A Positive Space...

Using the feedback collected from Jeffrey Hammond's exhibition and past experience from exhibitions that affected and influenced me (plus the physical properties of available print resources), I created a VR gallery for my L5 photography students.

This time I made the gallery an O'Doherty driven ideal space, with a nod to the Museum of One Painting. I wanted the space to slowly reveal its secrets so I based it purely on individual rooms for individual works and pairs and triptychs by the same author. I chose the size and placement of each piece based on content, visual impact and the wishes of the artist.

Technically, this gallery came together very quickly.








I presented the gallery to the students and used the event to further my research by asking them to fill out a questionnaire. This time I wanted to find out whether the exhibition encouraged them to think about how the gallery space affected their work and what impact scale had on their work. I also wanted to find out whether the exhibition/space/experience would leave a lasting impression and affect the student's choices in the future.



Questionnaire
VR Gallery - L5 Photography 20 December 2018

8 participants

Have you experienced VR before?
YES   3   NO 5 (please tick)

Have you exhibited before?
YES 2* NO 6** (please tick)

What were your first impressions when you saw your work in this gallery?

• Very realistic - get the sense for dimensions, depth etc. I like how I get an idea for what my work would look like in an actual gallery.
• Sizing of images, which I don't think I would have thought about before. Seeing an image the size of the wall shows up its capability better.
• It's just breathtaking in a good way, it made me feel confident.
• I was amazed*
• Look[s] great - Seeing my images large. Colours are well represented*
• My work was not there, but everyone else's was presented well.
• Fantastic.
• My first impression was 'can I pick out the detail' and can I see the pixels.

Describe how your work is exhibited.
N/A (I asked this to try and get the students to think about how their work was displayed before moving onto the next questions).

Describe how you think your work is affected by the way it is exhibited.

• Made me realise it would work - big impact due to size.
• Colour seem to pop even more.
• It has made [me] think about artist[s] future.
• You can see the images in a big print. Each image has its own room, produces an atmosphere of that image. Felt like I was there.*
• It allows me to view my images in a large format. Also side-by-side allows comparison of images.*
• The work looks posher.
• It makes it look so much better.
• I could see that even at that size, it is sharp so I know I have no need to upgrade my camera body.

Having seen your work in this gallery space would you change anything about your practice in the future? Size? Shape? Composition? etc?

• [The} only thing I would change is to add the rest of my series - due to that, slightly smaller but without they are fine.
• Size, the larger images really have an effect when viewing especially with the headset on.
• I am going more on shapes in my future because if effects the view.
• Print big. Consider new ways to exhibit.*
• No?? Maybe - I might consider a brighter exposure?*
• I think so, I could present in this way, I'd think about the size and image quality.
• No.
• I will still shoot and process the same things in a similar way but will now pay more attention to getting the image sharp before I put it out there.

Do you think this exhibition has helped you consider how you might exhibit your work in the future?

• I originally struggled to picture my work in a gallery - more low (small) scale things like magazine or for a gallery, somewhere like Open Eye (Liverpool).
• Yes it has as I've never liked VR before and this has given me a positive feeling about this technology for the first time.
• Yeah. Don't see it as much negative thing.
• Yes.*
• Yes. I would consider using a set format for my images.*
• Hopefully.
• Yes.
• YES! bigger is better.

What did you think about the exhibition as a whole?

• Very realistic, perfect for seeing own work in a gallery setting - could use it to plan future works.
• I like that I could walk around the space without have a room full of people in a gallery. I also liked the effect the larger images had on me, I would like to be able to physically walk the whole way instead of clicking.
• Just awesome and amazing
• Brilliant, fun to be able to see/feel the experience.*
• Very good.*
• Well put together.
• Amazing.
• I can see this becoming a cultural thing. People viewing galleries across the world without needing to leave their living room. (or [se..] if they are mobility impaired).

Initial Results/Conclusions
The student's first impressions were very positive and the question I asked about it (3) once again highlighted the experiential hurdle and that the two of the three people who had experienced VR before gave a more descriptive and objective answer than those who had not. This is something that I need to be aware of as 'first timers' do not necessarily give an objective view. However, my questions seem to do a good job of channelling more considered feedback further down the questionnaire.

The exhibition positively affected all the participants view of their work - It seems that most appreciate that their work will perform well at these larger sizes and it gives them confidence in their own abilities.

The answers generally show that the students are considering the impact of size on their practice. This is for both technical and impact reasons. They talk about quality and sharpness; both very important for photographic works of a larger scale. Against this, one has to consider that most (if not all) of these students have never printed their images larger than A3, so this is a new challenge for them... one which they traditionally do not encounter until they are preparing for their graduate show right at the end of their study, which is then too late to do anything about it. So this is a really positive outcome in terms of their development as photographers.

The students unanimously believed that this exhibition has helped them consider how they might exhibit their work in the future. I have been very careful to exhibit the work at real world sizes and we have the resources to do exactly that with our large format printers at B&FC, so these results can be directly transferable into the 'real' world. I think that the impact of size has been supported by the size of the exhibition spaces, which again are not too dissimilar to what one may find in the real world.

The positive thing for me and this project is the students would not have come to these conclusions without visiting this VR gallery unless they are able to print out images of a similar size and exhibit their work in a gallery - and both of these things are impractical, either through cost and/or time.

The participants do a good job of summing up the experience and pointing towards the future in their comments in the final section of the questionnaire - perfect for seeing own work in a gallery setting - could use it to plan future works. I especially liked - I like that I could walk around the space without have a room full of people in a gallery. I also liked the effect the larger images had on me - which supports O'Doherty's notion of the installation photograph as being the perfect viewing experience and, of course, one in which VR lets you participate! (see previous post - The Museum of One Painting). Finally, the last sentiment/comment reinforces the notions of universal accessibility and equality - I can see this becoming a cultural thing. People viewing galleries across the world without needing to leave their living room.

Have a great Christmas!


EDIT (10/1/19): I came across this picture of the Third Gallery at The Congiunta Foundation...



It has many similarities to my central corridor and it's inclusion of four small rooms, seen here on the left. However, its main galleries are the central corridor rooms, so a visit would be a fairy linear experience... I may build a VR version, to experience the effect. I will feed back here.

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.