Imagine what it would have been like for a citizen in 15th century Italy. He or she would go to a church and could catch a glimpse of a mural by Leonardo Da Vinci, a painting by Raphael or a statue by Michelangelo. What would it have been like to see Michelangelo’s La Pieta? To see a stunning representation of a poignant moment in the Catholic faith? The vividness and realism of the Virgin Mary holding Christ must have been astonishing and revolutionary for those who lived during the Renaissance.
Art, at its best, is a breathtaking. A person is supposed to marvel at the beauty of a painting, but at the same time, he or she feels an emotional connection to what is being portrayed on the canvas. There is nothing like standing in the presence of such mastery to truly revel in what the artist is trying to convey. But that is hard when an exhibition is only at a museum for a short period of time or for those who live hundreds of miles away from a museum in a major city. The painting can be memorialized in a book, but virtual reality (VR) is now bridging that gap.
VR is considered by many to be an art form within itself. It takes incredible skill to meticulously create, design and execute a virtual experience. Merging VR and art seems like a natural partnership. So natural, in fact, that startups and established companies alike are bringing the fruits of this union to consumers all around the world, oftentimes, at no cost.
Recently, VR giant, HTC, unveiled its art-inspired initiative, Vive Arts. Working with museums, Vive Arts will fund, develop and share art in VR. This means incredible exhibitions, which wouldn’t ordinarily be easily accessible to the masses can be viewed at home.
Another master who has gotten the VR treatment is Rembrandt van Rijn, commonly known as Rembrandt. Force Field studio teamed up with Oculus to use VR to see Rembrandt’s world in the experience, “Meeting Rembrandt.” The experience recreates the artist’s home and allows the viewer to interact with Rembrandt and be part of his major life events.
But what about more modern artists? VRt Ventures has partnered up with Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles for a first-of-its kind VR experience centered around prominent African-American artist, Kerry James Marshall’s “Mastry” exhibition. The experience allows viewers to virtually walk through MOCA’s Grand Avenue galleries as if they were there.
Jacob Koo, the chief executive officer and founder of VRt Ventures, believes that accessibility is key. This is why the experience can be viewed with or without a VR headset. That belief also went into VRt Ventures’ decision to dedicate the company’s first project to Kerry James Marshall.
More than commemorating the celebrated “Mastry” retrospective by Kerry James Marshall, Koo wants viewers of the immersive experience to understand how meaningful the exhibition really is. It's an incredible story. A young black boy realizes he has a gift for painting, but notices immediately that black people are never represented in museums. He single-handedly tries to change that narrative and 35 years later, has actually succeeded.
Portraying the everyday beauty of black life, Marshall’s works are figurative paintings, which is easier for people to understand. VRt Ventures hopes to bring Marshall’s work to more people through this immersive experience, which is superior to most out there, as it offers viewers the true feeling of actually being in the museum. Instead of a 360-degree camera set up at one static point, the laser scanning and volumetric photogrammertry employed allows art lovers to figuratively walk to halls of MOCA.
The marriage of VR and art goes to show how flexible the medium is. VR is not just for early adopters, but it has the potential to reach a more mainstream audience. With major companies and museums exploring the intersection of tech and art, this could translate into a resurgence of interest in museums and expansion of both VR and museum’s reach.