Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (Leonardo Books) [Hardcover]

Oliver Grau (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262072416 | ISBN-13: 978-0262072410 | Publication Date: January 17, 2003 | Edition: Rev Sub

Although many people view virtual reality as a totally new phenomenon, it has its foundations in an unrecognized history of immersive images. Indeed, the search for illusionary visual space can be traced back to antiquity. In this book, Oliver Grau shows how virtual art fits into the art history of illusion and immersion. He describes the metamorphosis of the concepts of art and the image and relates those concepts to interactive art, interface design, agents, telepresence, and image evolution. Grau retells art history as media history, helping us to understand the phenomenon of virtual reality beyond the hype.Grau shows how each epoch used the technical means available to produce maximum illusion. He discusses frescoes such as those in the Villa dei Misteri in Pompeii and the gardens of the Villa Livia near Primaporta, Renaissance and Baroque illusion spaces, and panoramas, which were the most developed form of illusion achieved through traditional methods of painting and the mass image medium before film. Through a detailed analysis of perhaps the most important German panorama, Anton von Werner's 1883 The Battle of Sedan, Grau shows how immersion produced emotional responses. He traces immersive cinema through Cinerama, Sensorama, Expanded Cinema, 3-D, Omnimax and IMAX, and the head mounted display with its military origins. He also examines those characteristics of virtual reality that distinguish it from earlier forms of illusionary art. His analysis draws on the work of contemporary artists and groups ART+COM, Maurice Benayoun, Charlotte Davies, Monika Fleischmann, Ken Goldberg, Agnes Hegedues, Eduardo Kac, Knowbotic Research, Laurent Mignonneau, Michael Naimark, Simon Penny, Daniela Plewe, Paul Sermon, Jeffrey Shaw, Karl Sims, Christa Sommerer, and Wolfgang Strauss. Grau offers not just a history of illusionary space but also a theoretical framework for analyzing its phenomenologies, functions, and strategies throughout history and into the future.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

The computer's ability to immerse a user in virtual image spaces "is not the revolutionary innovation its protagonists are fond of interpreting it to be," Grau writes. "The idea of virtual reality only appears to be without a history; in fact, it rests firmly on historical art traditions." Grau (lecturer in art history at Humboldt University in Berlin, associate professor at the Kunstuniversität Linz in Austria and leader of the German Science Foundation's project on immersive art) traces the lineage of virtual reality as far back as the frescoes of a villa in Pompeii. Many illustrations amplify the argument.

Editors of Scientific American

Review

"Grau's Virtual Art opens the door onto a significant new approach to media analysis by focusing in depth on a particular kind of digital art - the attempt to create immersive environments. The combination of media archeology with careful analysis of both the possiblities and limitations of the impulse to put the viewer inside the artwork will make this book a valuable resource to both practitioners and theoreticians."--Stephen Wilson, Professor of Conceptual and Information Arts, San Francisco State University, and author of *Information Arts*

"... a volume that will likely be used as a canonical text in the study of virtual reality...." Patrick Lichty Intelligent Agent

"Grau traces the lineage of virtual reality as farback as the frescoes of a villa in Pompeii." Scientific American

"Highly original...." Alison Abbott Nature

"... Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion puts forth the sort of provocative insights that any Newromancer fan can appreciate." Wired

"Oliver Grau has given us one of the more fascinating works this year." Guy Van Belle European Photography

"The highly ambitious task of locating the latest image technologies within a wider art-historical context has now been accomplished." Friedrich Kittler, Humboldt University, Berlin, and author of Gramophone, Film, Typewriter

"Grau has created a volume that will likely be used as a canonical text in the study of virtual reality...." Patrick Lichty Intelligent Agent

