Post 06 VR Experience in Tate Modern

Looking Into Modigliani's VR Studio

News Cover: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/modigliani/modigliani-vr-ochre-atelier

Some Thoughts

Museum is often understood as an exhibition of artifacts and information, but in fact it is also a place that give birth to storytelling -- where not only the story is the demonstration itself, but also gaps between artifacts are encouraging new way of telling a story. VR technology has the affordance that allows visitors change the point of view from an observer on the outside to the participant in the particular cultural or historical context.

Two affordances I found VR valuable in facilitating storytelling are 1) role-playing from 1st person point of view and 2) flexibility and individuality.

From a production angle, I think it must be a pain and wasteful process of constructing and re-constructing the physical exhibition site in order to recreate the context of the artifacts, which are the "gaps" that visitors tend to fill in in order to make sense of a collection of objects. For instance, it may be visually stunning to see a collection of Rembrandt's portrait painting while visitors with limited knowledge about the artist may wonder his creative process and his personal experience that contributes to his artist career. Currently, most of the art museum will use text panel or video to depict the artist's life. However, not every reader is at the same pace of information processing, and some might want to rewind to take a close look at his palette or clothes in the public-shown video clips but they can't.

Prying is a human nature, and I always find it true (this opinion was inspired by the French move "In the House"/"Dans la maison"). It is driven by curiosity and it is also a double-edged sword, and I think in this case, VR tech can satisfy Tate Modern visitors' "prying desire" by allowing them detect and observe inside an artist's studio and learn about him/her via the his/her working environment. Further, the concept of "room" is always critical in many other media works as a way to build a character or personality, and sometimes we can expect the actions and even personal value of the protagonist simply by looking at his/her office/bedroom decor.

*1) In the House Poster; Bedroom Design: 2) Sherlock Holmes; 3) Lolita (1997); 4) Amelie

Different from how movies contextualize the story, VR has a higher degree of flexibility and individuality, where visitors can explore the VR world at their own pace and even create their own interpretation more directly. Moreover, object itself might not be strong enough to describe its owner, but actions can. For example, a door itself is just an enterable object, but once we enter it, it becomes a story of transferring from one place to another. OR, if we shut the door, the story now is about blocking entrance between two spaces.

Oct 17, 2019