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By MARIMAR BERCHOT
Photos by VERDE OTAARED
 Second Life is fortunate enough to welcome the arrival of a path blazer and legend in the architectural world. The Frank Lloyd Wright Museum, which honors the work and memory of Mr. Frank L. Wright, celebrated its grand opening on July 24 – 26, 2009. The FLW Museum in Second Life is a result of many hours of hard work by persons that are dedicated to the continuance of the magnificent and original architecture that Mr. Wright has given the world.
On Friday evening I was able to meet Mr. Frey Bravin, FLW Museum Director and Rosalee Oldrich, Museum Curator. I shared my appreciation to both of them for working so hard on bringing Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy to Second Life. Also on Friday evening I attended a party at Club Breeze (in the museum sim) for museum members. Live music was provided by singer and performer - Shantu Selene. Shantu, by the way, is my favorite Second Life performer.
 On Saturday, June 25, 2009, the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held at 1:00 p.m. SLT and Mr. Frey Bravin, FLW Museum Director, gave the Opening speech. There have been so many different articles heralding the arrival of this wonderful new museum. In an effort to keep my observations from falling short of this event, I am including the Opening Day Speech by Mr. Bravin. His speech captures the excitement that all of Mr. Wright’s admirers experienced at the Grand Opening. This excitement will be felt each and every time the Museum is toured and the replicas that have been built by the very talented Second life builders that contributed their time are viewed.
Mr. Bravin’s speech at the Grand Opening on July 25, 2009:
Welcome to the Grand Opening of the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum!
Friends of Second Life, we come here today in celebration of the life, work, and legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright. The space in which we gather is both a monument to his heritage and a testament to his influence.
For Wright was a man who not only envisioned the Twenty-First Century when the Twentieth was itself only beginning, but who was even then planning for it.
Many of Wright's concerns at the time were very much the same as ours have come to be in the new century: sustainability, durability, the use of natural materials and organic forms.
His architecture is at once a communion with nature and conservational toward it. He believed in elegance without opulence, simplicity without stoicism.
He believed that comfort and craftsmanship, beauty and utility, form and function, should not only go hand in hand, but should be one and the same.
And he believed, as we do now, that nothing is as important as quality of life, and the comfort and joy we find in inhabiting a space of our own.
 Everything Wright designed was created with both nature and humanity in mind. While his architecture strove to have a minimal impact on its environment, and to fit seamlessly into that environment, the interiors were created to suit the scale and needs, both physical and psychological, of the individuals who would inhabit them.
They provide both shelter and spaciousness, intimacy and expansiveness. They comfort us, energize us, and inspire us. We become part of the building as it becomes part of the natural world around it.
It is a unity in the best sense of the physical world and the human psyche.
Perhaps most importantly, Wright believed that such a unity, such a spiritual uplifting, was the right of every human being.
He believed that both the public spaces that surround us and the personal spaces into which we fit ourselves should provide emotional nourishment to each individual while binding us all into the kinship of community.
He believed that the art and architecture with which we are surrounded both defines us as who we are, and forms us into who we will become.
There are those who remark that it is a pity that Wright's vision of what the future could become has not come to pass.
There are those who mourn that his influence has not overcome the monotony and sterility of the environments in which we find ourselves today.
They are wrong.
When you leave here, with your eyes full of his vision, look around you at the spaces you inhabit. Look at the lines, the details, the way pieces fit together, the way we fit into the picture.
Wright's influence is there, as subtle and pervasive as the fragrance of roses drifting from a hidden rooftop garden. And his influence is here, in the community we have built to honor him.
May it inspire each of us not only to appreciate the beauty and harmony we experience in small doses every day, but to actively work toward bringing his vision of unity and community to fruition in everyone's lives.
Creating a project such as this is not possible to do alone, and there are so many people that I need to thank. None of this would have been possible without the support of the following people:
Aurelia Ashdene, Sage Carrasco, Dakota Dreamscape, Ethos Erlanger, Polaris Genesis, Curt Kongo, Jeande Laville, Rosalie Oldrich, Granite Outlander, Miltone Marquette, Sensuous Maximus, Supremius Maximus, Gregor Qinan, Waya Snowpaw, Jasmyn Sugarplum, Terra Tepper, Joy Tremor, Troy Vogel, Ethan Westland, Leslie Weston, and last but far from least, Debe Wise; the inspiration for this Museum. Thank you for coming today.”
