Photographic Exhibition by Cat Boccaccio

Cat Boccoccio in her Gallery

When Morris had asked if I’d be interested in writing for Second Art and I accepted the offer, I began going through my notes looking for ideas. I’d sent out a few inquiries and was waiting on replies. Thinking now that I should connect with some people on my friends list, I opened it up and was about to IM a few who were on-line when an inventory offer arrived from Cat Boccaccio. I’d met Ms Boccaccio at an exhibit earlier in the year and had viewed several examples of her photographs.

Sensing a good lead, I clicked on the blue box to accept it and read:

“New Works! … Including pictures from Cat’s ongoing Voyeur and Dancing Girls series, in a beautiful recently built gallery.” Twilight’s Peace Gallery & Cultural Center

 I sent her an IM and we caught each other up while arranging for a meeting to talk about her photography.

“ Hello Nazz! How are you?” She asked when I arrived after accepting her TP request. Before I could answer she added: “I thought we could gallop through my own little gallery, then go over to twilight’s peace, where my newer stuff is, for a chat … if you like. I have a lot of stuff, this is only part of it but if we jog through, you might get a good idea.”

‘Hey Cat, I’m doing fine thank you … good to see you again … and yes, starting here will be fine.” I replied while waiting for the site to rezz.

“When did you start taking pictures in SL?” I asked.

“At the end of 2007, by accident really I’d just discovered the snapshot function and started taking pictures and then  gave some to friends  and since my specialty has always been the figure, that’s what I started shooting.  I wanted to see if I could make them look human. I love the figure and love most things about SL … So it was a challenge, and a lot of fun. Still is.” She replied.

“I wanted to ask you about something I read on your blog … “I want to depict the female avatar in a way I hadn’t seen before: real, soft, warm and sensuous”.  How do you do that in a virtual environment and why do you feel it’s important?” I asked.

“Well when I am here in SL, when we all are, it is important. We all have the same needs and desires, emotions, quirks and faults that we have in RL. It seems impossible that these could be captured by a pixel picture of an avatar… but it happens! … and that is as exciting and meaningful to me as it would be in RL.” She replied.

 “The emotions of the person behind the screen come through into the avatar?” I asked

“Yes …  whether by accident or something truly crazy and miraculous … Not always, but that is what I am trying to do. I do ‘enhance’ in Photoshop or a similar program, but that is mainly to correct SL distortions and colors, and I also like to play with the lighting. Take this portrait of ‘Azura’, I got many comments about her ‘attitude’ … she is just an avatar in a pose, but I and others seem to read more into it.”  She said

“I’m looking at it now and I see a repressed anger in her eyes.  The slight curl of her lips suggests that she’d just received some news that has displeased her” I commented after zooming in and reviewing the picture of a woman with short blond hair.

“Yes … she is not content, and she has contempt for the photographer, it looks like.” She said then took me to another of her photographs. “Nazz, sometimes people see things I never imagined. This is one of the first studio pictures I showed … this one kind of changed everything for me, it is an early one, a year old at least.”

I followed her over and when she stopped I moved the cursor over the one she stood next to and then asked, “Venice Lightning?”

“Yes, this showed me what was possible. But someone commented that this and some of the other pictures … seemed to represent an orgasm. Well I see now what he sees.” She said.

“I see surrender when I look at the picture. Her nipples appear to be erect. Her eyes look to be closed and head is arched back.” I commented

“And yet it wasn’t the intention … at the time I was just taking pretty, innocent pictures, trying to make beautiful figures. It seems obvious now, in a way. Her eyes are closed, and that was an SL accident, which changes everything.  I love the unpredictable side of photographing in SL. I have asked a number of scripter’s if they could develop something to control that… no luck so far.” She said and then moved toward another photograph and the added: “If you want to see a very emotionally charged picture … please see this one.”

I followed her over and zoomed in to see the figure of a dark haired woman, sitting in a darkened room. She appeared to be sad, perhaps even had been crying. I clicked on it and it told me the name. “Is it Alone 3?” I asked.

