From Illusion to Immersion
Oliver Grall tramlated by Gloria CIIStaJJce
The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England Contents
SERIES fOREWORD VIII FOREWORD by Joel Slaycon XI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XI II
Chapter 1 Introduction 2 The Science of the Image ll Immei'Sion 13
Chapter 2 Historic Spaces of Illusion 24 lmmersive Image Strategies of the Classical World 25 The Chambre du Cerf ln the Papal Palace at Avignon 33 In Rome on Mount Olympus: Baldassare Peruzzi's Sa/a delle Prospettive 37 Immersion in Biblical Jerusalem: Gaudenzio Ferrari at Sacro Monte 41 Bai'Oque Ceiling Panoramas 46 Viewing with Mili tary P1·ecision: The Birth of the Panorama 52 Barker's Invention: Developing the Space of Illusionistic Landscapes 56 Construction and Function of the Panorama 58 The Panorama: A Conti'Oversial Medium circa 1800 62 The Role of Economics in the International Expansion of the Panorama 65 Chapter 3 The Panorama of the Battle of Sedan: Obedience through Presence 90 The Battle in the Picture 92 The Power of Illusion, Suggestion, and Immersion 96 Anton von Werner: Artist and Power Player 99 Political Objectives 101 The Panorama Stock Exchange 103 With Helmholtz's l Chapter 4 Intermedia Stages of Virtual Reality in the Twentieth Century: Art as Inspiration of Evolving Media 140 Monet's Water Lilies Panorama in Giverny 141 Pram pol ini's Futurist Polydimensional Scenospace 143 Film: Visions of Extending the Cinema Screen ana Beyond 146 Highways and Byways to Virtual Rea li ty: The "Ultimate" Union with the Computer in the Image 161 The Rhetoric of a New Dawn: The Califo rnian Dt·eam 168 Virtual Rea lity in Its Military and Industrial Context 169 Art and Media Evolulion I 173 Chapter 5 Virtual Art-Digital! The Natural Interface 192 Charlotte Davies: Osmose 193 The Suggestive Potential of the Interface 198 Aesthetic Distance 202 The Concept of "The Work" in Processual or Virtual Art 204 Chapter 6 Spaces of Knowledge 212 Knowbotic Research Contenl5 The Virtual Denkraum II: Memory Theater VR by Agnes Hegedues (1997) 231 Ultima Ratio: For a Theater of the Media 234 Exegetes of the Panorama: Benayoun, Shaw, Nalmark 236 Mixed Realities 245 Virtual Reality's Dynamic Images 248 The Computer: Handtool or Thinktool? 255 Chapter 7 Telepresence: Art and Hi story of an Idea 270 Te lep•·esence Now! 27l Subhlslot·y of Telepresence 278 "Telepistemological" Implications: Presence and Distance 285 Chapter 8 Evolution 296 Genetic Art: Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau 297 A-Volve 300 Artful Games: The Evolution of Images 304 A-Life's Party 308 A-Life's Subhistory 320 Transgenic Art 326 Chapter 9 Perspectives 338 REFERENCES 352 A UTI IOR INDEX 402 SunJECT INDEX 408 Contents Introduction "The most elemencal process of modern rimes is rhe conquesr of che world as images." -M ARTIN 1-I r\I I'JEG<..ER, 1-lo!zwege, p. 92. Frankfurt: Klostermann ( 1980). "Das Wahre har kcine Fenster. Das Wahre sichc nir,gends zum Universum hinaus. Und das Inceresse an Panoramen ist, die wahre Sradt zu schen .... -Die Sradr im llause. Was im fen- scerlosen Hause scehc, isr das Wahre. [The imeresring thing abour the panorama is co see rhc true city-a CI[Y mside a build- ing. What stands in rhe windowless building is the Lrtltb ... (rhe rrurh has no windows; nowhere does it look om upon the uni- verse.))" -WALTER BEN.JAMit..;, Das P,m"gcml'l:rk, GmmlfllelteSchriftm, vol. 5, 2, p. 1008. RolfTiedemann (ed.). Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp. What is virtual art? Never before has rhe world of images around us changed so fast as over recent years, never before have we been exposed co so many different image worlds, and never before has rhe way in which images are produced changed so fundamentally. To an unprecedented de- gree, so many utopian expectations are inrerrwined with so much skep- ticism. The scale of recent and current encroachment of media and technology inco rhe workplace and work processes is a far greater upheaval chnn ocher epochs have known, nnd, obviously, ir has also affected large areas of arc. Media arc, that is, video, compurer graphics and animation, Nec-arr, interactive arc in irs most advanced form of virtual arc wirh irs subgenres of celepresence arc and generic art, is beginning co dominate theories of che image and art. We are experiencing rhe rise of che com- purer-generated, virtual spatial image co image per se, co images chat appear capable of auronomous change and of formulating a lifelike, aU- embracing visual and sensory sphere. As yer, digital arr srill exisrs in a scare of limbo, rarher like phorography before Stieglitz. The evolution of media of illusion has a long history, and now a new technological variety has appeared; however, ic cannot be fully understood without irs history. With the advent of new cechntques for generating, distributing, and pre- senting tmages, the computer has rmnsformed the image and now suggescs rhac it is possible co "enrer" it. Thus, ir has laid the foundations for vircual reality as a core medium of rhc emerging "information society." Since rhe end of rhe 1980s, new interfaces communicate three-dimension::tl images using the head-mounted display (.HMD) or d1e more recenrly developed CAVE' (fig. l.l). The suggestive impression is one of immersing oneself in the image space, moving and interacting rhere in "real ttme," and intervening creatively. Virtual reality was discovered early on by artists, who appropriated ir wich their own methods and strategies. Through cooperation wtth many leading representatives of vircual image culture and chetr international media labs, bur also extensive research in archives, this book rescs on much unpublished source material. Media artists represenr a new cype of artist, who not only sounds our the aesthetic potencial of advanced merhods of creating images and formulates new options of perception and arrisric positions in chis media revolution, bur also specifically researches inno- vative forms of interaction and interface design, rhus contributing co the development of rhe medium in key areas, boch as arcisrs and as sciemisrs. Introduction Figure 1.1 CAVE. Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois, Chicago. Developed by Dan Sandin, Carolina Cruz-Neira, et al. By kind permission of Dan Sandin. Arc and science are once more allied in the service of roday's mosr complex methods of producing images. The new art media are also having !'ar-reacl11ng impacts on the theory of an and the image. In this conrexr, rhts book endeavors, first, to demon- scrare how new v1rcual art firs inro rhe arc history of illuston and immer- SIOn and, second, co analyze rhe meramorphos1s of the concepts of arr and the image char relate to this an. Art history, as the oldest discipline con- cerned wirh images, has the resources of a broad material base ro analyze these concepts, including recent developments connected with computers. Although arc hiscory and the h.isrory of the media have always scoocl in an tnrerdependenr relanonship and arc has commenced on, raken up, or even promoted each new media developmenc, rhe view of arc h1srory as media history, as the hisrory of this inrerdepcnclenr relationship chat includes the role of artistic visions in the rise of new media of illusion, is still underdeveloped. Yer art's close relationship to machines in particular and technology in gener Chapter 1 an observer in a