"Changing Space"

The article "Changing Space: Virtual Reality as an Arena of Embodied Being," written about the work of artist, Char Davies, opens new doors for the blending of art and technology. I found the article to be incredibly interesting and kept wishing that I could experience what the participants, or "immersants" experienced while navigating through the world that Davies and her team created. I was intrigued by the fact that Davies started out her career as a painter and later came to technology and the world of virtual reality. As an artist, I  do feel the need to create a type of reality, whatever it may be. Davies took her creative need to world build to a new level by creating spaces that could physically, through the use of virtual reality, be inhabited by its participants.  Though the work I am doing in class is far different than the environments that Davies creates, I am interested in researching and hopefully employing the immersive aspect of her work. 

Prior to reading the article, I had contemplated the final format of my piece "Balance." I want the piece to be projected onto a large wall so that viewers feel almost overcome by the sheer size of the image. The legs in the piece should appear massive, as if they belonged to a Greek god walking across the sky. I am very interested in how new media can affect the viewer. It's something I have been thinking about intensely. While reading the article I found that I was most excited about and intrigued by how the participants reacted during and post immersion. Davies strives to change the perception and subjectivity of her audience. She quotes from Bachelard's The Poetry of Space "By changing space, by leaving the space of one's usual sensibilities...we change our nature." (p.294)

 

I thought the emotional responses "Osmose" evoked were incredible. It must be extremely rewarding for the artist to create such visceral work. Coming out of Freudian school of thought, I kept wondering what blocked avenues or locked doors could be opened by immersing myself in an environment such as Osmose.

The author states that "many of their (immersants) responses are surprising in terms of emotional intensity, ranging from euphoria to tears of loss." 

Though I do not wish for my audience to be affected so strongly in terms of emotions, I do want them to feel immersed in the environment I create and seduced by the physical appearance of the moving image. I hope to alter the audience's perception of grace and femininity so I am not so far removed from Davies' goal to alter one's subjectivity. You can read more about the work of Char Davies by visiting http://www.immersence.com