Cinematic Surrealism of the Interactive Virtual Space

Abstract

Surrealism has been a revolutionary art movement since the early 1920s. It transcended the boundaries of previous art movements by visualizing the uncanny subconscious mind and dream. Surrealism was also very influential in the development of cinema through the creative collaboration of legendary artist Salvador Dali and cinema masters such as Luis Bunuel, Alfred Hitchcock, and Walt Disney. Standing on the shoulders of these giants, this 4D project built on this collaborative tradition between surreal arts and cinematic arts by adding digital arts into this fusion of cinematic surrealism. Through the use of latest VR digital technology, this project expanded the cinematic experience from the 2D screen into a 3D environment with interactivity (3 + 1D) and invited users to be “active creative dreamers” in a virtual dream designed in the style of Salvador Dali with reference to the works of Rene Magritte. “Passively active” interactivity was introduced in the digital construction of Magritte’s dream world. This non-empirical chapter discusses the creative concepts and theories of visual perception that informed this project and explores the implications of this digital treatment of cinematic surrealism and the digital fusion between art and technology.