Abstract:

The paper presents a work in progress based on immersive and desktop virtual reality techniques, aimed to introduce the viewer to the visual arts and to educate the audience visually. The project presented herein is an ongoing educational venture, designed for engaging both teachers and learners in the intensive use of new learning technologies.

The „Retro” exhibit as envisioned by Adina Nanu will showcase the human image as the first and foremost decorative art. Students will be active participants in the learning process. The collection will be organized as a virtual museum visited by means of virtual reality techniques with different levels of complexity. This approach will offer an interactive and immersive experience allowing the viewer to choose both the subject to examine, as well as the preferred method to explore the individual exhibits. It will offer different means of presenting the information, and will combine media as diverse as photography, stereoscopic images, drawings, video, interactive 3D objects, text and audio explanations.

The exhibition contains approx. 150 costumes, 500 hats, accessories, jewelry, and pieces of furniture. The viewers will have many different themes as possible itineraries to choose from. For instance, they may elect to follow the wedding costumes change in urban settings relative to the countryside, in the city, or across different eras. This approach will emphasize the intrinsic relationships between the educated and the popular suit, and will follow the changing human image in the styles of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Finally, the exhibit will highlight the role of social communication, the aesthetic aspects of embroidery and lace, the evolution of hats, etc. The aesthetic analysis applied to assemblies of costumes through new media will allow a more thorough and a more complete exploration and understanding of clothing from the different ages.

The final product will be available in several different versions both on-line and off-line, as well as a version customized to use the advanced technology available in the Laboratory of Virtual Reality of our University.

Keywords:

Immersive virtual reality, desktop virtual reality, interactivity, 3D communication, virtual museum, e-learning, interdisciplinarity, decorative arts.