work of one artist and empowers it through the viewfinder of yet another artist. Lately I've been seeing a rash of music videos set to the mystical, otherworldly music of one Skye Galaxy, and have yet to see a piece that does tribute to his artistry. It goes without saying that, in our eager states, we can over-conceptualize and actually reduce the quality of a piece through forced reinterpretation. It takes a strong voice to actually reach beyond the grasp of an originating artist to give a piece a new voice- and a new audience.
SpyvSpy Aeon has that incredible gift. He has set his most recent piece to a poem written by himself several years ago, translated quite beautifully from Portuguese to English. Spyvspy's images illustrated places I wanted to be as though I'd never been there before. His transitions were used sparingly and always with startling precision, and every arc of his film meshed with flawless grace in delivering the audience from the first frame to the last.
This is one artist I am thrilled to follow. I look forward to seeing what his future productions are, and what visual adventures he has in store for us. I'd love to see him do a fictional piece, a fantasy perhaps, his flair for filming the unimaginably beautiful is undeniable. His lush landscapes and odyssey of the eye engages viewers, wrapping them wholly in an enigmatic bubble of warmth and solitude. I think this is a director whose work has the potential of moving from retrospective and inspired by another, to being self inspired and profound. Indeed, I think we have a new pioneering visionary in our midst. I genuinely hope you enjoy his work as much as I did.
Phaylen Fairchild
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1 comments:
Spy is extremely supportive of everyone and is a really talented machinimist himself. It's nice to see him getting some coverage here :D Thanks for the article
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