Media Art Research Articles

Header/footer gallery: creating and sustaining an online only art gallery

The digital exhibition space called Header/Footer Gallery hosted by the nonprofit organization New Media Caucus web presence has presented numerous exhibitions highlighting innovative work by artists across new media art. Established in 2020, Header/Footer has invited curators to curate exhibitions that explored the themes of technological malfunction, the legacies of cyberfeminism in the twenty first century, and Afrofuturism. Since then, taking up the role as the official curator for Header/Footer Gallery, the New Media Caucus’ curator has created different exhibitions concentrating on inclusivity and the exposure of emerging artists through creative curatorial design strategies. For this paper, we take Header/Footer Gallery as a case study to analyze the development of virtual exhibition spaces, their histories, benefits, challenges and their futures. Taking Header/Footer Gallery as an example of a virtual space, we analyze its challenges including the promotion and dissemination of exhibitions and their digital engagement, despite the increase in accessibility of virtual galleries, as well as the challenges of archiving virtual exhibitions. We also examine the creative freedom in creating a virtual gallery from the ground up and in establishing and promoting inclusive practices that emphasize diversity.

Fungi as an Art Medium: The Study of the Art Medium of Philip Ross and Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi

This research aims to read the creative process carried out by bio-art artists who use fungi as a medium of character, namely Phillip Ross and Syaiful ‘Tepu’ Garibaldi and explore the potential values in their nature. New media art became an essential umbrella for non-conventional art genres related to other disciplines, such as ecology- based art, kinetic art, video art, bio-art, etc. An interdisciplinary approach that is no longer related to a single system but a synergy between fields of science to solve increasingly complex social and environmental problems. As a new genre, bio-art synergy art and science involving organic creation components. The use of animals, viruses, fungi, and plants is the differentiator that marks the formation of bio-art works. Research methods will be conducted with methodological approaches to art history, anthropology, and semiotics. The unusual process of fungi formation used as a medium of art and ecological issues became a powerful narrative that both artists generally raised. The synergy between art, science, and technology in the creation process is a new reference in the method of art creation, especially bio-art so that the process of fungi formation that is not commonly used as a medium of art and ecological issues related to it as a powerful narrative that the two artists generally raise becomes the main subject of study. Jamur sebagai Media Seni: Kajian Media Seni Philip Ross dan Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membaca proses kreatif yang dilakukan oleh seniman bio-art yang memanfaatkan fungi sebagai media kekaryaannya, yaitu Phillip Ross dan Syaiful ‘Tepu’ Garibaldi serta menggali potensi nilai-nilai yang ada dalam kekaryaannya.Seni media baru menjadi payung penting untuk genre seni non- konvensional yang terkait dengan disiplin ilmu lain, seperti seni berbasis ekologi, seni kinetik, seni video, bio-art, dll. Pendekatan interdisipliner yang tidak lagi terkait dengan pendekatan tunggal tetapi sinergi antara bidang sains untuk memecahkan masalah sosial dan lingkungan yang semakin kompleks. Sebagai genre baru, bio-art adalah sinergi antara seni dan sains yang melibatkan komponen penciptaan organik. Penggunaan hewan, virus, jamur, dan tumbuhan adalah pembeda yang menandai pembentukan karya bio-seni. Metode penelitian akan dilakukan dengan pendekatan metodologi sejarah seni, antropologi, dan semiotika. Proses pembentukan fungi yang tak lazim digunakan sebagai media seni dan isu-isu ekologi yang berkaitan dengannya, menjadi narasi besar yang secara umum diangkat oleh kedua seniman tersebut. Sinergi antara seni, ilmu pengetahuan, dan teknologi dalam proses penciptaan adalah referensi baru dalam metode penciptaan seni, terutama bio-art, sehingga proses pembentukan fungi yang tak lazim digunakan sebagai media seni dan isu-isu ekologi yang berkaitan dengannya sebagai narasi besar yang secara umum diangkat oleh kedua seniman tersebut, menjadi pokok kajian utamanya.

Market and Commercialisation of Digital Media Art

This paper analyses the current situation and trend of the digital media art market, the modes and opportunities of commercialisation of digital media art, and puts forward the problems in the commercialisation of digital media art: the protection and copyright of art works, the scale and positioning problems, and the cooperation and distribution of benefits between creators and investors. A series of countermeasures are proposed: in terms of protecting the copyright of works, a perfect legal system and regulatory mechanism should be established; in terms of expanding the market scale and increasing consumer awareness, the promotion and display activities of digital media art can be strengthened; in terms of the co-operation and distribution of benefits between creators and investors, a fair and reasonable co-operation mechanism should be established, and the principles and ways of distributing the benefits should be clarified.

