Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
Blaire Naverre created this marvelous homage to John Everett Millais’ portrait of Shakespeare’s Ophelia. She has the flowers, the dark blue of the stream, all the details are so well done. Lizzie Siddal, an artist’s model who went on to be an artist in her own right, got very sick while modeling for this picture, because she was laying in a bathtub full of cold water. Millais ended up paying her doctor bills. Blaire’s recreation is free of colds and flus and is a stunning achievement. Millais’ Ophelia is certainly the most well known of the multitude of artworks depicting this tragic character. (Though if you think artists have it bad for Ophelia, you should see the scholars.)
Perhaps Ophelia fascinates because she went mad and killed herself and we’re not sure why. Was she the despairing woman who loved someone who did not love her back or the disillusioned daughter mourning the murder of her father by the man she loved? Whatever the reason, she is a popular subject in art. I am not exempt from the impulse to portray her.
Here’s my SL-based “Ophelia at Versaille” from 2008.
For more Second Life-based Ophelias, click here:
ღLeriel Magicღ gives us a risque Ophelia, though with strategically placed flora. I love how in this scene, Ophelia is truly in the water. What I mean is this is how we lay in the water, our shins have less body fat and sink lower than our thighs and torso. It feels natural. I also like how luminous her body is next to the water which is not still, but slowly and gently lapping around her body the way water does.
Tia gives us a fully clothed Ophelia. Wearing that outfit, she could have just accidentally drowned, weighed down by sleeves that are half her body weight when wet. I love how natural her hair is in this picture, floating in the water and spreading away from her head.
CapCat Ragu gave us the most poignant Ophelia. Here she is drowning in her words. The famous quote from her, “Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be” float on the crest of the water. This is an astonishingly brilliant portrayal of Ophelia.
Ayako delivers my favorite Ophelia, one who is not going gentle into that good night, she’s taking someone with her.
Finally, Halfwraith’s Ophelia depicted here is so vibrant with color she feels alive. Even the water is alive with color. Somehow I think this Ophelia could kick Hamlet’s whining butt.
I have created a gallery that has about half the pictures of Ophelia from Second Life. Galleries can only have safe pictures, so a lot of great pics simply couldn’t be added. However, there are many gorgeous photos. There is even a male "Ophelius"! I could have gone on and on posting pics in this column, hence the gallery:
Lest you think SL residents have an unusual love of Ophelia, here is a real life gallery. It really requires much more effort to recreate Ophelia in real life. Sometimes that water is cold. I think I am more fascinated by people’s fascination with Ophelia than I am with Ophelia herself. Why do you think she is so compelling, even after all these years?
All images copyright the various artists.
See all of Cajsa's Choices here. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter, on her blog, and on her Ko-Fi.
Want to recommend amazing SL artists for future posts? Posts links to their image feeds in comments here. (Self-promotion welcome!)
Cajsa’s Choices is devoted to unique, artistic, and innovative virtual world-based images and screenshots that showcase the medium as an art form and Second Life as a creative platform. (Generally not images that fit on this Bingo card.)
Cajsa Lilliehook is a seventeen year resident of Second Life, where she owned a photo studio, spent several years as a DJ at The Velvet, and for her first SL job, cleaned up prim trash. She co-founded and runs the It’s Only Fashion blog with her best friend Gidge Uriza. She also has a book review blog, Tonstant Weader Reviews and a cooking blog, Single Serving Recipes. She spends a lot of time researching and reporting on Republican sexual predators. In her first life, she is a retired grassroots leader who has worked for economic and social justice issues most of her life. She is also the minion of a cat named Nora.
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