Jens Herder, Mixed Reality Art – Transitions between VR, AR and Reality, ISSM 2022-23—23rd International Symposium on Spatial Media, 27. January 2023.
Mixed Reality (MR) opens many possibilities for art making. MR influence not only how we engage with art but is changing the process of creation. In the project “Limit of your safe space” and “Antimonument Extended” of Shinpei Takeda (artist), we explore transitions between VR, AR, and reality and apply different technologies.
Multiuser VR is used as a meeting space for people at different locations of the world, allowing prototyping of art projects, interviewing people, and illustrating stories, as well as creating the art itself. The creations in VR are used as a blueprint for a real exhibition space.
At the physical exhibition, visitors can explore not only the physical art, but also in VR and AR. The exhibition is accompanied by a web presence which allows viewers to explore the art in AR at any place and any time. The web presence is used as a souvenir from the exhibition, and selfies with the artwork can be taken everywhere. In the upcoming project “Antimonument Extended”, real monuments (e.g., statues) will be scanned and used for presentation in AR and VR. Inside the virtual space, visitors can destroy the 3D digital twins, and modify them by painting them or placing flowers. In such a way, the visitors become participants and express their own creativity and feelings about these statues and the history they represent.
This raises ethical questions. Are we allowed to base new work on existing artworks and monuments? How to deal with cases where the monument is tied to a historical past or political stream, especially when these historical pasts are controversial?
We will discuss all implementations and tools used in both projects and give insights into our explorative process.