hermetically closed-off image space of illusion did nor make irs fi rst appearance with rhe technical invenrion of computer-aided virtual realiries. On the contrary, virrual realiry forms parr of rhe core of rhe relationship of humans co images. It is grounded in art traditions, which have received scam arcencion up ro now, char, in the course of his- tory, suffered ruptures and discontinuities, were subject co the specific media of their epoch, and used to transporr content of a highly disparate nature. Yet rhe idea goes back ar lease as far as the classical world, and ir now reappears in the immersion strategies of present-day virtual arc. Further, it is d1e intention of chis book ro trace the aesthetic concepcion of virtual image spaces, their historical genesis, including breaks, through various stages of Western arc history. It begins wim me broad, primarily European rradirion of image spaces of illusion, which was found mainly in private country villas and rown houses, like the cult frescoes of the Villa dei Misreri in Pompeii, the garden frescoes in rhe Villa Livia near Prima- porta (ca. 20 n.c.), rhe Gothic fresco room, the Chambre du Cerf, and the many examples of Renaissance illusion spaces, such as me Sala delle Pro- spettive. Illusion spaces also gained in importance in the public domain, as evidenced by the Sacci Monri movement and rhe ceiling panoramas of Baroque churches. One of the most exceptional vehicles for painted illu- sionism is rbe panorama, parented by Roberc Barker in 1789. Paul Sand- by's landscape room ar Drakelowe Hall (1793) was a direct response co this invention. AU rhese examples of image spaces for creating illusions are not, obviously, technically comparable with rhe illusions now possible wim rhe aid of computers, which the user can experience ioceraccively. However, this study shows clearly how, in each epoch, extraordinary efforts were made co produce maximum illusion wirh the technical means at hand. Before the panorama, there were successful attempts tO create illusionist image spaces with traditional images, and after its demise-rogecher with many artistic visions due never lefc the drawing board-technology was applied in the attempt ro inregrare the image and the observer: stereo- scope, Cim!orama, stereopric television, Sensorama, Expanded Cinema, 3-D. Omnimax, and 1MAX cinema, as well as the head-mounted display with irs milirary origins. This book does not interpret virtualiry per se as an aorbropological constant, for chen it would begin with d1e cave paintings of Cluvec, Alta- mira, and Lascaux. Instead, atrenrion centers on 360° images, such as the ｬｮｾｲｯ､ｵ｣ｬｬｯｮ＠ fresco rooms, the panorama, circular onema, aod compurer arc in the CAVE: media char are the means whereby rhe eye is addressed wirh a rocality ofimages. This book engages wich media in the history of art rhar concentrate on immersive image spaces. The activarion, or "domesricarion," of the human senses lay with changing forms of arc and media; however, "the wiU to art" pmsued com- parable categories. The image spaces and media discussed here are che subject of many treatises, but never before have they been examined in the context of an art-historical analysis of rhe concept of immersion. So far, rhere has been no historically comparative or systematic rheorerical ap- proach co virtual realities. I endeavor to summarize aod categorize existing work ro present a coherent theoretical framework and analyze the phe- nomenologies, functions, and strategies of all-embracing image worlds ro provide a historical overview of the idea of virrual reality. It is nor a com- prehensive history of this phenomenon nor of perception, although certain findings are of inreresc in this respect: ic is a portrayal of the conrinuiry of chis idea and a characterization of irs applications in the hiscory of arr. The panorama demands special consideration for rwo reasons: first, rhis illusion space represenred the highest developed form of illusionism and suggestive power of rhe problematical variety chat used traditional meth- ods of painting. The panorama is also exemplary in char this effect was an intended one, a precalculated outcome of the application of technolog- ical, physiological, anJ psychologit-al knowleJge. Wirh che contemporary means at hand, the ill usion space addressed the observer as direcdy as possible; rbis latter was "implicit." Second, the scudy of the panorama can help co lay the foundations of a systematic comparison, where rbe meta- morphosis of image and art associated with computer-aided virtual reality emerges in a clearer lighr. The case scudy presenced here of perhaps che most importanr German panorama (and political evenr), The Bttllle of Stdtm by Amon von Werner (1883), has nor been analyzed in chis derail before and reveals in exemplary fashion the scracegies for removing boundaries and psychological distance berween observer and image space. Further, the normative forces of economics and their constraining effect on rhe role of the artist is examined, rogerher with the artist's posicion within the con- figuration of coworkers, image techniques, and the inceresrs of rhe client. How and wich what effect does the strategy of immersion operate bere, which methods are implemenced, in what inrensiry and wirh which in- Chapter 1 centions vis a vis rhe audience? The in-depch depiction of these mecha- nisms is, at rhe same time, a preh1srory of the immersive procedures of computer virtual reality. Jmegration of virrual reality into rhe history of immersion in arc must not lead co disregard of the specific characteristics of virrual computer an, which, as Theodor W. Adorno warned, may be negared in rhe interests of drawing comparisons: "All the same, nothing is more damaging co theoretical knowledge of modern art chan irs reduction co what ic has in common with older periods. Whac is specific co ir slips through rhe methodological net of ·noching new under rhe sun'; it is reduced co rhc undialeccical, gapless connnuum of tranquil development rhac 1t in face explodes. . . . In the relation of modern arrworks co older ones char are similar, ir is their differences char should be elicited. "2 Ic is precisely co crystallize chis specificity, this difference, that che second tocus of this study engages wirh rhe metamorphosis of rhe concept of the Lmage under the conditions of computer-generated virtual image spaces as driven by, for example, inrerface design, inceracrion, or rhe evolution of images. Jn virtual realiry, a panoramic view is joined by sensorimocor explora- tion of an image space that gives che 1mpression of a "living" environment. Jnreracrive media have changed our idea of the image inco one of a multi- sensory inceracrive space of experience wirh a time frame. Jn a vircual space, the parameters of time and space can be modjfied at will, allowing rhe space co be used for modeling and experimenr. The possibility of access ro such spaces and communication worldwide via clara networks, rogerher with the technique of telepresence, 1 opens up a range of new options. Images of rhe natural world are merged wirb artificial images in "mixed realities," where ic is often impossible co distinguish berween original and s1mulacrum. The media straregy aims ar producmg a high-grade feeling of immer- sion, of presence (an impression suggestive of "being there"). which can be enhanced further through interaction with apparenrly "living" environ- ments in "real rime." The scenarios develop at random, based on generic algorithms, char is, evolutionary image processes. These represent the link connecring research on presence (technology, perception, psychology) and research on arcificiaJ life or A-Life (biomformarics), an arc that has nor only reAected on in recenr years bur also specifically coocribured to rhe further development of image technology. Introduction In this book, examples of artistic illusion spaces are discussed in depth and against the outline of chis historical tradition, che transformation engendered by the digital media, which has enduring effects on the inter- nal structure of the relationship between anise, work, and observer, and is exemplified by analyses of contemporary virtual reahicy insrallarions. Analogies and principal differences in arc production, image/work phe- nomenology, and audience reception are revealed. This comparative ap- proach is best suited co provide insights into rhe aesthetic innovations of chis medium, wirh irs growing societal and artistic imporrance, and the new srarus of chc image under the hegemony of rhe digiraJ. Recent bur already well-known works of virtual computer arc are integrated here for the first time within a broad arr historical concexr. The intention is nor ro establish this young branch of arc's credentials in terms of historical legic- imarion but rather co clemonsrrare the recurring existence of che inter- media figure of immersion rogecher with its intentions and problematic potencial. 1 am not: suggesting that virtual reality should be viewed in terms of a prehistory of logical developments leading up ro it; what is described here arc individual and varied stages, each representing in con- tradictory, disparate, or dialectic form a new stacus of perception vis a vis older media. With rhese historical foundations, the study aims to facilitate comparison and enable critique of contemporary developmencs, emanci- pated from current media propaganda, borh futuristic and apocalyptic- no more, no less. The approach is incenrionally broad, linking historic media art with digiral arc in the hope of berccr understanding the qual- icy of rhe new arc form and concriburing to the emerging science of the image by distilling some basic aspects of a history of media of illusion and immersion. In a htsrorical concext, rhts new art form can be relarivized, adequately described, and critiqued in terms of its phenomenology, aesthetics, and origination. ln many ways, chis method changes our perceprion of the old and helps us co understand history afresh. Thus, older media, such as fres- coes, paintings, panoramas, film, and the arc they convey, do nor appear passe; rather, rhcy are newly defined, categorized, and interpreted. Under- srood in chis way, new media do nor render old ones obsolete, buc rather assign chem new places within the system.• Inreracciviry and virrualiry call inco question rhe distinction between author and observer as well as rhe status of a work of arc and the function Chapter 1 of exhibitions. Therefore, ir is imporraor co determine which characcer- isrics of virrual image systems distinguish them from images of traditional arrworks or cinema. It is necessary to explore and analyze the new aesrhetic potencial that technology has made possible. What new possibilities of expression are open co the artist working with computet-aided, inceracrive, real-cime images? Whac conscrainrs does the technology impose on artistic concepts? Whar new potencial for creariviry does it make available ro rhe artist and to rhe observer? How can rhe new relationship between arrisr and observer be characterized, and which arrisc:ic strategies result from rhis sicuacion? How do interaction and interface design affect reception of the work? And finally, on rhe basis of knowledge of arr hisrory, how should rhe concepts of contemporary virtual arc be assessed? This book does nor attempt ro equate hismric spaces of illusion with contemporary phenomena of virtual reality in order co construct a histori- cal legitimation of the latest trends in arr. Instead, the new arr of illusion is investigated and relativized historically and, in a further step, analyzed and assessed. My cootenrion is nor chat virtual art from rhe computer is always directed at maximizing illusion. However, it must be said that it does operate within c:be energy field of illusion and immersion- the para- digm of rhis medium. Whether rhe individLLaJ artists are critical of chis aspecc or implement it strategically, nevertheless, ir remains the founda- tion on which chis an operates. The visualization potencial of virtual artworks exceeds by far a purely mimetic view. The visualizations of complex systems, which the majority of artists in this book strive for, encompass a potential for creativity and image cecbniques that demand analysis. How are rhe observers affecrecl by rhe kaleidoscope of endogenous viewing perspectives and the tension berween physical and abscracc experiences? The creation of expanded image spaces ex:perienced polysensorily and interactively, which enable processual siruacions, promote rhe trend coward performance art. Jn this way, tbe categories of game and game theory gain new significance. Thus, in addition co preseming rhe long and complex tradition of rhe concept of immersion, it is essential ro porrray the mosr recent dynamic changes char have taken place in images, brought forth by rhe new opcions of inreracrion and evolurion. From che point of view of both technology and art theory, it is illumi- nating to rake an in-depth look at internationally acclaimed works char are lntroducllon aln:ady classics of the new image culture. llere we'll d1scuss furrher im- portam parameters of virtual an, such as rhe ｭｲ･ｲｦ｡｣･Ｎｾ＠ mreractl()n,'' and image evolution.' The interface, which connecrs rhe human sens<:s ro rhe image worlds of virrual arc, is rhe main focus of rhe chaprer on O.rmo.rc ( 1995), a work by rhe Canadian artist Charlorte Davies char is particularly relcv The Science of the Image For rhe hm ceo yc:ars, there has been an ongoing discussion abom rht· sra- 14 cus of rhe 1mage 111 arc h1scory, philosophy, and culrural srud1es, wh1ch has gained in ropicali ry and brisance rhrough rhe advent of media an. The new media, and ｰ｡ｮｩ｣ｵｬ［ｾｲｬｹ＠ the arc realized through and w1rh rhem, de- mand char chis t]U<.:srion be posed wich new intensity and wirh a new qualiry. Currently, no orher image mcd1um polarizes rhe discussion abour rhe image more radically chan vmual rcaltry. Yet whar, preCJsely, dis- tinguishes the images of media art from chose of bygone ages! The rapidly spreading vmual techniques have acquired mfluence over many and diverse areas of sciencilic disciplines, rhc majority of which lie outside the sphere of arr. To arcempr a closer understanding of rhe phe- nomenon of vircual realities and conrribure co che cheorerical debate on rhe so-called iconic turn or pictorial rurn,' 5 l attempt ro trace ar lease in parr rhe long and complex rrad1rioo of chis image concept and ro sketch ItS vitali ty and almost revolurionary character that is emerging through the: poreorial of imeraccion wirh and t:volurion of imagc:s. Ic is imperanve ro leave as1de approaches char are technology-centered and, instead, SltWite the arcisti< images of virrual reality wirhin rhe h1srory of arr and rhe media, ale hough it is necessary ro crcac aspeccs of how