London Dial Down by Jeffrey Lipsky, photo courtesy of the artist
Artist Jeffrey Lipsky is a white Jewish man with a mustache, cap, and jeans. He has exhibited paintings in galleries and museums around the world and has been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Brooklyn Rail, Art Calendar Magazine, and a string of others.
Artist Filthy Fluno is a short plump black man with a mammoth afro, designer suit, sneakers, and 3D glasses whose artwork looks exactly like Lipsky’s. Surrounded by beautiful women and eccentric characters, he is founder of the esteemed art community Artropolis. He has been featured in innumerable important galleries and museums, and also had his own feature in the New York Times.
Fluno & Wikifoo at a Second Life exhibit
Confused?
Jeffrey Lipsky and Filthy Fluno are actually the same person.
Still confused? I understand. (I highly recommended referencing TroysArt “Second Life & Jake Wikifoo”, August 18, 2014). Jeffrey Lipsky lives in Lowell, Massachusetts and Filthy Fluno lives in Second Life. Filthy Fluno is an avatar.
Now if you think that TroysArt has blown this artist’s Second Life anonymity by revealing the “first life” entity behind Fluno, let me say that nationally recognized art magazines have been covering Lipsky and his avatar for over six years.
Lipsky’s brightly colored paintings combine surrealism and symbolism with somewhat of a graffito style, and mixes media such as oil and pastel or acrylic and charcoal.
Jeffrey Lipsky, photo courtesy of the artist
Either as a pioneer at merging technology with fine art or a brilliantly conceived marketing coup, Lipsky has been a master at utilizing the virtual world to access an international audience. And he has created a hybrid performance art medium though his combination of fine art, live music, and virtual reality.
Filthy Fluno is probably the most famous artist in Second Life and commands higher prices than most other avatar artists on the grid.
As a connoisseur, avatar Jake Wikifoo has been a collector of Filthy Fluno’s work; and as a gallerist, Jake arranged an exhibit at his Wikifoo Art Museum for Filthy. And while Fluno’s virtual world and real life rarely mix, I received actual signed prints of the virtual pieces purchased by my avatar.
Over the years I have become acquainted with Lipsky. He has even given me a few pointers on relaxing my style, helping to make my renderings less rigid. Some of his techniques did not work as planned though he did relate, “You definitely have mad drawing skills.”
Guardian Block by Jeffrey Lipsky
Whether real or virtual, I honestly love his work. So the “first life” collector crossed the virtual barrier and bought an original oil on canvas painting “Guardian Block” for my real walls. I received it last week and I love it.
Where can someone who doesn’t lead a Second Life pick up a Lipsky? He doesn’t have a website right now but he can be found on Facebook, I’ve added a link to his page below. His work fits any budget; he has albums of both original work and signed prints.