“Yes, I have had a few comments on this one too. It is one of the saddest pieces I have done. She looks about to cry or has just finished crying. She is smudged and sad and vulnerable … poor thing.” She replied

“Tell me a bit about your techniques in how you use photoshop?” I asked

“I have been using photoimpact lately… but normally I increase gamma, to light up the details of a shot, first, to see what I have. I correct the distortions if I can, and correct color so the flesh tones look more natural. The main difference between the raw shot and the finished picture is often the lighting. It makes the figure look more lush and real, and certainly can create a mood. I mean it can make the figure more lush.” She replied.

“Is that any different then with what a photographer does with a real life subject?” I asked

“It really isn’t .., is it? In traditional RL photography you can manipulate the lighting as you go, that is hard to do in SL, but a little easier now with windlight, and environment controls. But I am using some of the quirks of SL these days, instead of fighting them. That can be fun too. ” She replied

“Can you give me a for instance of an SL Quirk?” I asked.

“Well I can show you one picture here taken at the Nameless SIM, then there are several at Twilights Peace taken at a studio, with ‘accidental’ effects. ‘Love is in the Air’, this was hardly touched in PS  and has strange lines and shadows … all SL not cooperating  but I thought I would show it anyway, I could not duplicate that kind of effect. You can even see the title above the avatar … it’s there, blurred but visible.” She replied and then added, “Let’s go over to Twilight Peace.”

I agreed and she left telling me she’d send a TP when she arrived. She did and I did shortly after. As the site rezzed I asked her, “The note card said the pictures on display here are from your ongoing Voyeur and Dancing Girls series, what was your inspiration for the series?”

“Oh yes… the ones on the left.  The first two of a series I am trying … things that are private, things we shouldn’t see.”  She said in reply the added, “The top one, ‘in the kitchen’, is an example to me of avatars expressing something far beyond what you expect of them. It scares me, and I took it.”

I zoomed in for a closer look. A dark haired woman, nude is on her knees. Directly in front of her is a male avatar, shirtless with tattoos and he appears to be staring down at her. They are in the kitchen. There’s a sink full of dishes to his left. I looked closer, zooming in. “She has a look of fear on her face.” I commented.

“And his body language … appears threatening. I hope she isn’t begging … what do you think?” She asked.

“No, she’s not begging. But it appears that she has knowledge of what she is expecting to receive.” I replied and then added. “I sense she knows what’s going to happen because she’s had it from him before, either physical abuse or verbal … or both.” I replied.

“Yes there is certainly no surprise in her face … it frightens me a lot.” She said

“The ones over here … the dancing girls… all were shot in my studio… This one here I couldn’t get the right angle, so accidentally shot some through a transparent railing I have set up and I liked the effect. I’m not sure I could duplicate those effects either.” She said as she moved toward the right.

I followed her movement and then zoomed in with the camera to get a better look. “Dancing girl 3 is interesting.” I commented.

“Yes, though she is not dancing so much.” She said

“Her expression suggests pain … physical pain. Perhaps she was trying a spin and fell … or it didn’t quite come off the way she wanted”. I commented.

“Or anger … or frustration … or she is very tired, down to the wire, sick of dancing and posing and taking orders …  or no tips!” She said.

“In the goal statement on your web site you reference combining your subjects with the, ‘magical and often exotic Second Life environments’, what do you look for when searching for a magical and exotic environment?” I asked.

 “There are some amazing places in SL, as you know … AM Radio’s SIM’s, like The Far Away … Nameless, Sic Tempura… an amazing source, so many different places to explore … and I wander them and take hundreds of pictures, when they inspire or spark something. I do like to have them peopled, I don’t do travelogues, but the environment can be a huge component, when it inspires … like the inside of a Victorian submarine… how cool … what can I do with that I ask myself.” She replied then added. “In the bio … it’s just a blurb about the exhibit… it is pretty much what you have read except for one thing …  and that is that I never set out to do ‘erotic’ pictures…. others labeled the photographs erotic and I suppose that arouses curiosity, but it was never my intention, though I play with it now. I try very hard to keep my work fresh, and to keep an air of innocence … Nazz, I started doing portraits awhile ago… did not enjoy them at all, but that has changed, since I know that there are unknowns that I can actually capture in a picture.”