The Kremer Museum

The visionary for the Kremer Museum sees this gallery 'as merely the beginning of an entire new way for people to experience art across the world' (https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-new-museum-exists-solely-vr-future). The gallery allows the visitor to view and interact with George Kremer's collection of Dutch and Flemish masterpieces. They used photogrammetry to map the objects realistically and at a high resolution. The interactivity allows the viewer to see the back of the paintings, X-ray versions and a holographic expert will appear by certain pictures to explain their history and importance.

However, just like other VR galleries and whilst this one makes use of fantastic architecture and interactivity, it still feels like it is constrained by tradition. But the overall concept is a great step forward and the idea that people can now experience these paintings from across the globe has potential... although not without criticism, specifically about the direction of cultural flow, which is an interesting argument, but not one that is part of this project's goal (at the moment). Read the original article here.

Joel Kremer talks about being discouraged by the high cost of a 'bricks and mortar' for building a real gallery. This article on the Financial Times' website talks about the same
issue...  https://www.ft.com/content/ea0a12fa-dfee-11e7-a0d4-0944c5f49e46

Photogrammetry is something I want to investigate as it would allow me to include sculpture and more three dimensional pieces in the study. I am looking at collaborating with some L5 Photography students to try an make this happen. Watch this space...

Edit (28/12/18): I finally got round to downloading and viewing the gallery. I would not change anything that I have already stated above, however I would like to add a couple of thoughts. Firstly, the space is impressive. It uses expansive architecture that directs you towards the paintings. Each of the paintings is given its own space and 'ideal' viewing distance that reduces the distraction of nearby paintings. Now, the most fantastic element of this gallery, and obviously where most time (money?) has been spent, is in the incredible resolution and surface texture of each of the paintings. You can examine the paintings at an almost scientific detail. This is exemplified by Rembrandt's copper plates; they reflect the light very accurately, even to the point of reversing out when viewed obliquely. For people who are studying this era of painting, this gallery represents an unbeatable resource, especially if it is not practical for you to examine the original.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.