#VRArtLive Gallery June 2022
Title: Time
Artist: Joshua N Stanton
VR App/s: Tiltbrush, Kodon, Masterpiece VR, Unity
Curator: wildc4rd, Raritie
Editor: Suk
VR Painting Time
Commentary by Joshua N Stanton
Where are myth magic and mysticism in the age of information?
Our lives are awash with digital imagery as we sustain a constant barrage of information crying for our attention.
Only by harnessing the new technologies brought about by the current fourth industrial revolution can we seek to address the issues of our times. Virtual Reality holds within it the potential for new ground in art, and new horizons for the expanded mediums that adopt it as a new media. In this vein I work to explore the new and novel aesthetic possibilities presented by VR for painting. I come from a background in photography and painting and am currently finishing a PhD at the Glasgow School of Art researching the impact of this technology on painting. This is the foundation for the VR work I present to you here titled “VR Painting Time”.
“VR Painting Time” is the first in a series of three VR paintings produced over the last five years as a product of my practice-based research approach. In this approach I use practice-based methods to discover through experimentation with the tools. Through a process of praxis I understand the tools and can reflect on their implications. This VR painting assesses and engages with the temporal nature of a VR painting. In VR time becomes transcendental, it goes beyond our normal experience to exist in a pure state of becoming reverberating inwardly resonating within its own intrinsic being. Temporal aspects to the VR painting can be seen in things like the day night cycle and other cyclical and relational aspects to the work.
As the viewer steps into my VR painting I hope they are plunged into a world wholly other to their waking lives. I aim for this to be a transcendental space representing the transcendental aesthetic. Logical steps into a totally illogical space, meaning flitters like a moth in a flame never standing still long enough to give a full impression of what it is.
The visual language of imagery and symbolism is intrenched in the esoteric and mystical juxtaposed with contemporary pop culture references. By weaving these disparate lines together I forge a maximalist formation of imagery that hangs together combining into a unified reverberation of equal meaning. No one thing takes precedent, everything is equal. Equally meaningful and meaningless.
This work took over a year to make and was created using many different software’s including Tilt Brush, Kodon, Masterpiece VR, Blender, Unity, Photoshop, AI DNN Networks, Ableton Live among others. If you are looking to start with VR art I suggest leaning one step at a time as there are a lot of different programs and it takes a long time to learn them all! This is the first in a series of three VR paintings so keep an eye out for the next one you can follow me on my social media and website. I aim to get my thesis published in the near future so you can read in more detail about the research.
Download “VR Painting Time” here.
See more by Joshua N Stanton:
Are you a VR or XR artist? If you would like to have your art featured by VR Art Live you can apply here.
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