the laresr technology of Jl lus10n functions. Regarded hisroricalJy, ir is possible co relarivize rhe phenomenon of virtual reality and determine what makes it uniqut:. Through llJSrorical compansons, ic is possible ro recognize and descrtbe more clearly analogies or innovations. This is an arrempc ro rake srock, in a clear and level way, on the basis of arr hisrory wirhour invokmg apocalyp- 11 nc scenarios, for example, as Neil Posrman, .Jean Baudrillard, ' or Diecmar Knmper11 have rendcd co do, or indulging in fururiscic prophesies, of the variety associated particularly with the "Californjan Dream. "tR The project of a science of rhe image, in which chis book is involved, dehberarely pursues a pohcy of tmnsgress1ng established boundaries of specifically "arrisric images." It is ar libeny to compriBe clements of Introduction \Xfarburg's early sketch of a science of the image based on cultural hisrory, Panofsky's "new iconology," as well as the srudies on vision by Norman Bryson''> or jonathan Crary.20 Since che 1960s, d1scussion of the concept of image representation has expanded enormously. Starring poinr was the groundbreaking work of Nelson Goodman,21 Roland Barrhes,22 and Ernsr Gombrich. 21 Smce chen, studies and analyses of rhe concept of che ｩｭ｡ＬｾＮＺ･Ｌ＠ which used ro operate exclusively on the terratn of arr hisrory, have been underrakcn in disciplines such as psychology, physiology, aesthetics, phi- losophy, cultural srud1es, v1sual studies, and computer sc1ence. Particularly 111 art history, rhe oldest discipl1ne engaged wtch images and med1a, che inrerrogarion of the concept of the image has burgeoned; interestingly, rh1s has been in parallel co rhe rapid developments in rhe field of the new media and che1r image worlds.24 Currendy, ro cake an expressiOn of\XIalcer Benjamin's, media an hismry ｨＺｌｾ＠ "che wind of world history in irs sails." The emerging discipline of a science of the image complements the history of the science of artistic visualization,'' the hiscory of the arr and images of 1 science/ ' and, parricularly, che sncnce of the •mage as ic ts pursued m the natural sciences. 27 Inspirations for this book are the studies on visualization in the Carte- Sian rradinon, in Marcm Jay's expression "the ocular character of all Western culture,"28 and Guy Debord's fundamental cririqLie 1n The Soacty of the Spectnde. 29 However, 1 have drawn primarily on rhe rheorerical diS- cussions of interactive media art ac congresses such as the lnrer-Sociecy for Electronic Arr/0 SIGGRAPH,11 Ars Elecrron1ca,32 rhe Cenrre for the Advanced Inquiry in the Incer::tctive Arrs33 (CAiiA)/Newport, Jnrerfncc,H and many ocher interdiSCiplinary meetings. For several years, the dramatically changed function of 1mages wrought by the new medja has been a subject of cultural srudies research. Some of rhe most imporanr work in rhjs field is by Roy ａｳ｣ｯ｣ｲＬ Ｓ ｾ＠ n visionary theo- retician whose published work on Interactive computer arc goes back many years. At che Centre for the Advanced lnqu1ry in the lnceractive Arcs (CAiiA-STAR), where Ascorc is director, many of rhe mosr impormnr contemporary media artists are srudying for Ph.D.s.36 The early work of Myron Kruegerl7 also belongs in this canon together with the research 1 40 work of Eduardo Kac,l" Machiko Kusahara, '' Simon Penny, Erkki lluhtamo;11 Margret Morse,42 and rhe overviews of immersive works edited by Mary Anne Moser43 that commenced publicanon in rhe m1d- Chapter 1 1990s at the Banff Cenrre. In Japan, the research and analysis conducted by Icsuo Sakane,44 founding director of lAMAS, is of prime imporrance; unforrunately, very little of his work has been translated. An eloqueor history of concepts of space since Roger Bacon-nor of immersive image worlds-has been written by the journalist Margret Werrheim.45 Immersion Immersion is undoubtecUy key ro any understanding of the developmenc of the media, even though rhe concept appears somewhat opaque and con- tradictory. Obviously, there is not a simple re lationship of "either-or" be- rween critical distance and immersion; the relations are multifaceted, closely inrt:rLwim:d, dialt:uita1, iu part cuurradicrory, and ct:nainly highly dependent on the disposition of the observer. Immersion can be an iorel- lectually stimulating process; however, in the present as in rhe past, in most cases immersion is mentally absorbing and a process, a change, a passage from one mental stare to another. It is characterized by diminish- ing critical clistance to what is shown and increasing emotional involve- ment in what is happening. The majority of virtual realities that are experienced almost wholly vi- sually seal off the observer hermetically from external visual impressions, appeal co him or her with plastic objects, expand perspective of real space inco illusion space, observe scale and color correspondence, and, like the panorama, use indireCt light effects to make the image appear as the source of the real. The intention is to install an artificial world that renders the image space a totality or at least fills the observer's entire field of vision (fig. L.2). Unlike, for example, a cycle of frescoes char depicrs a temporal sequence of successive images, these images integrate the observer in a 360° space of illusion, or immersion, with unity of rime and place. As image media can be described in terms of their intervention in perception, in terms of how they organize and structure perception and cognition, virrual immersive spaces must be classed as exueme variants of image media that, on account of rheir totaliry, ofFer a completely alternative re- ality. On the one hand, they give form to the "all-embracing" ambitions of the media-makers, and on the other, they offer the observers, particularly through rheir totaliry, the option offusing with rhe image medium, which afFeccs sensory impressions and awareness. This is a great difference from the nonhermetic etfecrs of illusionistic paincing, such as trompe l'oeil, Introduction Figure 1.2 Spherical Field of Vision. Drawing by John Boone. In Karen Wonders, Habitdl Dioramas: lll11sions of Wildemess in ｍｵｳ･ｾｾｭ ｳ＠ of Natllrill History, Uppsala: Almqvist and Wlksell, 1993, p. 207. By kind permission of Karen Wonders. where the medium is readjly recognizable, and from images or image spaces that are delimited by a frame that is apparent to rhe observer, such as the cheater or, to a certain excent, rhe diorama, and parucularly televi- sion. In rheir delmcated form rhese image media srage symbolically rhe aspect of difference. They leave che observer ourside and are rhus unsuir- ahle for commun1canng virtual realities in a way rhar overwhelms rhe senses. For chis reason, rhey do nor form rare of rhis srudy. Of the tWO main poJes of meaning of the image, representative function ,\Od consrirurion of presence, ir is the second char concerns chis scudy. The quality of apparently being presenr in rhe images IS achieved through max1mizarion of real1sm and is increased srill furrl1er rhrough illusionism in rhe service of an immersive elfecr. The image and simulation technique of vinual reality nttemprs co weld traditional media rogechcr in a syn- rhecic medium chat is experienced polysensorily. The rechnological goal, Chapter 1 "natural,'' "inruirive," and "physically inrimace" interface.