“Give
me hot or give me cold – just never give me tepid.”
-Trad.
prob. derived from Revelations 3:16
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| SaveMe Oh Retrospective by SaveMe Oh |
SaveMe Oh is one of the
most interesting and unique artists currently working in Second Life. She
herself is not however easily categorised, and neither is her work – if indeed
the two can in fact be split.
She has been ejected and banned from more SL regions, art
galleries and installations than anyone else I can think of.
SaveMe has, among her other talents, an unerring ability
to piss people off.
Although SaveMe is a prolific filmmaker, a creator of
in-world installations and a performance-artist of some repute it is probably fair
to say that, actually, it is “SaveMe Oh” herself that is the “artwork”. And I
don’t say that lightly; I am quite aware how trite and clichéd it may sound.
SaveMe’s mere presence always causes an effect – sometimes
hot, sometimes cold – but never tepid. I have been at a number of exhibitions
where worried curators have in hushed whispers asked, “Is SaveMe
Oh coming?” More often than not their ban hammer is primed and ready.
And make no mistake - there is no doubt that SaveMe’s
presence can be disruptive; there is no doubt she is capable of being wicked, even
cruel; and there is also no doubt she is openly critical of other artists.
But despite this – perhaps even *because* of this – her work
always carries with it a sense of humour and fun…so long as you yourself are
not the target!
I first met SaveMe – and I wouldn’t expect her to remember
this – but I first met her at an AM Radio installation, no less, when I’d
only been in SL a few months. At this particular installation it was possible
to “spray paint” graffiti onto the side of a railway locomotive. I was there to
film a sequence for No Self Control; SaveMe was there for her
own nefarious reasons. We both wanted to use the spray-paint tool at the same
time. SaveMe graciously let me go first. I studied her profile, as I do most
anyone who comes into my range, and found my way to her films
and blog. I have to say, it took me a while to “get it” and actually
enjoy what she is doing. Over the last 2+ years I have had long discussions
about her work with Iono Allen and Tutsy Navarathna, both of whom respect what she is doing; I have also watched many of her films and also attending her installations and performance
art.
As recognition of her work, AviewTV are currently running a retrospective of SaveMe’s machinima. The venue, like SaveMe herself, is larger-than-life, fun and utterly
uncompromising.
I spent two hours there on Sunday evening and will return
again during the week. Her movies are streamed to various “screens” of all
shapes and sizes. It was very enjoyable and I recommend it.
I had seen many of SaveMe’s films before. Some of the films
contain nudity, many are provocative or controversial but the one common thread
running through all of them is their *great* soundtracks!
Whether it be a self-hypnosis track, a Leonard Cohen song,
El Tigre, Elvis Presley, Bessie Banks, Minnie Riperton, Billy Brown or any of a
host of many others the choice is always engaging, and often fun.
Using her work to convey her ideas, concepts, feelings,
disdain and scorn seem important to SaveMe. If SaveMe has an opinion she'll find one way or another to express it regardless of what we might
think of that opinion or of her for expressing it. And if SaveMe’s intention is that her work
provokes a response, any response, then she has succeeded beyond most any other
artist I know of in Second Life. I certainly doubt that SaveMe is attempting to
make us gasp with her technical prowess or regale us with special effects; I suspect this is of little or no
interest to her.
Selecting one of SaveMe’s films to embed here was quite difficult.
There are many I could have chosen. In the end I opted for ‘Go To Hell’ released three years ago.
The reason is that is seems to be a personal story and conveys personal
emotion, something I enjoy in any film but which is particularly difficult to
do in machinima.
Check out SaveMe’s blog,
the ninety-odd films on her Vimeo channel
and visit the Retrospective for a better appreciation of
SaveMe’s work and her influence – both hot and cold – within the Second Life
art community.
