To the dismay of some, the concept of this art project is not about the impact of our carbon footprint on the ecosystem, nor the socio-economic, political conflict between power-brokers, policy makers and the global citizenry, where oppression and manipulation incite a frustrated populace to rise-up in protest. It could be interpreted as a visual allegory for "bla bla bla" with an emphasis on "bla bla bla"; however, the conceptual foundation is actually based upon the observation of a new sociological, psychological and philosophical paradigm where our perceived existence no longer requires a physical presence – a virtual persona has become sufficient.
(Or has it?)
Due to the advent and wide-spread usage of the Internet, email, texting, social
networking, webcasts, e-commerce, etc., our society has undertaken a
significant experiential shift away from physicality (physical reality)
to virtuality (virtual reality). The word virtual has
a somewhat conflicted connotation. It comes from the Latin vertus, which
means having a quality of high ethical ideals (virtue) but can also be
defined as something which is authentic, genuine, honest, truthful.
However, "virtual" is most often interpreted as being truth-like,
something that appears
to be true but is not quite true – a simulated form of that which is
authentic or true. The
word carries a sense that what is going on is less than completely
truthful.
Thus, virtual reality could be perceived as an oxymoron – it is
truth-like and
real in one sense but not completely truthful. Virtuality (virtual
reality) is a
state of being which is real-like; it’s not completely untruthful or
unreal, but it’s
not quite true or real either.
It is yet to be determined whether the long-term effects from immersion in virtuality will enhance or undermine our ability to formulate and maintain deep personal relationships, engage in significant social bonding or otherwise impact essential psychological and sociological skills.
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The artists participating in this project have chosen to explore this cultural phenomenon by visually revealing the extent to which technology, and it's recent manifestation - virtualiy, has replaced physicality; or by taking the position where our actual presence is necessary to satisfy our experiential needs and that physicality remains vital to a healthy sense of personal and social identity.
Gary A. Bibb
June 2012
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The following video is a PBS Frontline documentary entitled "Digital Nation" first aired Feb. 2010. It investigates the pros and cons of our new digital technology and virtual reality. It is one of many resources available for those interested in this topic. Total video time: approx. 90 min.
Click here to view - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
Click here to view - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
