Virtual Reality & Art
VIRTUAL REALITY:
An immersive technology experience that enables a person to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it based on a real or an imagined place.
The term virtual reality was coined in the early 1980s by computer scientist Jaron Lanier and since then we’ve witnessed different ways (and attempts) of using it.
But VR became especially popular during the last years thanks to the new technologies available on the market (eg. Oculus Headsets) which make the virtual experiences more and more exciting - and useful!
If we think about art, we can see how artists, galleries and museums have been all started to use VR; museums and galleries have now the possibility to show their entire exhibitions and collections online allowing the public to feel like they’re visiting their spaces even if not in person but from anywhere in the world.
The dslcollection, is an impressive example of a privately owned collection which is making use of VR as a powerful tool. The Collection was created in 2005 by Sylvain and Dominique Levy and focuses on contemporary Chinese art. “dslcollection distinguishes itself from other collections of contemporary Chinese art through a strict collecting concept. The collectors believe that » The 21st century collector must think beyond established boundaries. » Therefore, dslcollection not only actively promotes the discovery and study of Chinese contemporary artistic production and but also makes use of the latest technologies. Tools such as the internet, interactive programs, virtual exhibitions and electronic books help dslcollection to achieve greater visibility and provide the means to share the experience of contemporary culture.Openness, the nomadic and sharing are core concepts of the dslcollection.”
Another great example is The Kremer Collection which comprises 17th century Dutch and Flemish Old Masters , and it’s owned and managed by the Aetas Aurea Holding SA (AAH), a non-profit organization. Their goal is ‘to make the collection known to a wider public through an active, international loan program as well as its innovative new Virtual Reality Museum and ‘to promote art to new generations of arts & culture lovers, using VR technology, through the Mighty Masters program’.
At the same time, artists are now using VR itself as a tool to create art and the outcome is simply great.
Nikita Shokhov is one of them, with his work ‘Klaxon’.
The project ‘Klaxon’ is a non-narrative non-linear VR experience, which uses a medium of a spherical image to express the idea of the multidimensionality of consciousness and identity of a modern person. In the center of the work is the image of a woman and her self-awareness played by several actresses of different ages and ethnicities. Contemplation of her thoughts and memories shows psychological work in the process of becoming of her real self. The goal of the chosen method is to apply the idea of “double consciousness” by W.E.B. Du Bois when a black person living in American society is forced to perceive herself from the perspective of an oppressive white person. The film depicts this conflict with the premise of the protagonist’s inner overcoming of “double consciousness”.
Kate Vass Galerie is proud to announce that a VR experience of the current exhibition will be soon available online, stay tuned!