About a year ago I would pass long hours downloading VRML plug-ins and
attempting to configure my browser and system to handle this exciting
new medium. Once I had achieved some stability in my set-up, I turned to
scouring the web for examples by artists and designers of this
potentially enthralling new medium. I was, and am, frustrated. I found
many examples of technically sophisticated work, and an ever increasing
amount of VRML banners, but very little good art or design. And much of
the work that was attempting to be VRML art/design was, albeit
valiantly, grappling with the very concept of this virtual medium (i.e.
"what the hell do I do with THIS?").
There are, however, a few places on-line where I have found compelling
VRML work; work that captures me and draws us into a new environment
and, for a few moments, shows VRML's potential. This work interests me,
and is the kind of work which I believe must be created if this medium
is to become something other than some aesthetic/technical novelty, and
be utilized to express IDEAS. One group doing good work (and quite
frankly, I believe the best VRML work currently available online) is
Construct (www.construct.net). Construct is a small technology company
based in San Francisco that has been involved with VRML since its
inception, in fact creating the first online VRML environment for the
1995 Interactive Media Festival. Since then Construct has developed into
one of the most avant-garde technology design shops, producing
intelligent projects for a variety of high profile clients while
continuing to infuse all of their work with sophisticated, challenging
aesthetics.
Construct's VRML models and environments have yet to fail to captivate
me. Purusing their site reveals a variety of models and environments
from architectural scenarios to a wonderfully disturbing crucifix (it
will captivate any Catholic for hours!). Even the most commercial of
their projects engages VRML not merely as a technical capability, but as
an aesthetic experience. Perhaps one of their most intriguing
environments is "American Gothic."
"American Gothic" begins on the ground floor of a house that resembles a
cartoon version of the Norman Bates mansion in "Psycho." The walls are
slightly slanted in and off to the left is large, ominous staircase. The
lighting in the room shifts between shades of darkness. Contrary to the
typical hard edge rendering on VRML models, the surroundings in American
Gothic are immediately reminiscent of hand-drawn cartoons. The
staircase, banister, and walls are not straight lines but crafted shapes
– these conjure feelings of unease by virtue of their irregularity. The
geometry induces a slight feeling of paranoia, of the walls actually
closing in on the self. Lighting techniques reference classic Hollywood
thrillers. As I used "View" to navigate about the room a filmic
reference was ever-present: rather than shifting views or moving across
the space, I was directed through a tracking shot, which lifted me up
and over the staircase in a circular pattern to the second floor in a
smooth and dynamic movement. From that view point I saw the source of
the light variance, a chandelier that swung back and forth, its movement
so stylized, one could almost hear it creak.
Construct's "American Gothic" is highly stylized and exaggerated; it
references genres close to VRML, like architecture, theater design, and
film. These associations, as well as the cartoon emotions and Hollywood
Gothic details deepen and enrich the sense of immersion, and work nicely
with the technology. Stiff, sterile models of villages and environments
are of no interest…but an environment which so creatively interprets a
scenario is enthralling. Construct brings the web intelligent technology
and design coupled with highly developed aesthetics. Shouldn't this be
the point of aesthetically based projects rather than some concentration
on the utilization of complex scripting?
