Function 2:
People as Art. Here, a visitor has climbed upon the bed and peeks up from
behind the headboard.
[Vincent Van
Gogh, Bedroom at Arles, 1889]
Last week, the Cyberpedagogy class was asked to bring in digital interactive projects- identifying what the Art Institute of Chicago could do with technology in order to make the museum experience more interactive (no limits: do-ability, cost, etc.).
As written in my previous post, this was a struggle for me. Museums so often play into the elitist ideal. AIC is expensive- and for good reason, but it is simply not financially accessible to everyone. It was difficult for me to get over this thought, to design something that may never be available to the communities I'm aiming to work for, to be an advocate for.
Eventually, I let these struggles go (for the assignment's sake) and let the words and ideas flow that came to me in the first place, which had quickly become clouded with doubt and anger.
Contextual Travel: The Firsthand Experience
The Need:
In order to initiate curiosity and engage the
viewer, there needs to be significance to or personal connection with what is
being experienced. Most often, exhibits are focused on what can be seen and may
not offer other ways to explore. However, sight is only one sense that humans
possess in order to study and perceive their surroundings. If each viewer’s
learning style needs are to be addressed, then it is necessary for the
institution to provide other means of perceiving. What if the viewer could be
projected into a space that allowed exploration of the world in which the
pieces of work were created? Can you imagine being immersed in the sights,
scents, environmental conditions, but also the historical context of a work of
art?
Functions & Capabilities:
The
Contextual Travel Helmet is similar
to earlier virtual reality programs, except the new headset is more compact and
has more advanced capabilities. First, the wearer selects an exhibit piece in which
they wish to learn more about. Then, the visitor can choose from two main
functions:
1. Experience the full context. The wearer chooses any
combination of contextual components they wish to experience, such as sight,
smell, climate, time period and historical events, persons involved in the
piece’s history, etc. The visitor will then be placed within these contexts
firsthand virtually- they can interact with the environment and figures within
it. Through this, they will gain a better understanding of the piece and form
an intimate connection with the work.
2. Become part of the work: People as Art. Visitors
can interact with the work itself in this mode, but instead of interacting with
historical settings, the visitor acts as a model within the virtual space that
is the artwork. Once a working part of the work, the visitor’s curiosity might
be tapped further and the experience can be documented and shared with friends
via cyberspace.
Inspiration for People as Art:
Interactive
“Haunted” Museum (Torafu Architects, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo):
Goyte’s Somebody That I Used to Know:
People Transformed into Paintings (Alexa Meade,
D.C.):
