Blog/News

Is the Future of Viewing Art Going Virtual?

Before being interviewed for RAAC's virtual art exhibition.

This involved staging rather than showing the usual unattractive clutter of a working studio. 

Articulate the main challenges--physical, intellectual, emotional- to you (the artist) faced in making this very difficult transition? 

Of course the flip side is how the consumer/viewer is supposed to negotiate this virtual experience against a chorus about how there is no substitute for the real thing. For instance, texture. Or the beautiful sheen of certain surface treatments. The amazing sparkle in some Van Goghs only visible in front of the paintings. The intricacies of brush strokes. Not that we can ever replicate the 3D experience, but how can someone who turns on your video glean as much information as possible from that virtual experience?  And are there other technologies that could help? Like how customers can hear excerpts from DVDs by pushing a button? That could customize the experience.

  Sidney Oliver

Sid, right now in the midst of a pandemic it is difficult for me to think that everything will go back to the way it was. Once a vaccine is available or a miracle occurs and COVID-19 is no longer a fear, do you think we can erase from our minds those demonstrations of how a cough or a sneeze is spread across an airplane, a restaurant, or a crowded room?

The photograph above is from the 2019 Fall Art Tour in my studio.

Is anyone going to be comfortable being in such a situation such as this henceforth?

"I always like them more in person. It’s about the texture."

The above quotation is from my framer, Sherrie Fulcher Schamburg, when asked if my paintings look different in person from what she sees online.

With that in mind, how does one convince a viewer that what they are seeing virtually is close enough to the actual painting so that the viewer will not feel short-changed?

As an experiment, click on this link for the National Gallery of Art Collection Search. Type in your favorite artist and click Images Only. Once the images pop up, scroll down until you find an image you really like, and then click on Zoom. Click on Zoom again until you've reached the end. This feature gives you something that you cannot get even if you stood in front of the painting because you wouldn't be allowed to get this close. Therefore, going virtual can work if the innovators are permitted to innovate.

In an effort to duplicate the experience of virtually zooming in on a painting at the National Gallery, I mounted my iPhone on a tripod and took a video of Rock Around the Blue Ridge, a 36X36" Oil on Ampersand's cradled Gessobord. The viewer is subject to where the camera moves, but the viewer is also capable of pausing at any point in time on the video. In the future I might do more of this especially with works that are more heavily textured.

We are just learning about virtual art exhibitions. RAAC (Rappahannock Association for Arts & Community) is putting on a series of them. Shown are works in both a 2 and 3 dimensional format. The viewer can get a feel for walking around a gallery while being able to zoom in and out. The paintings are shown in proximity to each other, so a 36X36" reads as a larger painting as opposed to an 8X8." I participated in the first effort, the May 2020 show. An artist meet & greet is held with each show. The Meet the Artist recordings are below with my clip at the top.

I will add that it was a learning experience for all. The recording didn't work for the live event, so we met again for a reshoot. I don't know about the others, but my answers varied and I doubt I repeated all that much. During the live event I had a glitch with Zoom and was forced to race into town to the theatre where a few others were recording. I was scheduled to go first and ended up somewhere in the middle of the interviews.  For the reshoot, I was able to re-stage my studio and properly use Zoom. That being said, one is always fearful of losing a connection especially in our rural area.

I find I'm using video much more and it's an interesting experience to stretch creativity. Even though I made about 3/4 long cat videos back during the winter of 2005, way before they became popular, I'm having to learn new technology. With the use of an iPhone and iMovie, making videos is much easier, but learning the terminology still requires some effort.

Check out the Videos and Twelve Acre Work pages on this website to see other videos I've made and stay tuned for more. I don't want them to take over from painting, but they are a way to show the inspiration that surrounds my studio.

Another option for the painter is to put on an individual exhibition using these wonderful 2 and 3 dimensional options we have discovered. I think it's important that any exhibition have some way of showing size differences so that one painting will not read larger or smaller than it is in reality.

A huge advantage of these virtual showings is that the artist is able to reach out to far more people than those who only can attend in person as the audience for a virtual exhibition is world wide. Attempting to duplicate a true gallery feel is extremely beneficial to such an endeavor.

I'm for trying anything and everything in an effort to go virtual. Who knows what will be discovered in a way to present art to all?

In the meantime, you the viewer can enjoy the process along with the artist! We are all learning this together.

  Ruthie Windsor-Mann

This post is part of a series of Q & As between Ruthie Windsor-Mann and Sidney Oliver. 

We invite the reader to join in with other questions in the comments section. This needs to be interactive in order to work.

All photographs are by Ruthie Windsor-Mann unless otherwise credited.

Copyright 2020 Ruthie Windsor-Mann All Rights Reserved