{"id":548,"date":"2014-01-28T06:13:20","date_gmt":"2014-01-28T14:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/?p=548"},"modified":"2014-01-28T06:13:20","modified_gmt":"2014-01-28T14:13:20","slug":"live-versus-the-machine-lets-not-take-the-live-experience-for-granted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2014\/01\/live-versus-the-machine-lets-not-take-the-live-experience-for-granted.html","title":{"rendered":"Live Versus The Machine (Let’s Not Take The Live Experience For Granted)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The promise of virtual reality has intrigued science fiction writers for years. But the technology for VR has been rather disappointing. Until now, writes Wired<\/a>. A headset called the Oculus Rift has gamers excited. But also movie makers and artists interested in new forms of story-telling:<\/p>\n

What\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0known is that the ways that perspectives can change thanks to virtual reality are remarkable. Movies, as Roger Ebert said, are \u201clike a machine that generates empathy<\/a>.\u201d If a person in a VR headset can experience a protagonist\u2019s or antihero\u2019s life first-hand, then the Rift actually\u00a0becomes<\/em>\u00a0that machine. (The possibilities for documentaries seems particularly appealing; Oculus Rift is already being used by artists to \u201cgender swap<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Oculus\"<\/a>

Image: Wired<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Artists love to talk about the importance of the live space – the theatre or concert hall or museum – and how it delivers a “better” experience. It’s an article of faith that usually goes unchallenged. But technology is creating more and more ways to have artistic experiences, not only competing with live events, but also changing the expectations of audiences.<\/p>\n

Live and in person might have been better. Might still be better. But it’s worth asking why this is so and if it will necessarily continue to be so in the future. It’s not something that should be taken for granted. Staging live events is expensive, and orchestras and theatres struggle to support themselves as costs rise. Technology scales in a way that live art doesn’t.<\/p>\n

As for competition for quality of experience, any football fan can tick off ways that watching the game on the big flat screen at home is preferable to actually buying a ticket to be there in person. \u00a0Doesn’t mean they still don’t want to go. But you can bet the NFL is paying attention to how to build a better stadium experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The promise of virtual reality has intrigued science fiction writers for years. But the technology for VR has been rather disappointing. Until now, writes Wired. A headset called the Oculus Rift has gamers excited. But also movie makers and artists interested in new forms of story-telling: What\u00a0is\u00a0known is that the ways that perspectives can change […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-tech","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Oculus.jpg?fit=660%2C431&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-8Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":715,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/01\/715.html","url_meta":{"origin":548,"position":0},"title":"The Virtual Arts – Have It Your Way?","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"January 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"C-NET came away from this month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas pronouncing that virtual reality is going to displace traditional porn. No surprise that the porn industry leads in technology. Because of all the money in the early days of the internet, porn invested heavily in technology and pioneered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "audience"","block_context":{"text":"audience","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/audience"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scene2vr.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scene2vr.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scene2vr.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scene2vr.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/scene2vr.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1123,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/why-music-and-the-concert-experience-are-on-the-front-lines-of-virtual-reality.html","url_meta":{"origin":548,"position":1},"title":"Why Music And The Concert Experience Are On The Front Lines Of Virtual Reality","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Following on my post from yesterday about anticipating the kinds of experiences people will want from concerts comes\u00a0this article from Wired about virtual reality and music. 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Outside of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "arts & tech"","block_context":{"text":"arts & tech","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-tech"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Coachella_2014_Week_2_Day_2_-_Sahara_Tent.jpg?fit=800%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Coachella_2014_Week_2_Day_2_-_Sahara_Tent.jpg?fit=800%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Coachella_2014_Week_2_Day_2_-_Sahara_Tent.jpg?fit=800%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Coachella_2014_Week_2_Day_2_-_Sahara_Tent.jpg?fit=800%2C360&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":869,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/05\/five-highlights-from-last-weeks-aj-endless-arts-planning-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":548,"position":2},"title":"Five Highlights From Last Week’s AJ, Endless Arts Planning Edition","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"May 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When arts planning becomes the point rather than the process. Why your creativity may be dependent on being bored. Are MFA degrees a waste of time if you want to be an artist? Broadway breaks more records. And three new ways to see traditional art. 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The Met Museum's super-successful year (at least at the admissions booth)... Predictably, Harry Potter slays sales records... Do we have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weekly AJ Top Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Weekly AJ Top Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/weekly-aj-top-stories"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/5034-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/5034-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/5034-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/5034-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/5034-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1115,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/the-new-york-philharmonics-new-hall-is-an-opportunity-to-rethink-the-orchestra-experience-and-amplify-it.html","url_meta":{"origin":548,"position":4},"title":"The New York Philharmonic’s New Hall Is An Opportunity To Rethink The Orchestra Experience (And Amplify It)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week Michael Cooper made a plea\u00a0in the NYT to the New York Philharmonic for some upgrades to the concert amenity experience when the orchestra overhauls Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher) in 2019. 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