Friedrich Zettl Fine Arts

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my kind of metaverse (I)

Trying a New Topic: My Own Metaverse

In early March 2022, with war close to home, I find it difficult to settle down and paint. I have painted nothing all week, although there has been plenty of other work to do.

My series on Covid-19 is largely complete. At the time of writing, I am hoping that the worst of the pandemic may finally be behind us.

In February, I began playing with another idea: a metaverse of my own. Whether it will become a series, I do not yet know. I mean a world developed through painting, quite apart from the commercial visions promoted by Mark Zuckerberg and others.

I have looked into those visions, though I understand only parts of the concept. Much of it troubles me. I already worry about how much time children spend in front of screens. Play matters, but so does the kind of play. More fundamentally, I resist the idea of someone else designing the space in which my imagination and behaviour are supposed to unfold. It is a broad subject, I know.

So I prefer to create my own metaverse. I want to bring the microcosm and macrocosm into the same painted world, allowing different philosophies and approaches to painting to meet. These are first attempts, shown here with details from each work.

Floating black and brown forms with pale pink marks over a turquoise, grey and ochre field
Detail of the first painting: dark brush forms, a small ochre oval and pale clusters against turquoise
Dark overlapping figure-like forms against blue, with translucent pink and turquoise passages
Detail of the second painting: dark angular shapes, floating pale marks and a bright pink point on blue

If the idea develops, I will return to it in later posts. If it does not, I hope a few of these paintings will still be able to stand on their own.

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33 responses to “my kind of metaverse (I)”

  1. aparna12 avatar
    aparna12

    Wow. It’s awesome. Very gorgeous.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you for your kind words! They mean a lot to me.

      Reply
  2. kingbirdgraphica avatar
    kingbirdgraphica

    Wonderful! I love the textures, colors, and forms. I get such a sense of space and movement from these.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you very much! I am very happy to hear that. Often I am not so sure about my works myself 🙂

      Reply
  3. kingbirdgraphica avatar
    kingbirdgraphica

    You’re welcome! I think abstract work is every bit as difficult to pull off as any other approach, (maybe more so) and you’ve done that here.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you again! In fact I have been painting in a realistic way for decades. Yes, painting abstract is not easier.

      Reply
  4. diespringerin avatar
    diespringerin

    Wow! Wow! Bewegt …

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Danke schoen! Ich freue mich sehr, dass es Ihnen gefaellt!

      Reply
  5. swabby429 avatar
    swabby429

    I’m picking up on dynamic human forms in these paintings.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you very much! I am happy you see it like this. Yes, that was my intention in the 2nd one – merging with the metaverse.

      Reply
  6. AT SUNNYSIDE - WHERE TRUTH AND BEAUTY MEET avatar
    AT SUNNYSIDE – WHERE TRUTH AND BEAUTY MEET

    These are beautiful, thought-provoking, and a mystery all at the same time. (Wow!) Thanks for sharing. I also lament our attachment to technology, especially for children – for all the reasons you mention.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you very much! I thought that you would see the aspect of children::metaverse the same. If we think the matter through – even if a lot is still open – our society faces a major challenge. The points that have already been set do not bode well.

      Reply
      1. AT SUNNYSIDE - WHERE TRUTH AND BEAUTY MEET avatar
        AT SUNNYSIDE – WHERE TRUTH AND BEAUTY MEET

        Major challenges, indeed. We seem not to learn from lessons of the past, which boggles the mind….

      2. Zettl Friedrich avatar
        Zettl Friedrich

        No, we haven’t learned anything and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Nor will we master the climate crisis in the foreseeable future. If we were to take any of these questions seriously, our market system would collapse.

    2. SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ avatar
      SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ

      Dear Friedrich Zettl 狐胡,

      Hi! I concur with you with respect to metaverse. I also concur with the comments of your other readers, including those of SUNNYSIDE.

      Your metaverse paintings remind me of astronomical photos of the deep space containing stars and nebulae, especially those taken by the Hubble telescope.

      Thank you for your impassioned revelation of your interests and thoughts here and elsewhere. As an independent writer, academic researcher, artist, musician and composer, I am also interested in many of the domains that you have mentioned. The domain of metaverse has many implications for the future generations, who will increasingly mesh their lives with not just the computer user interface but also with the human-machine interface. One can be amply taken by the futuristic scenarios in Philip K Dick’s novels containing advanced and thought-provoking ideas. The issues and implications of “The Machine” are very multifaceted and complex. In a very palpable way, the movie “Blade Runner” has posted some sobering questions and possible scenarios.

      In turbo-charging our vision and dream of the cybernatically enhanced existence in the near future, there are many things to ponder. For example, I would like to consider not only sensory enhancement but also the quality and longevity of lives, and not just human lives. Each year, so many trees are logged and made into Christmas trees for decoration, and so many fresh flowers are cut only to fade within days or weeks. I simply resort to decorating, once and for all and as best as I can, a small artificial tree, which I keep using year after year. For the same reason, I have a lot of life-like artificial plants, flowers and leaves indoors and they could last for decades as opposed to having real flowers lasting just a few days. Could we have perpetually living artificial plants and animals so that some of us don’t have to bid farewell to short-lived pets and plants as they age and pass away?

