Abstract:

There are exhibitions and museums whose impact could be augmented if the public who had not the opportunity of a real visit (because of different reasons, such as distance, time or availability), might have a way to access them virtually. In this context, we present and analyze through our examples, a solution we have implemented, the method, the advantages of this approach.

This is a concrete solution addressing European cultural dialogue challenges, increasing general public access to culture and also valueing collections otherwise inaccessible to the large public. It is designed to provide alternative ways for the modernization and dynamicity of the activity of museums and cultural spaces. Also, the solution is in correlation with the overall objectives of the strategies in the field of culture, namely access of all population categories, from all areas and social backgrounds, to information and culture.

Finally, but significantly, we are in front of a product of new media art, with its public. From a historical perspective, we are not only in face of a new product, we are witnessing the genesis of a new communication medium, the transformation of the classical environment of the 18-th century panorama in forms of virtual reality made widely accessible through the "democratization" of media.

Virtual exhibitions and museums are deeply educational products. Museums, cultural centers, centers/research institutes are informal educational institutions that are in an advantageous position for experimental and creative use of advanced technologies, such as virtual reality, and investigating their educational potential. Our intention was to take the visitor to an exhibition or a virtual museum, thinking to approach the work of art to him/her and, if possible, in a charming and spectacular way. We target a younger audience, the Net Generation, wanting to bring them into the world of art, museums, exhibitions, using his own language.

From the point of view of the relationship between art and its beneficiary, in terms of specific art communication, of artwork and its receiver relationship, the virtual exhibition/museum is a version of the reproduction, a new version, the latest creative possibility offered by new media. In front of a work of art, beyond a faithful reproduction, also occurs the interpretation. We assumed the interpretation that these new media products contain, a challenging interpretation and hopefully giving new impressions to what we have in front of the real exhibition.

Keywords:

Virtual reality, virtual museum, virtual exhibition, virtual art, immersion, interactivity.