NMC Campus Observer

kyra Gaea an Interview

Poid Mahovlich : Jun 17, 2007 12:47pm

kyra Gaea’s Oil on Canvas is now showing at the aho Museum on the NMC Campus - I was able to catch up with her and ask here for a window into her world - captivating and unique

1) How did you find out about Second Life ?
I found out about SL from an article that was posted on the BBC News website … it was a video article and the interviewer was an avi and taking us on a tour of SL, then there was a link to a build of a guitar and that fascinated me … so without even a second thought i downloaded the program and began my Second Life, that was back in September of 2006.

2) In 5 words how would you describe your work?
1. Impressionistic, 2. related to nature, 3/4. flowing, energetic motion, 5. sensuous emotions

3) Would you say that you had any major artistic influences ?
My major artistic influences, period wise has been the Post Impressionistic, i adore Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cezanne … other artists that have had a profound influence on me have been Matisse, early Mondrian, and Bacon, Henry Miller and DH Lawrence (the latter two as writers and painters) … i am also a pianist/composer, so i have had a host of influences for 20th century composers as well as writers … the one movement i have been most interested in is minimalism, i am a big fan of Gertrude Stein in literature, and John Adams and Per Norgard, as well as Daniel Lentz in music, as a result, i think my painting has lots of motion because music is built on the motion of time … i like to move when i paint, so i am very meticulous about how i place the paint on the canvas, and then when it is all placed i get out an assortment of palette knives and begin to move the paint around allowing it to mix and coalesce as my body seems to create gestures to respond to what i see happening on the canvas in front of me.

4) What was the last book you read ?
I am a voracious reader, i dont just read books but i read novelists, i am just finishing all of Edith Wharton’s books, the last one i read was “The Children” and before Wharton i read all of Toni Morrison’s oeuvre … I have read all of Colette, i guess i concentrate quite a bit on women authors, and i have read about half of Anthony Trollope’s works, i am at heart a true romantic. My favorite book is Ella Delaria’s “Waterlily” which chronicles the story of a lakota Sioux Indian girl and her life, very well told both, culturally, anthropologically and set in what reads like a beautiful novel.

5) What makes you who you are in SL ?
Oh Poid, this is a very complicated question, that i dont know if i am prepared to answer at this time … i am writing a book that will address this question specifically and i think if anyone is interested they wl just have to wait for its publication … but i suppose if i were to make a simple answer for this question, i am trying to bring art to SL through my work in the gallery and i am trying to find someone to be close to as a friend, someone i have respect and admiration for and someone that feels similar to me, and in a large community of several million i am hoping that my chances of finding such a person are good

Poid