A Review of Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion

Virtual Art: From Illusion to ImmersionOliver Grau
Boston: MIT P, 2003
ISBN: 0262072416    $45.00    pp. 416

Review by Laura Palmer
Texas Tech University

Representing our perceptions of reality through an aesthetic construct has been, for centuries, the goal of artists. Where once the brush captured the sensory experience of our day-to-day lives in the two dimensional - through mosaic, fresco, mural or diorama – the computer-generated art of today is giving way to the concept of immersive experiences that defy the known physical limits of our world. For Oliver Grau, it is this history of illusion and, in its current form, technologically mediated immersion, that are the basis for his book "Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion." The title alone, especially the use of the word "virtual" immediately makes one wonder if Grau, like Plato before him, is critical of these attempts to represent the world through art. However, Grau obviously enjoys his subject matter, as evidenced by his attention to detail, and documents the evolution of the art form as it moves from the private to the public forum and how it captures, on a grand scale, the redefinition of reality.
          Certainly, for the art historian, Grau’s analysis of early illusory art in the first three chapters, is both thorough and compelling. However, even for the non-art reader, Grau provides multitudes of information to help explain many of the underlying fundamentals regarding the inception and creation of illusory art for public consumption. Chapter 3, in particular, regarding the creation of the work, "The Battle of the Sedan" is a fascinating examination of sociopolitical forces acting on the development of a piece. Having won a key battle in the Franco-Prussian war, Prussian rulers chose to capture the event in a panorama – a visual spectacle that would resonate patriotism throughout the country. As "The Battle of the Sedan" was designed entirely as propaganda for public viewing, versus remaining secluded in the private collection of a wealthy patron, the influence of the government in shaping the message was paramount for both inception and execution. However, what is also interesting about the "Sedan" is the evolution of the mechanical techniques for constructing panoramas and the increased understanding of the physiological aspects of optical perception.
          Chapter 4, of "Virtual Art" represents the most pivotal point in the evolution of the panorama – the transition from the static world of painted representation to the electronically mediated world of computer-generated realities. Grau brings into focus one of the most important transitions towards an immersive experience – Claude Monet’s rendition of water lilies. Monet’s concept was to immerse the viewer into the experience; thus, he chose to remove many of the standard references to perspective to permit the audience to view the water lilies – painted at approximately 15 feet wide and 7 feet tall - as if they were pond side. This approach forecast what would evolve to be "the union of stage and audience" (144); that is; what Grau refers to as the eradication "of barriers with a multimedia work of art" (145). This reconceptualization between space and audience transitions towards the medium of film and the writings of Benjamin, Panofsky and Arnheim and their validation of the medium as embracing an aesthetic construct. It is this early convergence of technology and an aesthetic construct that begins to pave the way for the use of computer technologies as a representational medium.
          That military applications fueled much of the early computer generated realities comes as no surprise; however, chapters 5 and 6 take the reader towards the beginning of Grau’s artistic journey into a realm where the known laws of the physical world become reconfigured and the viewer an integrated part of the artist’s work. These two chapters bring the reader into current conceptions of reality as combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality modeling language (VRML). Throughout these chapters, Grau details both emerging and established artists of the 1990s and their (re)combinations of multiple media that allow for not only an expressive approach but also a virtual reality unencumbered by the physicalities of gear.
          Grau’s final two chapters in "Virtual Art" explore directions for the medium in its current form. Telepresence (278), in particular, reconfigures art from that of a stable artifact created by an artist to one that can be morphed by a viewer via the use of technology. In the world of art, removing the concept of privilege from the piece and placing it within the public sphere reflects strong postmodern influences. However, to radically reconstruct the role of spectator to that of co-creator changes the very nature of the creative process and our participation in it. Humans, though, are not the only agents of change within the sphere of technologically immersive art. Grau, in looking at the future directions of the form, takes the reader towards considerations of the organic and artificial life form as shaping both the art form and the immersive experience.
         "Virtual Art" presents, in detail, the transition from illusory to immersive mediums while highlighting major theoretical influences as a means of validation and explication for the art form. For those examining theories related to the visual or the literary, "Virtual Art" positions itself in a thoroughly postmodern context with respect to the creation of artifacts. Grau’s focus on digital possibilities, in particular, exemplifies the very nature of postmodern deconstruction  - the ability to take apart and reconstruct objects to create new meaning. As well, Grau brings to the fore Derrida’s ideologies with respect to reality and representation by presenting to the reader the work of artists who seek to achieve convergence between the experience and the medium.
         While “Virtual Art” is detailed account of “who’s who” in the realm of digital art, a compendium such as Grau’s demonstrates the validity of reconfiguring not just our reality but also the known ways of constructing it. As educators seeking to inspire writing students, “Virtual Art” explicates the nature of collaboration from the simple to the complex and acknowledges the socially created and mutable nature of artifacts. These ideas, when brought into a writing context, can lead to new methods of invention and enable both educators and students to challenge previously codified assumptions about composition. In a digital context particularly, “Virtual Art” lends itself towards conceptualizing the development of a dynamic relationship between the writer and the reader. The static text, once our only product from the writing process, now becomes more than a non-linear, hypertext creation; instead, a text, like an interactive art form, develops organically and reflects the mutable nature of the computer medium in conjunction with a diverse and changing authorship.