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Cheng Yu, PAN "Between Heaven And Earth, The Virtual Horizon." PhD in Visual Arts and Sciences of Art
, Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University, 2014
Keywords/Fields of Study : "Auto-virtualization", cyberspace, GIS, Internet, look, mythology, net.art, visual arts, virtuality, world map
Abstract: This thesis aims to examine the situation of individuals facing virtual space in the interconnected era and the creativity that emerges in the cyberspace. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part consists of an analysis of my personal experience in conducting four art projects elaborated in various forms, including installation art, net.art, video art, digital photography and GPS performance art. Regardless of which artistic form is in question, "look" is the key in connecting the author, the audience as well as the visual media. The second part aims to further explore the artistic issues derived from the personal experience, namely net art, map and virtuality. In order to fulfil this task, the metaphor of "water cycle" is applied to conceptualize the development of internet in a systematic way. In addition, world maps at different stages of human civilization are analyzed to shed light on how the worldview has changed over time. Based on that, a hypothesis is proposed: if the changes in world maps over the course of human history reflects a gradual replacement of a mythological perception of the world by a more rational perspective, the creativity shown in trendy digital maps nowadays might point to a resuscitation of a world view featuring mythological representation. Some cultural phenomena in the cyber space are also analyzed. The focus of the analysis is on a few issues related to virtuality, such as augmented reality, the duration of virtual immersion, as well as "auto-virtualization". Such analysis should help corroborate the above mentioned hypothesis, namely the rise of mythological representation in virtual space.
Department: Faculty 04 Visual Arts and Science of Art
, Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University
Advisor(s): Bernard GUELTON, Chu-Yin CHEN, Joël GILLES, Éric BONNET, Isabelle VODJDANI