•7 Accordi ng co chis program of ill usion techniques, simulated stereophonic sound, tactile and haptic impressions, and thermorecepcive and even kinaesthetic sensa- dons will all combine to convey to rhe observer rhe illusion of being in a complex structured space of a narural world, producing rhe mosr intensive feeling of immersion possible. Vi rtual real icy may nor be in che headlines any longer, bur ir has become a worldwide research projecr.''8 As soon as rhe Inrerner is able, image spaces wiU be available online rhar at present can be seen only in the form of elaborate and costly installations ac festivals or in media museums. The expression "virtual realicy"49 is a paradox, a conrradiction in rerms, and ir describes a space of possibility or impossibility formed by ill usionary addresses co the senses. In contrast co simulation, which does noc have ro be immersive and refers primarily to the factual or whar is possible under rhe laws of nature, using the strategy of immersion virrual reaJicy50 for- mulates what is ''given in essence," a plausible "as if" that can open up utopian or fantasy spaces. 51 Virrual realities-both past and presenr-are in essence immersive. Analog representations of virtual realiries appear oxymoronic when multifarious virtual spaces are viewed in sequences or when they are partially visible simultaneously. Unresolvable conrradicrions have the power ro irritate and distress, buc chey can also marure inro fLtll- blown artistic concepts, as in rhe case of mixed realities. Immersion in the artificial paradises of narcotics, for example, as described by Charles Baudelaire,52 dream journeys or literary immersions pasr and present (in Multi User Dangeous [MUDs] or chat rooms), 53 refer mainly co imagina- tion addressed through words, as expressed by che concept of ekjJimrsiJ. 5'1 They dilfer fundamentally from rhe visual strategies of immersion in the virrual reality of the computer and irs precursors in arr and media history, which are rhe subject of this book. Mimesis, in rhe Platonic sense, mimics. The more lasting the effect, the less absrracr ir is; ir is able, simulranPonsly, ro he evident in a creative sense and ro represent che intelligible.55 The concepts of crompe l'oeil or illusionism aim ro utilize representations char appear faithful ro real im- pressions, the prerense char two-dimensional surfaces are three-dimensional. The decisive factor in trompe l'oeil, however, is char rhe deception is always recognizable; io most cases, because the medium is ar odds wirh lnlroduction what is depicted and this is realized by the observer in seconds, or even fracnons of seconds. This moment of aesthetic pleasure, of aware and con- scious recognition, where perhaps rhe process of deception IS a challenge to che connoisseur, differs from rhe concept of rhe virtual and irs historic precursors, which are geared co unconscious deception. Wirh rhe means il.t the disposal of chis Illusionism, the imaginary is given the appearance of the real: mimesis is consrrucced through precision of derails, surficial appearance, lighting, perspective, and palerre of colors. From irs isolated perfectionism, rhe illusion space seeks co compose from these elemenrs a complex assembled srrucrure wirh synergetic effects. In connection wich the concepr of mimesis, ir is worthwhile ro recall another, ancient image concept, which goes back ro ro precivilized rimes. This is rhe original meaning of the German word for pinure or image, Bi!J, with irs etymological Germanic roor bil: its meanmg refers less co piccorialiry and more ro living essence; an object of power in which resided Irrational, magical, even spiritual power rhar could nor be grasped or con- trolled by the observer (in Ancient Greek, ditt zoon grapbein also comprises an element of che living), an aspect that so far has received little arrenrion in image research. In spaces of illusion, rhe moving observer receives an illusionary Im- pression of space by focusing on objeccs rhac move coward or away from him. The depth of a painted space, however, is experienced, or presumed, only in rhe 1maginarion. Goszrony1 defines the experience of space as fol- lows: "The virtuality of the movemenc muse be emphas1zed; one can also 'enrer' the space virtually, i.e., in rhoughr or imagination, whereby rhe distances are nor actually experienced bur rather tmllmed. Ｂｓｾ＠ The technical idea char IS virtual reality now makes it possible co represent space as de- pendem on rhe direction of che observer's gaze: the viewpoint is no longer statiC or dynamically linear, as in rhe film, bur rbeorerically includes an mfinice number of possible perspectives. The word ｦＩＧ｢･ｲｳｰｴｾ｣･Ｌ＠ coined by the science ficuon writer William Gibson in 1984, derives from rybemetia and spttre, and could be given as cybernetic space. Gibson understood cyber- space co be an array of networked computer ima!:e spaces, a macrix, which as "collecrivc hallucination" would find millions of users ､｡ｩｬｹＮｾ Ｗ＠ The sub- culture, which rapidly grew up around che idea of virrual realiry in rhc lace 1980s, co-opted this cerm, which plays only a minor role in this ｳｴｵ､ｹＮｾｾ＠ Chapter 1 ln virrual space, barb historically and in the present, rhe illusion works on rwo levels: lirsr, rhere is the classic funcrion of illusion which is the playful and conscious submission to appearance rhat is rhe aesthetic en- 5 joyment of illusion. ? Second, by intensifying the suggestive image effects and through appearance, chis can temporarily overwhelm perception of the difference berwen mage space and reality. This suggestive power may, for a cenain time, suspend rhe relationship bc:rween subject and object, and rhe "as if" may have effects on awareness.60 T he power of a hitherto unknown or perfected medium of illusion co deceive rhe senses leads rhc observer co acr or feel according to the scene or logic of rhe images and, co a certain degree, may even succeed in captivating awareness. This is rhe starting point for historic illusion spaces and rheir immersive successors in art and media hisrory. They use mudimedia ro increase and maximize suggescion in order co erode rhe inner distance of rhe observer and ensure maximum effecr for their message. Even six-year-old children are able co differentiate between realiry and "as-if ｷｯｲｬ､ｳＬＢ ｾＧ＠ yet in Western arr and media hiscory there is a recurrent movement char seeks to blur, negate, or abolish chis differenriatioo using the latesr imaging techniques. Ir is nor possible for any arr ro reproduce reality in irs entireLy, and we must remain aware char there is no objective appropri ation of reality-Plaro·s mecaphor of rhe cave shows rhar. Ic is only interpretations that are decisive. This has been one of the major themes in philosophy in the early modern era: the work of Descartes, l eibniz, and Kanr can also be viewed as marvelous arrempts ro reflect on rhe consequences rhar result from perspective, the mediation of per- ception and rhus rhe cognitive p rocess, which ultimately cannot be over- come. Fmrher, artificiali ty and naruralness are also concepLs of reflcccion. 