Virtual Reality. The Interplay Between Technology, Ontology and Art

Abstract

Virtual reality reunites art and technology which, since Greek culture, have gone their separate ways. In our attempt to elucidate the implications of the existence of virtual reality we have to try to avoid both its uncritical embracing and pessimistic rejection. Virtual reality is neither a holy grail nor “an assault on reality” (M. Slouka). It is not a neutral technology and like all technologies, virtual reality discloses the world in its own way and as such it offers us a whole range of new possibilities. We might expect that some of the greatest art in the next century will be based on the technology of virtual reality, and that at the same time this technology will be used for the most stultifying kitsch.