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Following Mr. Bravin’s Grand Opening speech the festivities continued. Included in the day’s events were self-guided tours with volunteers available to answer questions. A spectacular fireworks display by Jeande Laville also took place. The evening was topped off by a Black Tie Gala held at Club Breeze with live music provided by CelticMaiden Warrior Lancaster.
On Sunday, July 26, the Museum opened at 1:00 p.m. with volunteers available to help visitors that chose to take self-guided tours.
A two-day silent auction was also held during the Grand Opening events. Pictures of the offerings were on display behind Club Breeze and bidding ended at 5:00 p.m. SLT on Sunday. All items were donated with all sales to be used in the museum operating fund.
A Roundtable discussion was held from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. SLT. The theme of the discussion was Building in SL in the Wright Style; learning about Wright’s design concepts and how they can be realized in Second Life. Also discussed was “the beginnings of the museum and their connections with it, as well as some fascinating details about the unique elements of building in SL and particularly in Wright’s style. The event was coordinated and moderated by Leslie Weston, very knowledgeable and skilled in asking the right questions for us all” (Frey Bravin).
The roundtable participants were:
Frey Bravin, Museum Director
Ethos Erlanger
Miltone Marquette
Sensuous Maximus
Supremius Maximus
Debe Wise
Ethan Westland
Troy Vogel
A transcript and/or recording is available. Please contact Curator Rosalie Oldrich for a free copy.
The panel of participants carried on a lively discussion with excellent opinions and recommendations. I was very impressed with the discussion and learned more about Mr. Wright’s architecture by being a part of the audience at this roundtable discussion.
After the discussion I spoke with two of the builders that have are responsible for the creation of some of the structure at the FLW museum: Mr. Troy Vogel and Mr. Miltone Marquette.
Mr. Vogel owns the Mission Home Store in Second Life and carries Mission style furniture and prefabs that he designs and builds. He has been told that “most of his builds have FLW sensibilities.” I asked him about the possibility of buying a replica of one of Mr. Wright’s home on Second Life. He advised me of the copyright issues involved when you sell a replica of Mr. Wright’s work. Vogel stated that “real life copyright does apply here, so you will have a hard time finding anyone that sells a true to life replica as it is a violation.”
Mr. Marquette built the Robie and the two Jacobs houses that are on the FLW sim. I personally toured the Robie before the grand opening and was very impressed with the accuracy of the build. I told Marquette how much I enjoyed the FLW Museum and the grand opening events. He mentioned that Wright “had a very unique eye for combining materials and designing to suit the land and the client. Everything had a purpose in his designs; he didn't like big bulky furnishings so he built-in furniture, shelves, cabinets etc for display of artifacts.”
Here is a description which is supplied on a notecard at the FLW Museum:
Celebrating the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, the most famous architect in America, the museum contains several galleries which tell Wright's life story, show photos of many examples of his work, and show some of his plans. On the museum roof there will be a display of photographs of Wright buildings in chronological order. On the grounds behind the museum replicas of four Wright buildings are on display: The Robie House, Jacobs House I, Jacobs House II, and Fallingwater. There is also a museum store where many Wright items can be purchased.
The FLW Museum displays are dynamic and I urge you to take a few hours and tour the Museum. This article cannot do justice to the legacy of this great architect.
 Frank Lloyd Wright Museum
Note: I would like to thank Verde Otaared for attending the opening ceremonies on Saturday, supplying me with chat details and photographing the events.
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Arts & Entertainment 
On an island known as the Dresden Gallery resides the virtual version of the fascinating Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany, which just happens to be one of the world's most famous museums. Powered by Second Interest AG, this island is a masterpiece unto itself. Browse over 750 works of European art, including those by such artists as Raphael, Titian, and Rembrandt. While the school of German painting is given much attention in the museum, there are rather large sections devoted to the French and the Dutch. Amazingly enough, the virtual museum is true to scale, an unusual feat in Second Life. In fact, it is the first museum of its kind to do so. 
