Reflection: New Media: A Critical Introduction, New York, NY: Routledge, 2009, Lister, Martin, Jon Dovey, Seth Giddings, Iain Grant and Kieran Kelly, eds.

New Media: A Critical Introduction gives a very in-depth analysis of new media. I will be doing a reflection on Chapter 2 which introduces the notion of VR and how it has created a culture among its users.

Chapter 2 addressed the popularity of VR in the early 2000s but also gave some space to consider the future of virtual reality, especially when integrated with the art scene. They also considered opinions as to whether VR can be considered as a medium, and whether it is able to integrate into social and cultural situations. VR which is something that is initially meant for gaming and entertainment is now considered for being used for something more serious and relevant.

Stone mentioned that immersive or simulational VR will fuse with online forms at a future time to become a medium of a new and dramatic kind. Online forms with VR would definitely help with boosting the whole concept of the online application, as well as creating higher immersion within the user. However, there are its drawbacks, such as technological capacity, and whether the user would be able to embrace this technology.

There is also the fact that the physical components for the user to experience VR is pretty inconvenient to bring around, and thus gives VR some mobility limitations. But these limitations are balanced by the quality of the content that uses VR to deliver their message. The fact that VR itself makes the user have a kind of experience that raises questions about the nature of reality, perception, embodiment, representation and simulation, paired with the content that people are interested in (such as games, movies, etc), thus still making VR prominent in today’s technologically advanced society.

Progressing from the popularity of VR, developers are also trying to make VR a visual culture by experimenting with human-computer interface design. The researchers used the phrase ‘break the glass and go inside the machine’, VR has already fulfilled that by literally putting the user into the technology (through the physical components). However, I feel that only having a physical representation of breaking the barrier between human and computer is not enough to create the visual culture that the chapter mentioned. There is still the narrative stage that increases the interaction between the user and the database within the computer, and also the method of showing information on the computer, and how accessible this database is. VR definitely helps to amplify the immersive effects between human and computer, but I still feel that there are more layers that actually build this culture.

All in all, this chapter has given me a good insight into the debates and perspectives on VR, and that has let me better understand it as a whole.

Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age Reflection

The usage of virtual reality (VR) has been evident in the past and is one of the most prominent advancements in technology in today’s world. In the art scene, VR has played an essential part to bring many artworks into the digital realm, enhancing convenience and the interactive experience.

By implementing different types of gear for different body parts, VR allows people to have a fully immersive experience with the artwork. The most important part being the headset that shows a 360 degree of the virtual environment. There is a huge amount in the flexibility that artists can use in VR as the spaces are infinite and imaginary. One example of VR works that use this space is i-REAL, a hypermedia artwork that mixes the contributions of a trip in virtual reality, a map of JE(U) with i-REAL cards and in the future an artificial intelligence. The board game is the hotspot of the system. It is composed of about thirty i-REAL cards previously developed on the Instagram social network using the maximum of #hashtags available to install links between words / images. The use of three randomly available cards – but renewable – connected to the card JE(U) by an NTFC chip with the help of two dices, triggers the corresponding sequences in VR. To turn the map JE (U) – actually composed of three PART-i that can turn around the same axis – in order to connect the maps and reveal the locations where the keys will open the sequences in VR, the cheek must roll the dice and maybe, in a version 2.0, win the right to tackle artificial intelligence.  (https://culturevr.fr/en/i-real/)

The use of VR stems from the concept of hypermedia, which was a concept that appeared after the war. It talks about the matter of which the World Wide Web is made. Much like the physical world is built of interacting elementary particles (Bosons and Fermions), the web is essentially a universe of myriad interacting hypermedia documents. But since the early 1990s, the general concept of hypermedia has been largely superseded in popular usage by the term “interactive multimedia.” And this term is now used to portray works that involve the interactivity of the human senses towards an artwork.

In terms of space and conducting of the artwork, VR helps to minimise the physical space needed for the work to occur, as the only gear required is the headset and the gear. It also increases the convenience of bringing the artwork around and the work can be experienced in different environments.

All in all, VR contributes positively to society and is a useful asset to many artworks as more artists pursue digital alternatives.

 

References

http://www.immersence.com/publications/2004/2004-MLovejoy.html

i-REAL

https://smartbear.com/learn/api-design/what-is-hypermedia/