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Emerging Art Experiences
Meow Wolf Denver houses a large-scale physical fabrication of The Cathedral[ that the company digitized for The Infinite Playa, a recognized universe in the Burning Man’s multiverse. Creative commons
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Emerging forms of experiential and virtual art illustrate the formats and technologies that will influence the art world’s adaptation to the metaverse.
With new technologies at our disposal, and a growing cultural interest in experiences that traverse virtual and physical aspects of the nascent metaverse, the art world is abuzz with innovation. Entirely virtual museums have cropped up, like the Virtual Online Museum of Art, and nonhuman creators have come on the scene, such as Ai-Da, an AI-powered humanoid robot artist who has performed at Abu Dhabi Art and the Barbican Center in London. New endeavors like Superblue, backed by mega-gallery Pace and Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective, seek to curate shows that eschew the art object in favor of the art experience, breaking down borders between artist, art, and observer, and spanning virtual and physical formats.
In the late 2010s, the viral popularity of works such as artist Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrors” sparked a debate. Was such work, which immersed visitors in a physical environment with dazzling optical effects—and owed much of its popularity to its “Instagrammability”— genuine art? Or was it just a social media content farm, with ticket holders as its paying customers? Could it be both? These pieces gave an early glimpse of how blending digital and physical experiences and blurred lines of authorship will stretch the definition of art as it evolves in virtually enhanced spaces. As with many aspects of the metaverse, virtual art experiences will reach a new level of immersion and interactivity once advanced smart glasses hit the consumer market, and blockchain applications will enable new ways for audiences to engage with the artwork and log their art experiences.
• Ai-Da • Artechouse • Fotografiska • Google Arts & Culture • Kunstmatrix • Meow Wolf • Superblue • TeamLab • Virtual Online Museum of Art
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