"Highly original..." Alison Abbott Nature

"For over a decade now, Lovink has been one of the most prominent figures in cyber culture and new media worldwide. A new-media theorist, an Internet critic, an activist, an inventor of new innovative forms of net-based discourse, an organizer of ground-breaking events--remarkably, he excels at all these different roles. I think of Lovink as a network of distributed sensors: everywhere at once, he is always the first to notice new changing directions of net culture, the first to name them, and the first to offer sober and illuminating analysis. Now we are fortunate to have his brilliant dispatches from the Net front collected in one book. This is a new kind of book from a new type of public intellectual. Think of it as theory on-the-go--or as a set of help files to keep handy as you navigate the present, on- and off-line."--Lev Manovich, author of *The Language of New Media*Please note: Endorser gives permission to excerpt from quote.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; Rev Sub edition (January 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262072416
• ISBN-13: 978-0262072410
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,799,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Key Book, January 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (Leonardo Books) (Hardcover)

WIRED spoke about a "great read" and Lev Manovich decribed Grau's book as a "must-read for anyone interested in new media, art history, and any field using virtual images." - Grau lives up to expectations !  He analyzes what is new in media art by balancing recent works and historic media development, and so retells art history as media history. An interdisciplinary study in art history, media history, and new media art, the cross fertilization enriches his analysis and helps clarify the essence of immersion and Virtual Reality.  Beyond Grau's analysis, I was thankful to see so many artists involved - many hot names. This book will be valuable for both practitioners and theoreticians. Hopefully there will be a paperback soon for students.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Virtual Review of: Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, April 7, 2005

By 

carrie "//carrie" (saskatoon, saskatchewan, canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (Leonardo Book Series) (Paperback)

The unique approach to handing the history of `virtual art' is scholarly and innovative, undermining popular conceptions of the notion of `virtuality'. I would have appreciated colour plates, since the subject matter often pertains to the study of many forms of visual art. A glossary of terms also would have been helpful. The addition of these to elements would make the book much more accessible to readers who are introducing themselves to these concepts and artworks.

Broad in breadth and depth, Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion traces the history of virtual art through studying the history of `immersion' and `illusion' in the arts, and relates these ideas to the current developments in `virtual reality'. It is unlikely that the general public, or even most arts professionals, would consider the panoramic frescoes of ancient Pompeii a precursor to the 1980's notion of goggled cybernetic digitalia, nor the recent developments in transgenic art, yet this book includes very convincing arguments that link these ideas to the development of today's virtual art. Self-proclaimed as the `first' to link art history and immersive visual culture to the field of contemporary digital environment-based art experiences, this innovative and convincing research is laid out before the reader in an intellectual, yet accessible fashion, complete with diagrams and illustrations to illuminate key ideas. Many interesting works of art are chronicled here, placed within a contextual framework that demonstrates the significance of the ideas and technology supporting the works. Gathering this information in a print format also allows these works to live on and influence other thinkers outside of directly experiencing the works, which is often not technically possible, given the temporal nature of many immersion-based artworks. Ideas do not develop in a vacuum, but through the dialogues of overlapping discourses, combined with critical thought. Grau demonstrates that virtual art is not exactly new, and it satisfies a basic human desire for experiencing the `other', whether through looking at panoramic paintings of mythology or faraway lands, or designing a prototype Holodeck (Star Trek). Unexpected parallels abound, making this a very informative read that may forever change the reader's interpretations of classical art history as well as of virtual reality.

It is likely that Grau reaches the academic arts audience he sets out to reach with this book, as is demonstrated by the numerous references to this book online, in various journals, blogs, and academic websites. This focus on art history as media history would be thoroughly appreciated by Marshall McLuhan fans, as well as art historians who specialize in media studies. Artists and historians interested in 3-D modeling, avatar development, online immersive environments, transgenic art, and historical instances of illusion in the arts will also find this book a valuable and up-to-date resource. This book would make a welcome addition to a University library, a gallery or artist-run centre's library, or the personal collection of savvy technophiles.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Virtual Art by Grau, October 7, 2003

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (Leonardo Books) (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent rendition for electro-visual labs.
The work is perfect if you are looking for new ideas on interior
decorating for the home. There are many exotic art forms
depicted in this work.

Virtual reality is integrated into art immersion. The work
provides a panoramic view of the Battle of Sedan. There are
pictures of the Futurama in the 1939 World Fair. In addition,
a screenshot portrays the Home of the Brain. The work is
excellent for anticipated student school projects.
This work is perfect for art enthusiasts, historians,
interior decorators, architects , photographers and a whole
host of professionals in varied fields.