12 Tbey denote nor objects but views, perspectives, and relations. ' In add i- tion to copying ir, rhe transformation of reality is the central domain and essence of arr: rhe creation oi reality, individual reality, collective realiry."' Interestingly, recenr findings in neurobiology propose rhat what we call reality is in fact merely a sraremenr abour what we are actually able ro observe. Any observation is dependent on our individual physical and menml constraints and our theoretical sciencilic premises. lr is only wirthin rhis framework rime we arc Hble to make observations of that wh ith our cognitive system, Jcpendenr on these constraints, al lows us co observe. In Introduction what way and to whac exrenr there have been :memprs ro creare "realiry," virrual reality, with che means of the image in art hiscory, 1s elucidated in this study. In che following, I shall introduce some exceptional examples of en- closed virrual ill usion spaces taken from dilferem epochs in hiscory. It goes wirhour saymg char rhis is nor an exhaustive accounr of rhe phenomenon. My imcnrion is co demonstrate the continuing presence of chis image form 10 rhe history of European an, and che examples have been selected be- cause rhey make rhe most intensive usc of rhe illusion techniques of rheir rime. The a1m is co shed light on rhe v1sual strategies and specihc func- rions of vinual spaces in rhc history of the an and media. Although hun- dreds of sevcnceench- and eighccenrh-c.:enrury 1llusion spaces exist in che palaces and villas of Europe, co which access is difficulr in the majority of cases, l1rrle research has been undertaken, and where research docs exist, ocher questions rend co be in rhe foreground.'·" In parricu lar, che trans- media continuum o( che1r funcnon, che enduring tendencies co enclose and immerse the observer regardless of the form o( the medium, has nor been recogn1zed, and will be emphasized in what follows. Note:; 1. The CAVE (Cave Automatic Virrual Environmenr) is a cube of wh1ch all sax surfaces c.1n be used 2. Adorno (1973). p. 36 (Engl. tmns., Adorno 1997, p. 19). 3. Grau (2000). i. Friednch Kirrler, "Gcschachre der Kommunikaraonsmedacn." In Huber er at. ( 1993), pp. 169 188 (set: p. 178). 5. Bole (198ti); Lwrd (1990, 1991); Dctring (1993); llalbach 0991\B): Grau (l997b). 6 . On human-machine communication, see: Krutgcr (1991 ), MacDonald ( l994), Smith 0994) (technological); Ascocc (1989. 1992), Romr ( 1989, 1993), Chapter 1 Huhcamo (1996, 1997), Dinkla (1997) (art theory); Weibel (1989a, 199La, t994a) (affirmative); and Grau (1994) (critique). 7. On inrroducing "life'' ro artificial spaces (through generic algorid1ms, agents, ere.), see: Goltlberg ( 1989); Ray ( 1991 ); Schoncburg ( 1994); Thalmann (1994); Steels er al. (1995); Sommerer and Mignonneau (1996, 1997). 8. (lmp:www.khm.de). 9. (hrrp:www.zkm.de). 10. (hrrp://www.nrricc.or.jp/). II. (http://www.iamas.ac.jpj). 12. These include the Centre Pompidou, MOMA, Buncleskunsrhalle, Henie Onstad Kunsrcenrer, and rhe \1(1Jlhelm Lehmbruck 1\1useum. 13. Ars Elecrronica, ( hrtp://www.aec.at); Interactive Media Festival, Sig- gmph, (hrrp://www.siggmph.org/s98/); imag ina, ( http://www.ina.fr/INA/ ]magina/imagina.en.htm); rhe Biennales in Kwangju, (hrrp://www.daum.co.kr/ gallery/kwang/han/index.html); Lyon, Nagoya, ( lmp://www.tocai-ic.or.jp/ JnfoServ/Anec/ane); and Sr. D enis, ( lmp://www.labarr.univ-pari s8.fr/index2. hrml). 14. See, for example, Mitchell ( 1995); Freedberg ( 1989); Belting (1990); Bredekamp ( 1995, L997a,b); Cwry (1996, 1999); Jay ( 1993); Manovich (200 1); Stafford ( 1991, 1998); and Scoichica ( 1998). 15. Jay (1993); Mitchell (1995b); Bredekamp (l997a). See also rhe early reAeccions of Bryson (1983), pp. 133ff. Mitchell's book in particular has become one of the poles in th is debate. Although he was not the first ro poinr our the growing influence of visuals on motlern societies, he smmtcs their images as tied w rhe discourse of power char appears primarily in rexrua1 form. Following Panofsky, he proposes an overhauled iconology, which explains rhe images in terms of interrelationships of murual dependence on texts. 16. Baudrillard ( 1996) conrinues ro develop his posicion, firsr formulared 10 the L970s, clml denies contemporary rcchnical images any reference co the facmal, Introduction which 1S covered by his concept of hypcrrealicy. This "crisis of rcpresenrarion," a "mimesis wicbouc foundations," however, does not necessarily differ qualirarively from the conditions of representatiOn fimnd in older 1mage mc<.l.a 17. Kamper(l995). 18. One example among many from the media theorist Youngblood (1989). p. 84; sec also Walser ( 1990). 19. Bryson (1983). 20. Crary (1992. 1999). 21. Goodm;tn (1968). 22. Barchc:s ( 1980). Ｒ Ｎ ｾＭ Gombricb ( 1982). 24. Examples arc: Be lung (200 I); Bohm ( 19911); Bredckamp ( 1997a); Didi- Huberman (1999); Freed berg (1989); Grau ( 1997a, 2000b); Elk•ns ( 1999); Kemp (2000); Starford (1998); and Swich1ra (1998). 25. Kc:mp(1990). 26. Luour (1996); Sommerer ［ｾｮ､＠ ｍＱｧｮｯｮｮ･［ｾｵ＠ ( 1998a); Kemp (2000). 27. T1w congress on "Image and Meaning," hclu in rhe summer of 20C)l at MIT, ｷ［ｾｳ＠ an expression of the narural sciences confronting che phenomcnon of d1giml •magcs .tnd can be vwwed as the founding evenr of th1s new disCipline. 28. Brennan ,tnd Jay ( 1996). 29. Debord CL983). :)0. (h• cp://www.arnc.euu/-isea97 ) . .ｾｉＮ＠ ＨｨｴｴｰＺＯＯｨ･ｬｩｯｳＮｳ ｧｗ＼ｴｰｨＮｯ ｲ ｧＯｾＲＰＰ＠ I/). Chapter l 32. (http://www .aec.ar/). 33. (lmp://CAttAmtnd.nsad-newporc.ac.uk/). 34. (lmp://www.interface5.de/). 35. Ascotr (1966, 1999). 36. CAiiA-STAR is a research platform rhar integrates rwo centers of doctoral research: CAliA, rhe Cenrre for rhe Advanced lnqutry in the lnreranive Arcs, at rhe University of Wales College, Newport; and STAR, the cencer for Science, Tech- nology, und Arc Research, at the School of Computing, University of Plymourh. CAiiA was established 10 1994 as nn outcome of the success of rhe ｣ｯｵｮｲｲｹﾷｾ＠ first interactive arcs degree STAR was formed in 1997, building on rhe School of Compurtng's research achievements tn rhc domatn of inrcracnve mulrimcdta and the associarcd fields of artificial life, robotics, and cognirive science:. 37. Krueger ( 1991 a). 38. Kat (1996). 39. Kusahara ( 1998). 40. Penny (1995). 41. lluhramo ( 1996). 42. Morse 0998). 43. Moser er al. ( 1996). 44. Sakane (1989). 45. Wertheim ( 1999). 46. ll<:etcr {1992); Kelso et al. (1993); Slater and Usoh 0993, l99ta); Schloerb ( 1995); Witmt:r ( 1998); Smnncy {1998). 47. Steuer ( 1992); G tgan re ( 199 3a); Rolland and Gibson ( 1995). Introduction 48. This i:s borne our by insricurions such as rhe National Research Agenda for Virtual Reality, supported by ARPA, the A ir Force Oflice for Scientific Research, Army Research Lab, Armscrong Lab. NASA, NSF, NSA, and so on. ln L999 alone, several dozen inrernarional congresses were held on chis subject. -19. When Jaron Lanier coined the rerm iu 1989, it was also an arrempr co combine diverse areas of research on rhe human-computer interface wirh different labels wirh uwpian dreams in one, albeit paradoxical, catch phrase wirh a srrong popular appeal. 50. On rhe concept of "virrual" in hiscory and philosophy, see Wolfgang Welsch, "Virrual Anyway?" ar ( hrq, :www.uni-jcna.de/welsch/papers/virrual_ anyway.hrm). 5 I. The metaphor of rhe mirror, ｡Ｎｾ＠ used by Esposico, docs noc adequately ex- press che phenomenon of rhe virrual, which can also comprise elements of the im- possible (under natural law), rhe funrasric, and rhe awesome; see Esposito (1995, 1998). 52. Baudelaire (1899). 53. See Wulf Halbach, "Virtual Real ities, Cyberspace unci Offenrlichkeiten," pp. 1681F. in Kmpp er al. 0997). 