      Similarly, I really wish that I could have some “artificial” but sentient humans or robots too, something like Commander Data, the Bicentennial Man, Rachel in Blade Runner, or other advanced automata as seen in Sci-Fi movies, as long as they are free of the usual human frailties, follies, deceptions and irrationality, if not immortality. Alternatively, some benign, benevolent and understanding extra-terrestrials could be even more desirable, and could present the chance and means for intergalactic or even interuniverse travel, thus ending, transforming and transcending my meagre earth-bound, dust-to-dust ephemeral existence.

      I have entertained some highly plausible dystopian scenarios with significant risks for the future of humanity. In addition, I often explore the intersections of art and science, of public and private spaces, of the cultural and the technological. Whilst I concede that technology offers enormous unexplored potential allowing emerging artists to express themselves in unprecedented ways, I do have certain concerns and caveats regarding science “reproducing” reality and artists representing it. In a special post, I have endeavoured to give a very good inkling of the kind of society that humans might be heading towards. Looking into the future, here is an entry in my sociology, philosophical anthropology and cultural history journal entitled “Facing the Noise & Music: Playgrounds for Biophobic Citizens“, published at

      https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/facing-the-noise-music-playgrounds-for-biophobic-citizens/

      Pushing forward another 50 years or (much) less, we could indeed end up in the scenario as described in my said post. As you can discover in the said post, there will be plenty of far-reaching ramifications in multiple domains of human life, some of which are irreversible. Should you decide to peruse my said post, I look forward to reading your feedback there. The post takes the perspective of sociology, philosophical anthropology and cultural history.

      A new season has just arrived. Wishing you and SUNNYSIDE a productive week and a wonderful March doing or enjoying whatever that satisfies you the most, whether aesthetically, physically, intellectually or spiritually!

      Yours sincerely,
      SoundEagle

      Reply
      1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
        Zettl Friedrich

        Thank you very much, Soundeagle, for your detailed answer! Yes, you know, I know a little and many others, especially my generation knows about the potential dangers. The Philip K Dick you mentioned, but earlier Huxley in “Brave new world” and many others have worked through it. But what good is it if many people are no longer able to understand the content of books, or generally understand reading as boring because they are used to being provided with fun. Complex content now has to be presented as a “show” in order to reach anyone at all. Infotainment, politainment….

        When asked about career aspirations, a disturbingly large group now states: influencers. That’s where they think the big bucks can be made. With a level like metaverse, completely different dimensions can of course be opened up, especially if they are then linked with AI. The fact that many companies are now investing millions and millions in properties, even sales areas in Metaverse Megastores, gives an idea of ​​the dimensions that are being considered in the minds of some players.

      2. SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ avatar
        SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ

        Dear Friedrich Zettl 狐胡,

        You are very welcome. I am delighted by your detailed and reasoned reply, and I concur with the points that you made.

        Looking forward to your visiting, perusing and commenting on my aforementioned post, as I am certainly very keen and curious about what you will make of my said post. Thank you in anticipation.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

      3. Zettl Friedrich avatar
        Zettl Friedrich

        Thanks very much SoundEagle! I will read your post carefully soon and give my humble opinion on it. (I’m busy right now with an important matter and don’t want to answer superficially). Sincerely, Friedrich

      4. Zettl Friedrich avatar
        Zettl Friedrich

        Thanks again for your link! Very interesting. I replied there and want to post the reply here too since it better exemplifies my point of view on the topic “metaverse”.

        You have a wealth of thoughts, information and reflections in your good post and I could say a lot about almost every one of the sentences, but that’s beyond the scope. I try different.

        Culture is of course a phenomenon that is subject to constant influences and changes accordingly. Evaluating them is always dependent on the current level of education, information, sensitivity and more.

        But, at least from my point of view, all cultures have always had a philosophical concept that focuses on 3 questions: #1 Where do I come from? #2 Who am I (or what am I here for)? And, #3 Where will I go at the end. Religions as well as natural sciences try to offer models for this. But all of this presupposes the willingness of the individual to find out about it and to reflect on it.

        Now we live in a time of the capitalist world order that draws full attention to #2. This point is the only one that makes big money. However, the fact that #1 and #3 are largely excluded leads to “uprooting2” and a lack of prospects at the same time. What remains is a disoriented crowd, which is therefore only looking for its identity in material values. (Where else should they be able to find them?) And because that can never work, a permanent feeling of lack remains, which one tries to compensate with more and more consumption, fun and an exaggerated ego.

        Influencers then take over the part that the advertising doesn’t manage and tell us where we have to go on vacation and which handbags and sun glasses we need to buy to be cool.

