[Sigvis-l] Critical review of Virtual Art

[Pete Otis]

This critical review of Grau's book on Virtual Art appeared recently in
INTELLIGENT AGENT written by Patrick Lichty.

http://www.intelligentagent.com


"...virtual image spaces of the computer... (are) not the revolutionary
innovation its protagonists are fond of interpreting it to be. The idea of
virtual reality only appears to be without a history; in fact, it rests
firmly on historical art traditions, which belong to a discontinuous
movement of seeking illusionary image spaces."
Grau, Virtual Art, p. 339

In this statement, Oliver Grau sums up what is probably the most significant
contribution this book makes to the study of New Media Art. With many
instances of novel technologies, creative or otherwise, proponents have
asserted that current practices constitute the pinnacle of human knowledge
to date or represent a degree of novelty that distances them from history.
The examination of the historical context of technological media, especially
in the arts, has been scant to date. In this book, Grau brings a refreshing
perspective to the topic by illustrating that the genre of immersive spaces
has been actively pursued since classical times, and, I might even argue,
since the caves of Lascaux were painted. This approach refutes the
Fukuyama-esque assertion that new media art is either separate from history
or a terminal point of the same. Conversely, Grau points to Adorno's
admonitions about placing contemporary art in a continuous history,
suggesting that there is nothing new under the sun. What needs to be
considered here are the points of difference in the sites throughout
history, and this is one of Grau's other points.

Grau begins his analysis of immersive spaces throughout pre-modern times at
the Roman Villa Dei Misteri at Pompeii, an initiation site for the sect of
Bacchus, and moves on to Bismarck's commissioning of the grand panorama of
The Battle of Sedan, which was completed in 1883. From Pompeii to Berlin,
Grau constructs a narrative of the context of the culture, politics, and
representative function of the various spaces -- from the ecstatic to the
devotional to the propagandistic -- and reveals how the various techniques
of construction reflected the agendas of the constructors. The idea that new
technologies have largely served to inscribe agendas of power upon the
masses is not new, but used as an analytical context for this subject from
ancient Rome to today raises important questions about the social function
of immersive spaces.