It is easier for a curious person to gain more facts than it is for a knowledgeable person to ask new questions. This project strives to produce interest. These specific VR apps are dedicated to Natalia Goncharova and Kazimir Malevich, two Russian avant-garde artists who were active in the beginning of the XX century.
You get to place objects in different patterns and you also get gratification in the form of a computer-generated instantly-instagrammable painting. But the painting is, of course, secondary to your newly acquired ability to feel how placement of objects works.
Left: Goncharova's original still life. Right: a neural network modeled outcome of a visitor's activity. You could play with the same objects she could play with, so that when you see her paintings, you think, 'Ha! And I placed the chess board on the side!'.
This is how we roll. This video was made for promotional purpose and everyone is a bit too happy. Typically, an art project is three stages of depression: first, the writer's block; then deadline restrictions; then depression of achievement.
Malevich discovered that simple shapes and very few colors are enough to trigger emotion. He called this suprematism and said that other forms of art were dead. Natural enough: what need is there for complex artistic techniques when most stories can be told with triangles?
As in Goncharova, the point was to try and produce something that would trigger emotion in the creator. As opposed to Goncharova, though, the creator was given an opportunity to shoot a selfie with the creation.
This is what a 4-player PlayVR rig looks like. These rigs are used for ArtVR as well.
Random team members provide demonstration of awkward facial expressions and fancy hand movements on the project's presentation and at a TEDX.
Zelfira Tregulova and Lara Bobkova, the Director General and the Head of Communications for the State Tretyakov Gallery. The two brilliant women who spared no effort to ensure our project succeeds. Apart from providing us necessary legal support to use Goncharova's heritage, they allowed the first ArtVR to be installed on their premises.
Done through VRTech. Concept by Maxim Goudin and Dima Neiaglov. Directed by Gia Djahaia. Produced by Svetlana Gorbacheva. Art-directed by Illarion Gordon and Misha Menzelintsev. Supervised by Tigran Arutyunyan. Technical direction by Sergey Konyukhovsky. UX by Pavel Sovushkin. Engineered by Svetozar Dovzhik, Maxim Martynov, Roman Smirnov, Bakhodir Khakimov, Alexander Shatalov. Neural network magic by Pavel Zyryanov. CG by Evgeniya Sycheva, Sergey Kolynychenko, Alexander Anufriev, Alexey Zhukov, Grigoriy Sazonov. Website by Charmer Studio.
