Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Milena Carbone Makes Gorgeous Virtual Photos to Illustrate Provocative Essays

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Milena Carbone is an amazing find. Not just wonderful pictures, but many of her photos include interesting narratives and essays, sometimes on her Medium, sometimes attached to the image itself. I love this picture above where the people disappear into the background. It is such a striking photo that I would feature it on its own, but then I read her essay attached to this image (read it here) about how the axioms that rule our lives must be questioned if they keep us from love. Maybe we should divide by zero.

“Ludwig’s Fantasy” is an intriguing picture made more meaningful by Milena’s somewhat fractured history of Ludwig and his Immortal Beloved, Almerie. This is not the Ludwig we know, but the one from an alternative history. It is a fun short story and the picture illustrates it perfectly. It also illustrates the color theme of Milena’s work. She produces several tritone photos, black and white and one other color, usually blue, sometimes red. Her color story is just one more reason to enjoy her work.

“Self-portrait #3.2” is five in an album of five, each with an essay reflecting on self, selfies, and looking at others. All but one are black and white. This is my favorite because it is a bit cheeky. The essay, though, is quite serious, a critique of selfie culture, of people who go to a museum and take a picture of themselves rather than enjoy the art, who lose the moment and their own authenticity in their desire for memorializing themselves. They get a picture of themselves doing something rather than the experience of doing something. 

Milena Carbone’s photostream appeals to me artistically. I like her experimentation with color, her eccentricity in choosing subjects and her originality. Add to that, the thoughtful and sometimes provocative essays are a real pleasure. She presents her essays on Medium, describing them as Second Life fiction. 

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Comments

[Tif]

Very interesting photos, atmospheric so sure.

[Anna]

It's really amazing. I'm really glad about it.

[Lisa]

I've gone to university and studied Fine Arts; part of my study involved photography. Second life is an amazing social platform, but it also has some amazing photography tools that mimic actual camera functions. It's a great tool for experts and beginners alike to learn photography, who might not be able to afford a DSLR or any other sort of camera IMO.