54. Lucian's art of description succeeded in gerring images co appear before rhe inner eye of his listeners. fn chis connection, rhe section De Domo is exemplary, where the listeners were raken imo a ricl1ly furnished hall; see lucian (1913), pp. 176ff. In Schonberger's opinion, chis effect also demonstrates rhe "rreal mean- ing of Philosrrncos' rherorlc ... ro transport rhe observer w another sphere of existence by communicating ro him d1e entire effect, the coral impression, of rhe image." Schonberger ( 1995), p. 17 1. 55. See Recki (1991), p. 117. 56. Goszronyi (1976), p. 959. 57. Gibson (1990). Chapter 1 58. Marcos Novak has g1ven one of rhe most compact sum manes of rhe vision of cyberspace: Cyberspace IS a completely spac1ailzed visua!Jz:mon of all information processmg systems, nlon,R pathworks prov1ded b}' present and future communications ncr- works, enabling full coprescncc and incerncr ion of multiple users, allowing input and output from and to the full human sensorium, permitting sunularions of real and vircual realities, remote dnca collecrion and control through relepresence, and coral inregranon and mcercommumcanon with a full range of 1nrelilgenr products and env1ronmenrs in real space. Cyberspace involves a reversal of rhe currem mode of inreraCCJon with computerized informacion. Ar present such informacion is ex- ternal co us. The idea of cyberspace subverts chat relation; we arc now wirhin in- formacion. In order co do so wc ourselves must be reduced to bns, rcpresemed m the system, .1nd m che process become mforma(lon anew. Cyberspace offers tht opporcuniry of maximizing the benefits of scparntmg darn, infc>rmacion, and form, a separation m:1dc possible by digital technology. By reducing selves, objects, nnd processes to che same underl)•ing ground lero represenrarion as binary screams, C)•berspace permits us co uncov(·r previously inv1s1ble relations simply by modify mg rhc normal mapping from daca to rep rc)cnration. (Marcos Novak. '"liqu1d architecmres in cyberspace," in Benedikt 1991, p. 225) 59. Neumayer (196-1), p. 13. 60. Ib1d 61. Sec Fisher and Warson ( 1988). 62. Welsch 0995). 63. On the dissolution or real icy, see VatCIOlO (1998). 64. On chc mocif of landscapes, see Barsch-Supan (1967). lntroduclion Subject Index Acrors, 115. 155 "As 1f," 17, 252 Advanced Technology Research t\spcn-Aim•Jcllla/J (Naimark), 244 Jnsciruce (ATR), 175 A ran, 167, 2114 Aerial pcrspccrive, 32 Aura, 127 Aesrhecic pleasure, 16, 17 Aurhorit Subject Index T3rllfle of Sedan, The (\'(Ierner) (com.) Catholic Church. See Christian church sccaccgy and work of rhe panoramisr, CAVE (Cave Auromacic Virrual 11 3-118 Environment), 3, 4, l8n1, 23 7, Banle of 1'(/arerloo, Tbe (R. Barker), 91 238,245,247,276-278,314 Batrles, panoramas of, 65, 69, 91, Ceiling panoramas, Baroque, 32, 46- 116-118. Sec tdso Btlltle of Seda !I, 52 Tbe; Panorama(s), exegeres of rhe; Cencer for Advanced Visual Scudies Sedan panorama corunda (CAVS), 175 Be Now Htre (Naimark), 242-243, Cenrre for d1e Advanced Inquiry jn the 245 lnreracrive Arts (CAiiA), 12, Bibbienas, 50, 51 21 n36, 176, 197 Bible, 37. See aiSfl Jerusalem Cbambre t/11 ｃ･ｾｦ＠ (Chamber of the Scag), Bild, 279 33-37 Bioinformacics. See A-Life Cbmge of ｴ｢ｾ＠ Cm,tth)', The (von Body, overcoming rhe, 284 Werner), I t 7 Body of \'(/arer, A (Sermon), 275-276 Christian church, 32-33, 36, 45-46, Bologna, 50 49-51 Boxes, peep-show, 50-52 Church cei lings, 50 Brain inrerface, 164 Cinema, 144, 146-161 Buddha smrues, 242 "expanded," 164 Byzancine period, 32 Cinema of chc Fumrc, 15 7 CincmaScope, 157, 158 Calirornia Dream, 168-169 CineorrJJIIa, 147-148 Calt:my (Ferrari), 42-44 Cinerama, 155-157 Camera Iucida, 115 Circular cinema, 155-156, 159-160 Camera obscura, 53-54 Circular (360°) images, 14l. Sec ｲｾｬｳｯ＠ Carnegie Mellon Unjvcrsiry, 174 lUusion spaces, 360°; Place R!lln· Cachode ray rube, 206 Circular painrings, 56, 110 Subject Index Closed circuit, 206 Daagroph, 115 Colleccave unconSCious, 221, 229, ｄｾｴｾｬｵｧｬｬ｣＠ ll'ltb the Knmd101ic SIJ/ttb 26Jn34 (0\'(ITKS), 213-217 Compurer(s). ｜Ｈｾ＠ 11/sQ spcofir topics Dag1tal art, 249-250, 298. Stt tt!JO as handtool111. thmkmol, 255-257 Virrual arr relation to humans, 161-166, 221, D•g•ral ｩｭ｡ｾＺ･ｲｹＬ＠ 248-251, 326 )50 Daoramas, 126 "ultimate computer display,·· 162 "Dispersed body," 27H "ulnmare·· unum widt, tn rhe am•tge, ｄ｡ｾｲ｡ｮ｣･Ｌ＠ 286 l Subject Index f-ranco-Prussian War of 1870-187 1, I leaven, 46-19 91-93, I 03. Se, all!! Baflle ofS!'llan, "Hindusran" panomma wallpaper, 61 Tbe Holy Moll Ill ttl ｜ｬｴｾｭＯＱＢＬ＠ The (Bord ig:1), Frescoes, 5, 6, R, 13, 25, 27, 29, :B, 41-42 35-39. i2, j l, 46. 49. 53. 298, Home oftbe Bmm Sto.t 1{ Btrlin, ｔｨｾ＠ 341' 349 (Fleischmann ami Strauss), 218- flllllmlllll. I Hl I 50 222,224,225,228- 231,245, f-ururisr Cincm.1 Manifesto of 1916 247, 271 (Marwccti), 144 l/omo 11/(/em, 34 5 r:ururisr stage, pnlydimensional, 14tl, llorizonral view, I I I , I 14 145 Human Inrcrf.1ce Technology Lab o-nn. 167 GttMpagoJ (St ms), 3 1.2- 313 llyperrealism, 275 Games, artful, )()6, 307 Generic arr, 297- ｾＰＰＬ＠ 327. Su a!JI! II - ldolarry, 32 Vnlve lllusion{s), 342. Sfc liiJo Trompe l'oeil; Genettc cngtnct•nng, 226, 326- UH Jpeajic topto German Retch, 92 of being in ptcture (I« lmmerstvc Germany, 91 St< aiJo Sc< tt!so B,m/c 1{ (image) strarc:gtes: Observer) Sedan, Tht in cinema, 116, 151-152 GeJamtkm/Jiuvk, 126 classic function of, 17 GPP K-9, 327. Ｌ ｗｾ＠ media for, 14 I Global darn ntrworks, 219, 3tl5 mystery, ｭ｡ｾｩ｣Ｌ＠ and pictorial, 32 Glove, tlaca, 167 power of, 10 Tb< Bflllle ofSedan, 96- God ,mtf Go/em (Wiener). 283 98 Graphics tnrerf.1ccs, computer, 166. St< represenrartvts of spanal, 49 alro OsmoJt Illusionism, [<1- IH, 45, 119, 111- Graphics programs, 162, 256-257 1.22. See alw Trompe l'oei l Graphic user tnrcrf:•ce (GUI), 256 Illusion spaces, 5. 6, 8. 16, 340. St't: Great f-rieze tn rhe Villa dei Mtstcri ar 11/so Panorama(s) Pompeii, 25 360 . 59. 62, ) iO GulfWar, 172 Jmage(s). 'it', flf.rt, rp,·afic topics Gunfire, 240. St< ,i/Jo Batdes "arriscic," II evoluuon of, ｾｏｴｩ Ｍ ＩＰＷ＠ I Iabiruarion, 152 hisrory or. 279 "Happenmg," 205 metamorphosis of <:onc:ept, 7 Head-mounrc:tl tltsplay ＨｾｦｦｩＩＬ＠ 16.t nature and ｭ･［ｬｮｵ ｾ［＠ of, 16, 105, 195, 196, 198.206.245.247, 279 251 poles of mcamng. 1-i Headrracking, 16,) science of che, 11 - 13 Subjecl Index Image(s) (cone.) Inccncion generacor, 310 360° (see Circular (360°) 1magcs; I nee merion (between observer and rllus10n spaces, ｾＶＰＧ＠ ) medium), 3, 10, II, I 10, 161- virrual reality's dynamic, 248-254 163, !66, 173-175, 198-200, Image represenrarion, 12 205-207,2 13,216,229,233, Image spaces, 5, 143. Set n/$0 lllusion 234,251,252,276,278,287, spaces 298, 304. 306, 308, 31 -1, 34 3. Image wall, 45 344, 346, 3'18, 350 !MAX (Image Maximization), 160- defined, II 0 161, 182n66 new uprions/forms of, 9, 218 "Jmmersanrs," 198, 199. ｓ･ｾ＠ ｴｾｬｲＡｬ＠ lnceraccive med1a, 7, R Observer illlerttrtit•.: Plam Gmu'/1/g (Sommert•r Immcrmm, 6-7, 13-18, 39, 108, and Mig nonneau), 298-299 119, 122, 198, 298, 339-340, InrerCommunicanon Cencer (ICC), 348-349 300 10 The Bttllle ufSrdtm, II 0 lncerface(s), 3, 10, 167, ! 69, 209, m biblical Jerusalem, ·11-46 214, 2 18, 219, 232, 233. 210, in cinema, 146, 15 1-152 252, 256, 271, 276, 301, 307. Sc.: concept and definmon of, 126, tt!so Gmphics incerf."lces 244 beam. 16·1 depriving subjecr the righc of hard- and sofrware, 252, 291, 344 decision, I I 0 immersivc computer, 165 llegedues and, 2.B incUirivc, 15, 216 inregrauon of virtUal rcaliry inco narural, 15,201-20.3, 2•17, 253, hisrory of, 7 297, 298, 303, 344 (sl'c also Osmost•) OJIIIOSc and, 199-200 polysensory, 287, 350 public space, 244 suggestive pmcncial, 198-202 tclcpresence and, 276-278 nvo-dimensional mouse, 167 111 \'(/or/d Skin, 240 lncerlace box, 'H 4 Immersive computer interfaces, 165 lnrerlace dcsign(s), 3. 