Technology and ‘the death of Art History’
CHArt ANNUAL CONFERENCE
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Technology and ‘the death of Art History’
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Brett Aggersberg
Virtual Touch- Virtual Reality As Fine Art Space
As part of my thesis on Electronic Art in the UK, I have identified value systems as a problematic area. In order to afford this relatively new fine art medium; which includes net art, digital art, and new media art; greater acceptance in the UK, I will discuss the challenges that face artists and curators.
Gene Youngblood believed that in the near future the complex processes performed by the most expensive and sophisticated computer of his time would be at the disposal of the average person. His prediction has now come true with digital cameras and home computers allowing everyone to be a self-titled artist. This level and form of ubiquity may be one of the reasons for Electronic Art being of a lesser status than more traditional works. The title of exhibitions, such as Beryl Graham’s Serious Games, may have confused the audience further as to its purpose. Cultural and historical differences internationally may also affect the way it is dealt with as an art form.For many, the idea of seeing a work of art based on computers is off-putting. People associate computers with office work or computer games. These preconceptions block the un-informed audience from accessing the work directly. Film did not suffer this problem of confusion as it was used very much as a documenting and entertaining device when it was first exhibited. It was always a medium that represented and reflected society in a creative, but informative manner, where conventions were quickly established.
Recent developments in artificial intelligence, links to bio-science and negative representations in the media, may have given a negative perspective on this as an emerging area of creative expression. As a result, there may still be a sense of distrust over the purposes of computers within art.
Virtual reality has long been promised as the next future for interaction and immersion into computerised worlds. Actual results have been disappointing to date, but now the virtual appears to be changing its direction of immersion. The imagery of the computer is now coming out to meet us rather than us going in to meet it. Touch screen devices and holographic projectors indicate that the virtual world is heading towards us.
The materialisation of virtual artefacts may shift the perception of viewers and galleries to towards a more pro-active stance. A developed mode of appreciation and valuation may result from a more direct form of interaction with a medium that now appears to be tangible.
How does the virtual touch affect the modes of creating, experiencing, valuing Electronic Art?