Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in the School of Arts, Dr Paula Gortázar, highlights shifts in technology that are changing how viewers experience photography in an article for the Italian magazine Il Giornale Dell'arte.
In the article Dr Gortázar explains the differences between augmented reality (AR), a mixed-reality technology which superimposes computer-generated images on top of a physical picture of the material world, and virtual reality (VR), which builds a completely virtual world or environment. These technologies are increasingly used by galleries and museums to display photographic images.
She writes: “In the realm of photography and visual art, several practitioners have adopted extended reality as a means of showing their own work and inviting the audience to interact with it.” These include artists like Keiken and Gabriel Massans, whose work has been shown at the Photographer’s Gallery, and Nella Piatek.
Dr Gortázar suggests that by using AR technologies for image display, artists can break with some of the limitations of the physical world, although she also notes that this technology can pose significant barriers because of the need for external devices, such as tablets or smartphones, to visualise the work. For its part, VR technology turns the perception of artworks into a fully immersive experience, thus providing the illusion of physically accessing the image space, which opens up the possibilities for visual narrative.
She concludes: “The frameworks for the production and distribution of still images are shifting at an astonishing speed. From new forms of image capture to the depiction of virtual subjects and extended reality spaces where photographs are being shown in an expanded manner, there is an evident shift of paradigm both for artists and their public, which is clearly stimulating the production of innovative work. Just as it occurred with avant-garde tendencies during the early 20th Century, technology is, once again, influencing the art agenda, propelling creative expressions into a dynamic realm where physical and virtual mediums intertwine to redefine artistic boundaries and engage audiences in unprecedented ways.”
These technologies are the focus of the University’s newly launched Expanded Photography MA, which embraces photography as an expanded field and offers students the opportunity to develop new expertise in image literacy and technology.
Read the article Screen Wonders: Extended Reality, Photography and the Experience Economy on the Il Giornale Dell'arte website.
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