I den virtuella verkligehtens rum för konst : En fenomenologisk undersökning av applikationen Acute Art X utifrån rum och plats

Sammanfattning: In this master thesis I examinate the experience of space, place and genius loci in the application Acute Art X and the virtual reality art works at the platform, using a phenomenological method. Six artworks were on display while the thesis was authored. All the displayed artworks were analysed because of their variation of theme, topic, and experience. The applied method uses the body and the perception as tools to reach the phenomenon of the space, place and genius loci in the virtual reality artworks presented in the application. The applied theories are theory of space, theory of place and genius loci – the spirit of place. Space being the surrounding area where life takes place, it is produces by man or by nature. Space is there for more of an architectural character, while place is defined by particularity of its inherent meaning. The production of space in the virtual reality art works be a representation of physical space, produced to mediate an artistic content.  The virtual reality spaces of art are based on the model of all-encompassing frescoes dated 2000 years back, where entire spaces and rooms were covered by illusional art works. The immersive experience of being inside of the artwork has reached its next development with the technique of virtual reality. The enclosed experience of being inside of an artwork is examined in this thesis, along with the outcomes of the artworks forming of an artistic virtual reality world. Main questions: What is the experience of the application Acute Art X, as a space and place for art, as an exhibition space? What is the experience of space, place, and the function of the place in the virtual reality artworks displayed in the application? What is the experience of the physical body´s functions in the virtual reality worlds of the art works? How are the conditions between the intentions of the virtual reality artworks and the genius loci of the virtual place? The conclusions are made from the discussion about the phenomenology method, which puts the position of the physical body in a new experience based on the perception’s location inside the virtual reality artworks, and of the experience of space, place, and the spirit of the places – genius loci – in the virtual reality artworks. The artworks are the places, not made at an already existing place, and the artworks inherited meaning are the same as the genius loci of the virtual reality worlds of art.