The Development of 3D Movie Animation Industry in the New Media Art Era

With the continuous progress of technology and the increasing diversification of supporting tools, the penetration and application of 3D film and television special effects technology in the animation industry is also deeper, thus playing an irreplaceable role. By studying the development of 3D film and television animation industry in the era of new media art, new media art has become the new mainstream of world art at this stage. The use of network media to achieve information dissemination has greatly improved the speed and coverage of communication, and the application of Internet communication platform has also provided conditions for the interactive exchange of works. Not only has great commercial value, but also has potential value that can be tapped. The new media art is greatly different from the traditional art form in both its internal characteristics and its external manifestations. However, 3D film and television special effects technology is an important technology to promote the development of animation film and television, which makes the production of animated films more sophisticated, can bring the audience an immersive feeling, and enables the audience to get a better sense of experience. Better promote the deep integration of technology and film, and bring more rich experiences and enjoyment to the public.

POSTHUMAN INTERVENTIONS TO ARCHITECTURAL SPACE BY FOOD IN PERFORMANCE ART

Posthuman studies are interdisciplinary studies that criticize the anthropocentric and dualist perspective of Western Humanist thought. In these studies, the relations between human and non-human agents are examined in the scope of subjects such as ecology, anthropocene, feminism, technology with disciplines such as medicine, sociology, law, history, art, design and architecture. At the intersection of posthuman studies within art and architecture, the concepts of time, space and body come to the fore as mostly discussed with topics such as virtuality, digitality, cyberspace, social media, metaverse, time travel, anti-aging, cryonics. The purpose of this study is to investigate the intersection of architecture and posthuman with the concepts of space and intervention in relation to performance art; and to assert a research that suggests food as an interdisciplinary art medium. Food has been used as a material in art and design, but as an artistic and architectural intervention medium it has not been investigated in the posthuman context. In this context, literature was reviewed on academic sources and applications, and these were reinterpreted to develop new suggestions with a qualitative research method. It’s observed that the post-dualist approach at the center of posthuman studies is placed in Fluxus events which problematize and criticize dualisms such as artist/audience, art/life, public/private. It was concluded that food isn’t just an art material in these performances; it's a medium that offers artists new contexts with its technical, creative and critical possibilities. Therefore as architectural interventions applied to public or private and indoor or outdoor spaces are going beyond the actions such as building, demolishing, displacing, excavating, filling, covering; and with a medium such as food challenging creativity, immaterial, intuitive and sensory interpretations of time, body and space are emphasized. In this context, it’s intended to create a contribution that offers alternative perspectives to the literature.

Embodying architectures Body extensions and forms in hybrid environments


 
 
 This article aims to describe the situated interactions between humans and hybrid architectures composed of physical and digital elements. Using a post-phenomenological perspective and drawing on case studies from everyday life and contemporary new media art, the paper will first discuss the limits and possibilities of this philosophical approach. Specifically, post-phenomenology has limitations in describing the technologies present in hybrid architecture that are becoming increasingly transparent and capable of manipulating the habitat while being embodied in the user and widespread in the environment. Through a genealogical reconstruction of the concept of form in Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt Goldstein, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the article will explore the continuity between endosomatic and esosomatic space, providing new tools for the post- phenomenological debate.
 
 

Art therapy as a primary and adjunct therapy in interventions for people living with serious illnesses - a review of the literature

Introduction and purpose Art-therapy is a therapeutic method which uses art as a tool to achieve benefits in physical and mental health. This kind of psychotherapy uses artistic media as a basic form of communication. As an additional form of treatment, combined with medication, it helps not only to explore a patient’s difficulties and problems but also to overcome them. Art-therapy is playing an increasing role in the context of health in individuals struggling with different diseases, especially with the mental ones. This is a growing field of research and the aim of this brief review is to provide an update on the positive effects of art-therapy and to list health problems in which it would be significant to use this kind of therapy. Materials and methods A search was conducted using PubMed and GoogleScholar data bases. Articles were searched in English using the following key words: “art therapy”, “psychodrama”, “dance movement therapy”, “music therapy”, “creative art therapy”. Description of the state of knowledge Art-therapy has a wide range of benefits in chronically ill patients. Most common are the awareness of the emotions and behaviors and helping to deal with them, helping to deal with the process of treatment. The literature also draws attention to other results such as increasing self- esteem and improving the quality of life. Summary Art-therapy is associated with health benefits in people struggling with different health problems. Art-therapy has great potential to participate in future basic and adjunctive therapy but further research is needed in this area.

