Saturday, October 15, 2011

Typo on Sundays

I have made an art school, but I am a
drawer on sundays.
Typote Beck
There's a chill in the air, and from my window, leaves burn with exquisite individuality, according to their place of birth and circumstances. Little unobtrusive miracles, a myriad subtle tales of light and movement. Small is beautiful. And while Rose Borchovski's giant eyeballs - and all the rest of the familiar-looking works up at The Path- are great, I'm hankering for something more independent, more intimate. Like this.


Typote Beck's Studio Egg is part hang-out, part gallery, and the best part of both. 2D art stands happily next to posed  pieces, like this one, setting the mind on fire. There's a fluidity not only in the individual works, but in the way he has curated himself that makes the studio experience a delight.
typote Beck (aka Vincent Nesler) is a desktop publishing trainer with humorous steampunk sci-fi tendencies, and RL hottie - check out the profile pic *now that's eye candy*. His job keeps him from being a SL art diva, but it also feeds his weekend hobby with a sense of fun.

Artist and otterpedic surgeon, Dr. Polke  prescribed the visit. 

Scottius Polke: I think typote is a great artist, and he deserves a lot more attention than he gets. I love his work.
Highly recommended, the tin-can moonshine, available at the bar. Don't worry, it only makes you a little silly.

Second Life offers a way for typote to create a more complete universe - to release his creations out of the confines of the page and ink, and into the virtual world, like his  little bird...
... found all over this modular build. There's a danger, a self-confessed one, that typote might take over from Vincent; he's the first to admit how addictive the experience can be,  and perhaps that's partly why he sports four different avie looks, from the kinda scary child-man, to the virtually realistic, depending on his mood. It's also got a lot to do with his kind of creativity and his love of altered states.
Auto reverse
It doesn't take you long to realize this is not all going to be sweetness and light. The robot is cute as all getout, but take a wary look around his rather vicious church.
An imagination fired by the need for social change, disgusted by everyday atrocities accepted by an apathetic public, he creates a narrative that is both varied and interesting, like this interactive box full of sarcastic protest - check out those springs!

His slightly-off English is charming: "In your graphical preferences, choose light of proximity to see the effects of the lamps." OMG cuteness! ....and a nice change from the po-faced abominations committed by the likes of Maccheronico "I-had-dat-idea-6-month-in-front-you, read-my-blog-of-it" Mayo.
I could go on. 

Not that he's a stranger to accolades: typote's flag-waving 'Fill the Mountains' is currently on show over at Nordan, and his French language comic strip, "les Zoisos" is on show at Tournicoton, and of course he's participated in many other things, but honestly, the best way to get a feel for his phenomenal style is to be here at Studio Egg, by yourself or with a thoughtful friend.
It's rare that an artist manages to get away from him or herself and yet remain true to the fundamental look. Perhaps it's all the years in graphic design that have made Typote such a consummate expert at surprising his audience. Perhaps it's that he never betrays the paper-based origins of his art.


 Perhaps it's also the sense that, like some sort of other-worldly barman, he's just slightly indifferent to you and me, and these are all simply doodles for his own amusement, his private outlet - one that just happens to be really good and interesting. Why not sneak over to Studio Egg and see for yourself. Hurray for Sundays.

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