Fluid space: Digitisation of cultural heritage and its media dissemination

Abstract

From the mechanical reproduction outlined by Benjamin to the virtual reality depicted by Baudrillard. With the advent of the information society and the digital age, the dissemination of cultural heritage is gradually moving away from the traditional face-to-face embodied presence toward digital communication that transcends the limits of space and time. Our visual experience has also shifted from the traditional creation and reception of visual images to the invention and immersion in new worlds of spectacle. Virtual reality is a representative new technology in the digital media era, which not only realises the digital simulation of cultural heritage from physical space to cyberspace but also incorporates the characteristics of virtual visual culture into it, freeing heritage sites from the inherent material bulkiness and becoming a lighter, more fluid space, releasing the unlimited possibilities of spectacle simulation. Virtual reality technology has not only reshaped the technology of image viewing and production, but also the technology of image dissemination. Taking cultural heritage sites as an example, this paper will explain the role and impact of virtual technology on the digitisation of cultural heritage and its media dissemination from three aspects: interactivity, spatial perception and cultural value presentation. Based on the analysis above, the involvement of virtual reality in the digitalization of cultural heritage has expanded the types of images in visual culture. Besides pictures, video and scene, it may offer a potential dimension in the quadrants of dynamic and 3D.