“Ekphrasis”: A Study of Transmedia Narrative in the Works of A.S. Byatt

With the development of transmedia research, many writers begin to pay attention to the comparison and transformation between literature and other artistic media, and practice it in literary creation. Contemporary English novelist A.S. Byatt is one of the practitioners of transmedia literary creation. Through the use of “ekphrasis”, she skillfully and naturally integrates the art work into the literary creation, making the text have a visual effect. This paper takes A.S. Byatt’s three short stories Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Art Work and Rose-Colored Teacup as examples to explore the ekphrarstic re-creation of paintings, sculptures and pottery in her works, and then analyzes the deep connotation brought by the ekphrasis between different artistic media to literary texts.

Oculus power! Arts and technology’s mediation of postcolonial neoliberal nationalism in Hong Kong

In the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s 2020 Policy Address, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government implemented strategies to integrate arts and technology as a new trend in cultural development. With the co-existence of a governmental initiative in ‘arts and technology’ (‘arts tech’) development and the rapid advancement of new technologies, it is frequently seen that new technologies (e.g., virtual reality [VR] and augmented reality) have been widely adopted in interactive media art productions in Hong Kong. Drawing on ethnographic research on a commercial virtual event, and a VR theatre performance produced by a Hong Kong cross-media creative studio, this study unveils discrepancies existing between government officials, commercial marketers, and art creators, ranging from objectives to practices in applying technologies to virtual art production. The juxtaposition of a market-driven commercial virtual campaign and the Chinese nationalist agenda embodied in the government-funded arts tech project reflects how the socio-historical background and changing political situation in Hong Kong extends its postcolonial neoliberal nationalism (PNN) to the arts tech arena. The contribution of this paper is two-fold: first, by adopting ‘China as method’ as epistemological analysis, the mediation of PNN by arts tech explains a ‘southbound imaginary’ in Hong Kong’s arts and cultural practices through a changing relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China. Second, in contrast to the current scholarship focusing on human governance in the formation of neoliberal nationalism, this paper underscores the ‘power’ of techno-cultural material in mediating the neoliberal nationalism of Hong Kong, after its reversion to China, through arts tech development.

The group of paintings "Oświęcim/Auschwitz" (1947–1955) by Xawery Dunikowski – the artistic testimony of borderline experience

This article presents an analysis of Xawery Dunikowski’s post-war paintings, a testimony to his stay in the Auschwitz concentration camp, i.e. the canvases of the cycle Oświęcim/Auschwitz (1947–1955). Based on this infrequently discussed kind of art, an attempt has been made to describe the visual representation of borderline experience, which, according to Georges Didi-Huberman, is a “tear-image” or a glimpse of an incomprehensible unprecedented truth, urging to a particularly cruel imaginability or, as Luiza Nader puts it, an expression of “affective memory”. At the same time, the considerations contribute to the research discourse on whether or to what extent it is possible to express the experience of a Konzentrationslager (or, more broadly, the Second World War) in visual representation. The complex issues and stylistics of these works are discussed in the light of methodology concerning the trauma of a witness, an affective observer, a surviving victim (Jacek Leociak, Aleida Assmann, Dominick LaCapra) and its evocation in the image (Didi-Huberman, Nader) thus allowing to consider them as a necessary artistic catharsis of the author of Tchnienie/A Breath of Air. At the same time, it has been pointed out that the painting of Dunikowski, a sculptor, individually reformulated in the artistic medium, non-masterly and in search of their own expression, is a recontextualising confirmation of his status as a modernist artist.

On the Application of Digital Media Art and Programming Technology in Public Art

With the rapid development of China's economy, the social environment in which people live is also undergoing rapid changes. Art works in public spaces have also undergone significant changes in their forms and ways of expression, and the combination of art and technology has become increasingly common. This article will focus on the impact of digital media art and programming technology on modern Public art as a starting point, and analyze the application mode, advantages and limitations of digital programming technology in Public art, and then explore the interaction between digital media art and programming technology; In combination with personal graduation design works, the author looks forward to the new forms of expression of interactive Public art in the future.