7, J73, 175, Immers1ve elfecc, }I 176. 218, 308, 3'11 Immersivc (image) space(s), 126. 241- lncernation.tl Socit:£}' for rhe Arcs, 242 Sciences, anti ｔ･｣ｨｮｯｴｯｾＺＺｹ＠ (lSAST), v1rrual, 13, 200 IX-X lmmersi ve (image) srracegies, n. 48 lncernacional Symposium on Electronic of class1cal world, 25-3 ｾ＠ Arr ()SEA), 2 19 lmpnmion, solei/ let•ttnt (Monee), 1-13 lncernet, 15, ＲＵｾＭＲＵＴＮ＠ 257,272, Impress10nism, 130n24 290 lnsrirur de Fmnce, 64, 65, 14 1 "lncegrariun" of observer, 29 Jerusalem, biblical, 41-46 Subject- Index Knowbotic Research (RK +cF), 213- Mind-body dualism, 278 2 17 Mirrors, 280 Knowbots (knowledge robots), 2 J 3, Modern art, 7 214, 267 Modernism, I 00, I 10n24 Moore's Law, 170 "La narure a coup d'oeil," 56 Morphogenesis, mathemancal, 318 Ltmdirape Room 111 Drake/owe Hall Movemenr, impression of, 108 (Sand by), 55 t\lm·m11ring Fie!t/s (fle1schmann and Landscapes, 32 35, 39, 54-56, 115 Srrauss), 24 5 illusionistic, 56-60 Music. See Opera; Sound uniry and uniformity, 32 Myrhs, 279, 146 Welsh, 5<1, 57 Language, v1sual, 235 Napoleomc \XI ars, 91 ut Plissm·, riN T e.\'h (Ascon), 27 2 NASA, 167 Leicester Square, 58 Narure and nawral scit:nces, 3 7, 57, Le Prmorrl!llrt de In Batnille de Chmnpigny 204,271-272,324,325 (Rob1da), I 08, I 09 Nal'c of Sant'lgnauo, The (Pozzo), 46, Life 47 concept of, ｾ＠ I 8 Neue Nacionalgalerie (New Nanonal power over, U9 Gallery), 219-220 Life forms, arrilicial. See A-v,ft,e Light and lighting methods, 3 J, 59, "Objecrilicarion of vit:w,'' 40 97, Ill, 206 Observation, 17 in cinema, 152 Observer. 51'< also Computer(s), London. Su England "ulnmate" un1on w1rh; lmmers1on Lol'fl H(//a'J Vntm') anti Tbe Glurium des1re to be in p1cture, 141 First of}tm e (R. Barker), 91 effect on medium, 110 in rhe image, 174 Marhemarical morphogenesis, 3 18 installed in ｰ｡ｮｯｲ＼ｾｭ｡Ｌ＠ 57 Media an, 3-1, 10 "mtegranon" of, 29 Media evolution, arr and, 173-176 posicion of ideal, 63 Media srrareg)', 7 relocared 10 rhe irn OJIIIQJc Subject Index Sc1ence and ilrt, U 1-325 "Srare pain[lng," 112 Second Sryle of Pompeii, 25 Stereokino, 1St!, 155 Sedan panorama rorunda, 122-127. See Stereopticon, 14 7 also Bailie 11f Srrlrm, The Stereoscope, 14 I 1nterior, 97 ＼ｾ｣ｨｲｯｭ｡ｲｩ｣Ｌ＠ l i2 Selection (of rhe fittest), 312-3 I 3, StereoscopiC cmema, IS4-155 326, 329-330. See also Evolution StereoscopiC television, 157, 158 Seleccive percepnon and active Stoic philosophers, 222-223 selection, I I I Suggestion, power of, in Tbe B"ftle of Self-perceptiOn Stage and audience, union of, 144 Telet1iett•, 153 Subject Index Television, 157, 158 Virtual :m. See ｴｾｬｳｯ＠ specific topics Telexperi ence, 287, 290 concept of "rhe work" in processual TermViJWI, 289 or, 204-207 Theater, 50, 145-146, 18 1n52 and media evoluuon, 173-176 virtual (ret Mellllll')' Tbtatfr VR) narure of, 3 Three-dimensional cinema, 151, 153, types of, 3 154. See also CinemaScope Virrual images. Sre Virtual rcaliry(ies), Three-d1mensional compurer images, dynam1c images 163 Virtual image spaces, 5, 167 Three-dimensional 1mages, 3, 15, 14. Virtual rcalicy(ies), 6, 7, 15. 169, 200, See ,,/w Deprh; specific topics 229-231 Tu:n'a, 316-318 discovery, 3-5 Time and space, umry of, 27, 31 dynam•c •mages, 248-254 "Toralizarion," 3 39-340, 349 highways and byways co, 161-168 Touch, user's sense of, 275 and ItS mdirary and mdusrrial Tour de Ia Gare-Robe, 35 conrexr, 169 173 Tnl(es (Penny). 276-278. 290 Virtual sp;Ke, immersive. See Trances, 26-27 lmmersive (im:•ge) space(s), vmual Transgenit arc, 326-330 V1sualizarion models, 216 "Traveling Panoram•sr, The" Visualltacion porenria.J of v1rrua l (cartoons), 66 anworks, 9 Trompe l'oeil, 15 16, 48, 62 VMRL (v1rrual reality modeling T_Vision, 288 la nguage), 245, 246, 254, 283 VPL Research, 167 Uimp11m (Kac), 271-272 Ultlll/11 llt1t1n (Piewe), 2}'1 236 \XIa llpapcr, panomma-srylc, 60, 61 Urbino, 37 \XIar. Set ,J!JI) Bartles User interface. Srt I nrerface porcray••ls of, I I 1- 112 Uropias and urop1an visions, 281, 283, \XIarer lll1cs panomma (Moner), I 12 285,288,290,291,339,35 1 Weapons, 239. St·c (//so Bacrlcs Web. St.: lnrerncr Vrra iron, I 12 \XIhearsrone, ChMies, 14 I VERBARIUM, 119, 320 \XIindow, metaphor of, ｾ＠ 7, 162 Vmsnmlt11dme, 4 5 "Work" of arr, 204-207 \lideoplrtrc (Krueger), 166 \XIorld Exhibition, L47- ltl9 VIlla dei Misreri, 25-28, 32, 112 W'orld Skill (Benayoun), 2.H-240 Vd la Farnesina, 40 \XIorld \XIide \XIeb. See lnrcrner VIlla Livi.1 ar Primaporra, 29-31 Worship of images, 32-33 \1/l·tllol Anrwu Et.>111: Temple of Horm (Loeffier), 171 ZKM, 176,241, 313 Subject Index new media I art mmersion Although many people view virtual reality as a totally new •1n his highly original book Grau argues that artists have phenomenon, it has its foundations in an unrecognized been using a variety of techniques to immerse observers history of immersive images. Indeed. the search for illu- within lheir works for ｭｩｬｬ･ｮｮｩ｡ｾＭｎ｡ｴｵｲ･＠ sionary visual space can be traced back to antiquity. In this •oliver Grau has given us one of the more fascinating book Oliver Grau shows how virtual art fits into the art works this year. A must on your bookshelf, if you are inter- history of illusion and immersion. He describes the ested in a aeachronic view of visual media and ｡ｾ＠ metamorphosis of the concepts of art and the image and -European Photography relates those concepts to interactive art. interface design, agents, telepresence, and image evolution Grau retells art •erau traces the lineage of virtual reality as far back as the history as mecfea history, helping us to understand the frescoes of a villa in Pompeti. Many illustrations ampfdy phenomenon of virtual reality beyond the hype. the argument•-Sciertific American. Book of the Month Grau shows how each epoch used the technical means •Grau has aeated a IIOiume that will likely be used as a available to produce maximum illusion. He discusses fres- canonical text in the study of virtual reality for some years coes, Renaissance and Baroque illusion spaces. and to come.•-Patrick Lichty, Intelligent Agent panoramas, which were the most developed form of illu- •oismiss Oliver Grau's new book ••• and you'll miss a sion achieved through trad"ltional methods of painting and great read.... Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion the mass image mecf1Wl1 before film. Through a detailed puts forth the sort of provocative insights that any analysis of perhaps the most important German panorama. Newromoncer fan can ｡ｰｰｲ･､｡ｴｾ＠ Anton von Werner's 1883 The Battle of Sedon, Grau shows -Chris Baker, Wired how immersion produced emotional responses. He traces immersive dnema through Cinerama, Sensorama, Expanded Cinema. 3-0, Omnimax and IMAX. and the head-mounted display with its military origins. He also examines those characteristics of virtual reality that distin- guish it from earlier forms of illusionary art. Grau offers not just a history of illusionary space but also a theoretical 0-262-57223-0 framework for analyzing its phenomenologies. functions, 978-0-262-57223-1 and strategies throughout history and into the future. Oliver Grau is Lecturer in Art History at Humboldt Universitat Berlin, Associate Professor at the Kunst 11 111 111111 111111111 1111 llillijllllijlll Universitat Linz. and leader of the German Science 9 780262 572231 Foundation's project on immersive art.