Slovenian Virtual Gallery on the Internet

The Slovenian Virtual Gallery (SVG) is a World Wide Web based multimedia collection of pictures, text, clickable-maps and video clips presenting Slovenian fine art from the gothic period up to the present days. Part of SVG is a virtual gallery space where pictures hang on the walls while another part is devoted to current exhibitions of selected Slovenian art galleries. The first version of this application was developed in the first half of 1995. It was based on a file system for storing all the data and custom developed software for search, automatic generation of HTML documents, scaling of pictures and remote management of the system. Due to the fast development of Web related tools a new version of SVG was developed in 1997 based on object-oriented relational database server technology. Both implementations are presented and compared in this article with issues related to the transion between the two versions. At the end, we will also discuss some extensions to SVG. We will present the GUI (Graphical User Interface) developed specially for presentation of current exhibitions over the Web which is based on GlobalView panoramic navigation extension to developed Internet Video Server (IVS). And since SVG operates with a lot of image data, we will confront with the problem of Image Content Retrieval

Updating the art history curriculum: incorporating virtual and augmented reality technologies to improve interactivity and engagement

Master's Project (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017This project investigates how the art history curricula in higher education can borrow from and incorporate emerging technologies currently being used in art museums. Many art museums are using augmented reality and virtual reality technologies to transform their visitors' experiences into experiences that are interactive and engaging. Art museums have historically offered static visitor experiences, which have been mirrored in the study of art. This project explores the current state of the art history classroom in higher education, which is historically a teacher-centered learning environment and the learning effects of that environment. The project then looks at how art museums are creating visitor-centered learning environments; specifically looking at how they are using reality technologies (virtual and augmented) to transition into digitally interactive learning environments that support various learning theories. Lastly, the project examines the learning benefits of such tools to see what could (and should) be implemented into the art history curricula at the higher education level and provides a sample section of a curriculum demonstrating what that implementation could look like. Art and art history are a crucial part of our culture and being able to successfully engage with it and learn from it enables the spread of our culture through digital means and of digital culture

My Physical-Digital Self: Exploring the Detrimental Effects of the Metaverse on Relationship & Identity Development

The metaverse, which is the next iteration of the internet--an immersive, virtual world--poses a threat to the essential human need for healthy relationship and identity development. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of isolation and virtual socialization led many to prefer physical experiences, despite society’s overall dependency on and connectedness to the internet and technological devices. Framed by Maslow’s hierarchy of human psychological needs, Turkle’s analysis of the human relationship to earlier forms of virtual reality, and Foucault’s principles of caring for and knowing the self, this paper argues that the metaverse will be detrimental towards developing participant’s relationship and identity, because of its inability to satisfy needs for substantial relationships, in comparison to physical experiences, and because of its production of a virtual self that inhibits self-actualization. The analysis of the major players in the origins, the present-day, and the future of the metaverse, such as Second Life, The Sims, Fortnite, Meta (formerly Facebook), Microsoft, Unity, and Decentraland, reveals that these companies are not prioritizing and facilitating healthy relationship and identity development in their metaverse strategies. My gallery installation project, My Physical-Digital Self, helps conclude the paper, serving as an artistic expression and manifestation of the ideas explored in this paper. Despite the hype and innovations around the metaverse, this technology is at risk of replicating the harmful effects of virtual engagement on relationship and identity development, which already existed and were especially realized as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

Millennial cultural consumers : Co-creating value through brand communities

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise millennial cultural consumers (MCCs) to bring together strands of consumer theory with branding theory to consider how to attract and retain younger audiences in arts organisations. With that the authors single out for attention how 'brand community' theory might apply.This paper contributes to the knowledge development of such concepts as value and brand communities. It also provides an explanation of these concepts connecting academic thought on value with pressing management challenges for arts organisations, suggesting ways to apply brand community thinking to innovatively conceptualised MCCs.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES and KEN OKIISHI: The Evolution and Representation of Experience

The two artists Ken Okiishi and Felix Gonzalez-Torres--though separated by a generation--both use physical objects to signify the loss of human presence, connection or connections. Both instill meaning into familiar physical objects such as candy, clocks, or television screens, and both are able to provoke feelings associated with the kinds of presence objects can represent – without that actual presence. Gonzalez-Torres worked during a time when digital technology was not yet an existent medium, while Okiishi worked during a time in which the technological world and its social effects are central to his work and message. In fact, a central point of his work gesture/data is to replicate our dependent relationship with technology and how people interact with the virtual world. This world is only available by viewing through a screen; it is unreachable, unlike the tangible objects, that we can physically feel, via which Gonzalez-Torres’ works often confronted viewers. These two artists demonstrate stark, pivotal generational differences: a world and society before technology, art before digital technology (Gonzalez-Torres), and the effects and experiences of art in a world engulfed by such technology entirely (Okiishi). One relies on physical interaction, and the other responds and relays the effects of infinite, intangible spectacles. Both speak to the importance and meaning of presence, or being, and what part that presence or absence plays in art experience during these juxtaposing time periods: before and after the Internet. In his 1967 book The Society of the Spectacle, French theorist Guy Debord wrote, “in societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation”.[1] Gonzalez-Torres’ and Okiishi’s artworks both could be said to exemplify this idea of evolution and generational transformation, but in Okiishi’s work, there is an increased disconnection, to the point that everything may be mere representation. This raises the question: has art changed with technology? Have we lost actual experience to mere representation? [1]Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. Buchet-Chastel, 196

Narrative approaches to design multi-screen augmented reality experiences

This paper explores how traditional narrative language used in film and theatre can be adapted to create interactivity and a greater sense of presence in the virtual heritage environment. It focuses on the fundamental principles of narrative required to create immersion and presence and investigates methods of embedding intangible social histories into these environments. These issues are explored in a case study of Greens Mill in the 1830’s, interweaving the story of the reform bill riots in Nottingham with the life of George Green, mathematician and proprietor of the Mill

The Italian Art Market and the importance of communication strategies: from fairs to auction houses’ best practices

The Italian cultural industry is now marching on an innovative supply chain, whose main pattern consists in a new utility perception and consumption behaviours on the demand side and a strong vocation to invest in communication and public relations on the supply side. The content of this paper is an attempt to justify the emerging relevance of marketing strategies and investments in the Italian art market, referring to new incubators like art fairs – as concerns 2004’s interviews with art galleries - and to a modern and consistent approach to communication instruments evaluation for key competitors like auction houses. Angela Besan