Study on the aesthetic laws of VR digital media art on the reception of film art

Abstract To improve the level of film creation, pull up the technology of VR technology applied in film creation, enhance the aesthetic satisfaction of film viewers to film art, and promote the peaceful development of the film market. In this paper, we study the aesthetics of film art from the viewers’ evaluation of the film after the application of VR digital media art to film and the change of film expression in the film industry to summarize the aesthetic law of audience acceptance of film art. According to the study, 85.90% of the audiences are very fond of VR digital media movie art and are willing to go to the cinema to experience the audio-visual enjoyment of VR movies. 79.65% of the audiences think that VR digital application in movies enhances the impact of movie images and the aesthetic pleasure of watching movies. Among all the survey groups, the college student group has the highest love for the combination of VR technology and movies, at 92.60%. It can be seen that VR digital media art has won unanimous praise in the current movie market, and grasping the aesthetic rules of movie watchers can better create good movies that meet the aesthetic needs of the public, stimulate the vitality of the movie market, and enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the people.

Wackenroder’s “Phantasies” about Art as a Manifest of Romantic Aesthetics

Wackenroder is a Romantic author of a metaphysical-religious orientation. For him, the creator of art and its most adequate perceiving subject is God. As for art, he sees it as most tightly connected to religion, for both help the human being to rise from the earthly hassle to the heavenly sphere. The art of all times and nations contains a common essence – the beautiful – which is expressed in a variety of ways. Therefore the human being is capable of learning how to see beauty in any art medium. Wackenroder speaks of two symbolic languages that help the human being grasp heavenly matters: the language of nature and the language of art. Creativity is based on inspiration, which is a divine gift. In creating their art artists must begin with nature and present it in a transformed way. The process of creativity begins in the inner world of the artist, when he or she constructs a future painting in its completeness. The contemplation of a work of art is like prayer. Therefore perception of art requires specific training. Before contact with art, the recipient must initiate in him or herself the ability to perceive the beautiful and sublime. The grasping of a true work of art is inexhaustible. Every act of contemplating an artwork reveals to our soul something new. The process of perception of art is enthusiastic in nature; Wackenroder presents it as a confession of our spirit. In his musical aesthetics the place of honor belongs to the spiritual content of music. In painting Wackenroder most highly esteems the pacifying art of Rafael, the allegorical art of Michelangelo, and the cognitive art of Leonardo Da Vinci.

The NEFFIE project: Technological innovation, artistic co-creation and social augmented experience

This article presents the NEFFIE (which stands for ‘Neuroaesthetic Photography’) project, a contemporary reinterpretation of Franco Vaccari’s iconic artwork, presented 50 years ago at the 1972 International Venice Art Biennale and entitled Exhibition in Real Time No. 4: Leave on the Walls a Photographic Trace of Your Fleeting Visit. Thanks to today’s technological innovation, NEFFIE develops Vaccari’s idea from a more contemporary perspective. Vaccari’s original photo booth becomes a technologically revisited booth that uses an algorithm and wearable sensors to reshape the subjective emotional-cognitive responses derived from viewing particular images, thus generating the ‘cognitive photograph’ or ‘COFFIE metapicture’. These metapictures are subsequently minted as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) objects and then displayed on a virtual wall, the ‘COFFIE wall’, generating what can be defined as a Virtual Exhibition in Real Time, a hypothetical contemporary re-actualization of Vaccari’s artistic proposition. The NEFFIE project could be considered a pervasive media art proposal capable of promoting social cohesion, by encouraging creative participation and co-creation. The project is being developed in Milan, thanks to a fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration between the Research Center in Advanced Technology in Health and Well-Being of San Raffaele Hospital, and ICONE, the European Research Center in History and Theory of the Image of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. This multidisciplinary approach combines art-historical theoretical thinking with the world of technological innovation. In particular, the NEFFIE project integrates the visual and conceptual tools of photography with the methodologies and knowledge of biomedical engineering and computer science.

The Reading of Art in Virtual Reality in the Postmodern Period

Postmodernism, a mid-20th-century cultural movement reacting against modernism, challenges grand narratives and absolute truth, emphasising fragmentation. Virtual Reality (VR), simulating real or alternative experiences, has become an accessible artistic medium. Postmodern art in VR is self-referential and interactive, exploring reality-simulation dynamics. Artists like Gibson/Martelli's "The History of the Future" transport users to a dystopian future, emphasising activism and choice. Jacolby Satterwhite employs VR for performance, blurring virtual and real through digital sculptures and live presentations. VR in postmodern art prompts questions about reality and viewer-artwork relationships. As users immerse in virtual environments, the line between reality and simulation blurs, challenging traditional ideas of authorship and interpretation. Multiple perspectives emerge, aligning with a postmodern emphasis on plurality. The abstract concludes by asserting VR's role as a platform for postmodern exploration, enabling new forms of expression and interaction, and pushing artistic boundaries.