        Since this is not a permanent solution either, we create a metaverse in which we can revive the game again from the start – we even get a new EGO. But by the time Tom and Jane look around, the strategically important areas have already been occupied by the big players.

        And it goes without saying that #1 and #3 have no place in this concept. They would unsettle us and keep us from consuming the commercial pleasures.

  7. les2olibrius avatar
    les2olibrius

    Vos bleus m’illuminent et votre métaverse est un pays de merveille ( au sens étymologique de mirabilia, en latin).

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Merci! Je suis très heureux que vous le voyiez comme un pays des merveilles. Ça devrait être. C’est un pays des merveilles très personnel et si quelqu’un d’autre y entre, je serai très honoré.

      Reply
  8. BACK ROADS AND OTHER STORIES avatar
    BACK ROADS AND OTHER STORIES

    Although both seem to be an abstraction of reality, I think I prefer your to Mark’s!

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Haha, thank you! I will tell him. Maybe I get a painter’s studio there in the Mark-metaverse.

      Reply
  9. alicia | metasparks avatar
    alicia | metasparks

    Love the paintings. What medium do you work in? I like the play of colours, the sense of ethereal and fluidity!

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you for your kind words! Even if the pictures are abstract, the basis of my work is representational painting for many years. In particular, I use many types of ink and India ink, rubbing the Chinese ink myself. For this I use different mediums, which I adjust to my needs. I see that you are heavily involved with Asian issues. Many of my works are based on Asian philosophies.

      Reply
      1. alicia | metasparks avatar
        alicia | metasparks

        I would have never guessed India ink to be one of the mediums! Thank you for sharing!

        Yes, I am passionate about Asian cultures and their interactions with one another, as well as the new, potential forms they can take.

        I am definitely following your blog. I enjoyed the cat piece too!

  10. peter robinson avatar
    peter robinson

    Had to look up the word ‘metaverse’ and am still not clear as to what it it! You know what these paintings remind me of? Nebula! They are like the images of vast regions of astronomical space as ‘seen’ and photographed by the Hubble space telescope.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you! Very funny, someone else limited to Hubble. I should check. A couple of weeks ago I visited a friend and he showed me photos from Jupiter. I swear they looked very close to some of my paintings. As for metaverse: Mr. Facebook was looking for a new source of income and started this questionable project. Now all big players started to invest as crazy. Worth to do some research, I think, as this will have a big impact on us.

      Reply
      1. peter robinson avatar
        peter robinson

        Oh, right, of course! Yes, young Mr. Sugarmountain’s ‘Meta’!

      2. Zettl Friedrich avatar
        Zettl Friedrich

        Sure we both prefer sugar- mama 🙂

      3. peter robinson avatar
        peter robinson

        🙂 🙂

  11. Ana Hernandez avatar
    Ana Hernandez

    Dear Friedrich Zettl,

    As always, I thoroughly enjoy the fluid movement in your paintings. Actually they give me an undersea feeling- perhaps because of the contrast between the translucent and the opaque (not to mention the dominance of blue). In moments of snorkling I have often felt the way you have painted: floating somewhere above an entirely different world which I could only begin to understand. Being bouyed by the water is I imagine very similar to space and the world of the coral reef goes on processing light and time in a very diferent way than the swimmer does. It is perhaps difficult for me to explain myself, but there is something wonderful in being the unobserved observer of such a world comlete in itself and self absorbed.

    A Library Rat

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Dear Anan Hernandez! Many many thanks! You’re right, you can very well see the scene set in the sea. This is the case in some of my paintings. e.g.: https://zettl.blog/2021/11/19/corona-and-the-sea/

      I would like to summarize some of my thoughts on this. (I know this may sound very crazy to some, but I’m sure you don’t have a problem with playful ideas).
      Basically, my works follow Asian ideas, above all the play of opposites (yin::yang). Female-male, large-small, light-dark…. From this interplay of these forces everything has emerged and is in existence.

      Look up – you see clouds. Look down – you see fish. We generally don’t give much importance to either of them. But then you lie in the grass, relaxed and enjoying the shapes and changes of the clouds and they become a world unto themselves.
      You go snorkeling and now the fish are adorable, colorful creatures – and they become a world unto themselves. Objectively speaking, nothing has changed in either case – clouds are moving, fish are swimming. What has changed is ourselves: we have paid attention to them.

      But behind the clouds it goes further upwards, there the stars lurk and under the fish it goes on, there lurks the shallows….
      And now spin the thought further and you’ll quickly come to topics like infinity. Both in the macro- and in the microcosm. Because even a cell of the fish can be divided and there are always separate worlds that open up. I’ve seen images of space that resemble electron microscope images…
      I can say a lot more about that, but let’s stay on topic: that’s my understanding of “metaverse”. Now we are confronted with a commercial “metaverse” and I leave it to the reader to reflect on what that does to our perception.

      Reply

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