Text by Ilia Sdralli
Nothing opens our senses to new experiences as decisively and strongly as art. Art liberates, merging what our senses perceive into a new, unique reality where nature and imagination creatively coexist. Perhaps nothing can testify best for this journey that today’s art-meets-technological -innovation scene, a vibrant new scene of artists working with digital mediums such as AI, VR, and AR to produce new and fantastical worlds. In fact, it seems that Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are nothing less than the next development in a natural progression; one that includes creative expression and the relationship between “man and the machine”.
Imagine of an artwork capable to express not only the captured moment of inspiration but the whole process of creative inspiration becoming tangible art; this journey is now positioned at the heart of modern artistic storytelling. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can overcome the singularity of ‘one moment captured in time’ and further expand-in time and in space, creating alternate realities and elaborate new experiences. For some, this is the true future of post-modern art; to create different layers of experience by adding new stimuli to our physical senses eventually building a fantasy world that appears more real than ever.
Positioned in the heart of this artistic scene, Susi Vetter is a case of her own. Originally an illustrator and multimedia artist, Vetter expanded her artistic horizons using the web, augmented reality, and projection mapping to tell her unique stories. What began as experimentation became an integral part of her expression and artistic identity, the blurring of the borders between digital and physical realities her actual storytelling method. Her most recent illustration ’series “Take me there” is perhaps the best example of the way Vetter works to enhance reality; by using frame-by-frame animation she creates a very personal land of escapism and traveling thus defying a post coronavirus reality that demands otherwise. And isn’t that the very definition of art? We caught up with Susi Vetter to discuss art, technology, and her very personal way of creating realities.
Just how real are the artistic worlds created by technology?
Very real! In fact just as real as art created with any other artistic medium. In that sense, I wouldn’t actually say “created by technology” but “through”. It’s not like technology creates art for us. We’re still the ones who create the art, through technology as a medium. Even an entirely computer-generated piece of art isn’t actually created by technology – there was still a human who wrote an algorithm. I think that’s important to keep in mind. In that sense, technology like AR/VR and AI are just new media for artists and open new and exciting ways of storytelling.
What are the tools you mostly use to create your ‘realities’?
I usually use a mix of digital illustration, animation, and some 3D art here and there. I also collaborate with other artists who are more into generative art which gives me the possibility to make my art interactive. As for technology, I mainly use software like Adobe Aero, Artivive, or Spark AR.
Do you feel you live in a personal parallel universe?
Sometimes.Or maybe more like in a sci-fi movie from the 20th century. I feel like I grew up in a pop culture that had the wildest visions of future technology. As it turns out, some of it has been stunningly accurate, especially in the area of AR/VR and AI. To be honest, I find that equally exciting and uncanny. Back when I was little though, I would have never imagined that those technologies would ever become an artistic medium for me.
What are the stories you are trying to tell through your work?
I’m particularly interested in the tension that I create when mixing physical reality with digital reality. That leap from one reality to the other opens a whole world of storytelling to me. For example, what if there wasn’t a picture on that wall but a window to another world? What if there was another room in this room? I love making the physical world around me tangibly surreal.
Is VR and AI reshaping the idea of experience as we know it?
Generally yes, definitely. I think in the context of experiencing art in particular, it’s more like VR/AR and AI add new facets and possibilities for artists. They won’t ever change how we perceive a classical painting. But new kinds of art—human or AI-generated—become possible. Just like photography was once new, or movies, and became their own form of art. They never made the classical painting redundant though. In that sense, I think those technologies don’t reshape our experience but they make it richer, more complex, and possibly more confusing.