The original VR art gallery


 

http://www.photomoma.org

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We hope to have a special exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in the future. Some of our ideas include:

I. A kiosk where users can upload (via wifi, bluetooth, email or card reader) their photos. Once the photos are uploaded, they are immediate displayed on a wall in the MoMA for everyone to see, thus becoming art. This could potentially be real-time.

II. Print outs of each work of art (e.g., all photographs of Warhol’s “Soup Cans” printed up and stuck to the wall) exemplifying the idea that your photograph is also a work of art.

III. A definitive online gallery categorizing every work of art and how it was experienced by each visiting photographer.

IV. A book contrasting how each photographer interacts with the art. Highlights may include the examination of why each photograph was taken (e.g., to remember the art, to record a personal visit or memory, to create new art from existing art.)

V. A moving picture of all compiled photographs pieced together as a virtual walk through of the museum. This could be on a large interactive touchscreen television or even controlled with eye detection software. This could potentially use a virtual 3D version of the Museum (e.g. simulacrum).

We encourage your suggestions, as the entire MoMA Project represents the collective knowledge and spirit of the community.

mailto: info@photomoma.org

 


 

original beta site

original flickr group

PRESS — Flickr: “A Case Study Part 2–The MoMA”

PRESS — “The MoMA Project and the Transformation of the Art Museum Experience”

 


Why do people visit art museums?
To have an authentic relationship with the work, one that consists of
• contemplating its meaning
• engaging the artist through the art
• seeing specific details of the art (e.g. brushstrokes)
• to experience the “aura” of the original work, as described by Walter Benjamin

What is the role of the reproduction?
A reproduction can provide a sense of personal association with a work of art—almost to the point of appropriation

This sense of association, however, is not dependent on the accuracy of a reproduction—a quality which is often eschewed entirely in favor of other elements (e.g. posing with a work of art).

The primary factor involved in this relationship is ancillary aura.

What is ancillary aura?
Ancillary aura describes the uniqueness of a reproduction

Affecting qualities:
• Who made the reproduction?
(an unknown person or a known person?)
• How many copies of the reproductions are there?
(is this a unique reproduction or a mass reproduction?)
• How close to the original is the reproduction?
(is this a direct reproduction or possibly a reproduction of a reproduction?)
• How is it connected to the viewer?
(did the viewer create it or simply buy it?)

Since digital photography is nearing a point of uniform accuracy, technically speaking, the value of ancillary aura increases for personal photographers.

Why take a photograph of artwork?
A photograph of a work of art is imbued with ancillary aura
• It is in direct proximity to the original aura
• The photographer is directly involved in its production—a factor augmented by personal historicity and capturing the memory