Chris Marker and his presence in Second Life, via the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich

Chris Marker is a much celebrated and admired French author, photographer, film director, multimedia artist and documentarist. His "La Jetée" - a masterpiece which inspired the 1995 Academy Award-nominated science fiction film "Twelve Monkeys" - and "Sans Soleil," among other seminal works, made cinematic history in voice, text and associative media practices.


This is part one of La Jetée, by Chris Marker (1963). Both La Jetée and Sans Soleil have been re-released via restored high-definition digital transfers and are available through the Criterion Collection

Born in 1921, Chris is one of the most profiled figures in media history, and yet, he does not grant interviews or allow himself to be photographed. In fact, when he is asked for a photograph, he provides an image of a cat, instead. This legendary denial would suggest that he was destined to become an avatar. Indeed... this Tuesday, that is exactly what will happen.



On Tuesday, March 11th, at 11am SLT / 19:00 CET, and in conjunction with a Real Life exhibtion in Zurich, Switzerland at the Museum für Gestaltung, Chris will be present at an "ouvroir" that was commissioned by the museum, and created by MosMax Hax (teleport directly from here). Chris will play with his own work, in the company of his longtime guide, Monsieur Guillame, a cat and a furry entity in Second Life.


Monsieur Guillame

If you do not know Chris Marker's works, I heartily recommend that you conduct a bit of research and learn more about this man's artistic legacy. You might then agree that this is an event of great import, and understand, too, the presence of the whale on the sim, as well as numerous other objects.

In addition to his films, the exhibit also showcases several of Chris' powerful portraits of Simone Signoret, Akira Kurosawa, Salvador Dalí and Fidel Castro... further evidence of his obsession for staring back at his subejcts.

Curators: Chris Marker, Margarete Jahrmann, Max Moswitzer

In Real Life:
Chris Marker. A Farewell to Movies
March 12, 2008 - June 29,2008
at the at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich