Art.
When we hear or see the word “art”, there could be many connotations that come to mind. Associated or even exemplified by the term “subjective”, the possibilities of various visual images about art are almost endless.
An expensive painting framed in a renowned museum guarded by lasers and heat detectors? A personal piece you created? Graffiti? A statue of a naked man? I really do mean endless.
With the subjective nature of art, there also exists almost the same amount of endless “meanings” or “purposes” to any piece. We all react differently, and we have all experienced that moment of seeing art and thinking“I don’t get it”.
With the evolving study of art and technological integration, creatives are working to completely submerge society in art. They are striving to change the conversation surrounding artistic practices and its definitions. Many are breaking the cliches and stereotypes about artists by combining various disciplines and creating new outlets for creativity. Approaches ranging from installations transforming your environment to interactive pieces calling for your personal participation, the mediums used are causing a response. They are causing an experience.
Flowers and People, Cannot Be Controlled but Live Together- Digital Installion
TeamLab, a famous Japanese collective, aims to be a disruptor and innovator within this realm of art. They are removing art from its frames and plastering it in as many aspects of our lives as possible. They’re shifting the conversation from the merging of technology and art towards to merging of art into life. By completely immersing you in an art form that requires not only your visual attention but the use of other stimuli, TeamLab challenges you think about art and its application as endless and relevant in various disciplines.
“By using the digital, we think that new art can not just expand art itself, but also change the way that space is treated in a museum or gallery, the way that people value art,” - TeamLab
Crystal Universe- Digital Installation, Light Sculpture
The group, consisting of over 400 artists, designers, and engineers, recently debuted “Living Digital Space and Future Parks”, 20 digital installations in Pace Gallery in Silicon Valley. Covering 20,000 square feet, the works encourage viewers to participate in this “digital playground”. However, the surrounding graphics that create different digital environments are only one aspect of this collection’s immersive nature. TeamLab went a step further to engage their audience.
Breaking the traditional "headphones and lectures" feature seen in most museum exhibits, TeamLab integrated other technological trends to not only encourage engagement but also involvement. In Crystal Universe, participants are able to create their own patterns and sequences within the space themed light structures displayed before them. Other forms of interactions are also targeted to a younger audience in Sketch Aquarium where their own hand drawings of sea creatures are brought to life in projecting seascapes surrounding them. This real time personalization in the installations creates a new story with every viewer's interaction. While the technology may be the cause of the installation, it is really the audience that creates the piece.
Not only is TeamLab applauded for the shear size of this installation project, but they are to be viewed as an example in this field for capturing the desire for physical immersion into art and use of digital engagement to promote interaction. TeamLab wants you to "get it".