Self-correction, digital art making and stress reduction

Art making with physical art materials has been demonstrated to reduce stress. Digital art making is utilized in art therapy but questions about its therapeutic and artistic attributes remain unanswered. We hypothesized that participants drawing on a tablet would experience less stress reduction and pleasure and that frequent use of the undo and erase functions would be correlated with higher negative valance, stress and neuroticism; and lower flow and positive affect. As an exploratory hypothesis we were interested in differences in formal elements of art therapy between a digital and physical artistic medium. We conducted a quasi-experimental study in which stress was induced and participants were randomized to create art using oil-pastels or a tablet. Formal art elements were coded, the number of erase and undo functions pressed on tablets was counted. We found that state stress was significantly reduced after art making with both mediums without significant difference between. Higher use of undo and erase was correlated with less relaxation and higher stress, agitation, agreeableness and conscientiousness, suggesting personality-based underpinnings of self-correction. Formal art elements were similar between mediums. We concluded that digital art making may be just as beneficial as traditional materials for stress reduction, creativity, and flow.

Illusory Interior: Public Housing as Uncanny Site

In 2021, Indonesia participated in the London Design Biennale, focusing on the theme of Resonance. The pavilion's response centred around public housing as an uncanny site, examining the psychological barriers faced by evicted communities during their transition to public housing. This study provides a conceptual analysis by exploring how the uncanny aspects of the occupants' experiences are expressed in installation using the illusory interior as a spatial metaphor. Through practice-led research, utilising ethnographic surrealism and narrative inquiries, data was gathered and translated into artistic mediums through various experiments. The study identifies several factors contributing to the uncanny sensation among public housing occupants, based on the occupants' experiences in public housing in Rancacili (Bandung) and Penjaringan (Jakarta), such as the shift from horizontal to vertical living, inadequate unit design, the absence of communal spaces, and a lack of ownership. The pavilion design attempts to integrate design theory and art practice, showcasing how installation art can express interiority within built spaces and extend it into installation art. Here, the uncanny acts as a methodological framework for critiquing space and transforming interiority into tangible forms by interpreting the actual conditions using installation art as a medium.

The Development Status and Countermeasures of Digital Media Art

This paper discusses the definition and characteristics of the art of digital media, introduces the application fields of digital media, and analyses the current situation faced by digital media art: the development of digital media art is facing the problem of rapid technological update and short life cycle; the knowledge and technology threshold of digital media art is high; the protection and inheritance of digital media art works have also attracted attention; the commercialization of digital media art is also an urgent problem. The commercialisation of art is also a problem that needs to be solved urgently. Finally, a series of countermeasures are proposed: the government and academic organisations should increase their support and investment in digital media art, and provide artists with a better creative environment and resources. Artists should strengthen their technical skills and interdisciplinary co-operation in order to adapt to new technologies and creative demands. Relevant departments should also strengthen copyright protection and market supervision to provide a good environment for the commercialisation of digital media art.

Daten, Atmosphären, Texte – Künstlerische Erfahrungsräume und Virtualisierungen des Literarischen

Daten, Atmosphären, Texte<b> – Künstlerische Erfahrungsräume und Virtualisierungen des Literarischen</b>

Videogames and the representation of men and women: an international perspective

In the last few decades, videogames have become a mass phenomenon and have progressively carved out an important space in society and culture. Today, they have growing capabilities to reproduce realistic scenarios, and are increasingly used as an artistic medium with significant narrative potential. In this context, players also need to confront with the representation of aspects of the Self, moving and interacting within video games’ parallel worlds. How these aspects are represented in media can be an important influence on a psychological, cultural and social level. Gender representation can be argued to be almost universal in media and reflects real-world beliefs and attitudes. Despite areas of progress, videogames often feature sexist, prejudiced or biased representations of men and women, both from an aesthetical and narrative point of view. This contribution will discuss the role of gender representation in videogames, aiming to summarize the main features and specificities of different portrayals. Specifically, men characters were over represented compared to women characters as a lead both in the narrative and in promotional material, although recent improvements were observed. Portrayals of womenappeared to feature lean-ideal body idealization, sexualization, objectification, as well as reduced agency. Moreover, portrayals of men appeared to feature muscular-ideal body idealization, restrictive emotionality, and the overuse of aggressiveness and assertiveness. These restrictive representations can have harmful consequences in the users’ reality, such as fostering sexist attitudes and beliefs, promoting restrictive gender roles and ideals of appearance, as well as increasing tolerance of violent behaviors. This analysis suggests that reducing stereotypical and sexist representations, promoting diverse and nuanced representations, and efforts for critical engagement with media portrayals may help reduce these negative effects.