Covid19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the whole world dramatically in regards to public health, the food system, economics, and the world of work. It is also totally changing how the world works and the way we live. I am thinking about how COVID-19 has influenced not only the traditional art industry but also other cultural and creative sectors.

In order to prevent the COVID-19 situation from spreading, the museum and other cultural places have no choice but to close their doors during the pandemic. Based on the UNESCO report, 90% of museums have closed during the crisis and more than 10% of museums may never open. Not only are these organizations heavily influenced by the crisis, the independent artists and employed individuals are also experiencing extreme economic and social difficulties. There has been the cancellation of exhibitions, art fairs and there have been difficulties in raising funds and upholding public funds. All of these unexpected events are pushing artists and cultural professionals into a dilemma.

Many museums have enhanced and developed their digital activities and they are aware that digitalization is becoming more important in the circumstance that we are in now. They have started to promote and invest in virtual museums more and have also developed their social media profiles on a professional level. They have also posted information that is being managed by professional hands. Personally, I enjoy the atmosphere of the museum and art gallery and this is what cannot be achieved by viewing them at home. The digitalization of the museums and art galleries lack the sensorial experience of viewing artwork which is another reason as to why in-person museums cannot be replaced.

Despite these disadvantages, I am still impressed by the online experiences offered by these digitized museums. For example, I found the Guggenheim Museum in Google art and culture. It has high-quality pictures of the artworks and some of them come with a brief introduction. The street view function allows viewers to decide where to stand and observe the artworks from different angles. The famous or popular artworks are always crowded with people. Online museums are time-saving while allowing the viewers to look at them as long as they want. In addition, people can go to different sections and virtually walk around the museum.

I really enjoy reading the story section of the online gallery. At the online Van Gogh Museum, the story section shares some fun facts about Van Gogh while putting his painting aside. It is a great viewing experience. At Uffizi Gallery’s story section, it not only provides the information of the painting but also tells the viewer introductions to small details about different parts of stories. It is an informative and interesting learning experience.

When the traditional art industry has undergone a huge change and dramatic transformation, the sales of the video game industry tend to increase. Due to quarantine which has limited people’s activities, at-home entertainment like video games have become very popular. I used to believe that video games are more of entertainment and that they belong to the category of the entertainment industry but after I did the research on PS5 and Unreal Engine, I became a firm advocate that video games are actually a form of art.

There are two new core technologies in unreal engines that are Nantine and Lumen. Nanite allows the artist to create as many geometric details so that the frame has a film-quality source. Lumen is a fully dynamic global illumination solution that immediately reacts to scene and light changes. It allows the artist and designer to change the light like the sun angle for the time of day or turn on a flashlight.
These two technologies are designed to let artists recreate things that are very close to reality. In reality, things are very complex. No two snowflakes are alike and there are lots of details in one creature. Our eyes are very difficult to fool and if something is not made precisely and realistically enough, our eye will notice that right away. Also, in the real world, the light will change all the time. Depending on where the person stands, the light changes constantly according to the reflection and refraction of the light. Luman and Nanite offer gamers a more immersive experience through designing a more realistic environment. To make the scene look realistic, human body language and body movement also have to be naturalistic. Thus, the movement of people and other animals is based on ecology.

The environment is not the most difficult thing to simulate in a virtual world, the human is. There is a phenomenon called “Uncanny Valley” which was introduced by a Japanese professor Masahiro Mori. It suggests that when we see humanlike appearances, people can become more appealing but it only limits us at a certain point. If it reaches the uncanny valley, people will have a feeling of strangeness and a sense of unease. It also makes people feel scared and terrified. I think it might explain why I feel creepy when I see the movie Alita because she looks like a human but her eyes are too big. She always gives me an uneasy feeling when I look at her. It also explains why people feel scared about some portraits and movie characters.