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The <natural interface>: «Osmose»

Many virtual environments reduce the observer to a seemingly disembodied entity within a Cartesian space with a fairly clear view of a space that is frequently quite empty. Although Charlotte Davies' virtual environment «Osmose» has only been shown a few times in the USA and Europe, [25] more than any other contemporary work it has been the subject of international media art debate. Only a few thousand visitors have actually had the opportunity to experience the installation, but many times that number of art lovers has avidly followed the debate on aesthetics, phenomenology and reception of virtual art that has centered on this particular work. Moreover, the level at which «Osmose» cultivates the user-interface—a central parameter of virtual art—is unparalleled. «Osmose» is an immersive interactive environment where the user experiences 3-D computer graphics and interactive sound synaesthetically wearing an HMD.[26] It is a technically advanced and visually impressive simulation of a series of complex natural and textual spaces: a mineral-vegetable, intangible sphere. Nothing here recalls the grainy, jittery polygonal images of virtual art's early years: in the data space created by the Canadian Char Davies, phosphorescing points of light glimmer in soft focus in the dark.

Her objective to develop a natural, intuitive interface, is groundbreaking. The user interface is the point of contact between humans and machines where exchange with oneself or with others takes place. Many forms are possible. It is at the interface, which must be used by the active observer according to the rules of the particular illusion world, that the communication structures of the simulation meet with the human senses. Thus, the interface in virtual reality has a more sustained function as the key to the digital artwork and it shapes both perception and dimensions of interaction. The observer, whom Davies refers to as the <immersant>, controls navigation through the virtual space by means of a lightweight vest filled with sensors. This has to be put on before the journey can begin; it tracks each breath and movement of the torso and relays this information to the software. Because this interface concept utilizes involuntary physical processes and habitual muscular movements, the observer unconsciously connects with the virtual space in a much more intense way than with a joystick or a mouse. The effect is a profound feeling of corporeal presence, which in the course of the <stay> results in an emotional state that is enhanced still further by the music. Each zone has its own localized sound; in fact, the sound plays a decisive role in generating the feeling of presence.[27]

At first glance, Davies' most recent work, «Ephémère» (1998), appears to be the twin of «Osmose»: a virtual space that generates reactive image worlds in real time.[28] However, whereas «Osmose» was deeply embedded in a spiritual conception of nature, the image worlds of «Ephémère» include organs of the body, bones athe blood circulatory system. When asked, Davies says that «Ephémère» is inspired by an actual place in her native Quebec and, in a certain sense, it symbolizes a lament, an elegy, a remembrance space for the passing of nature as we have known it.

Inner distance

When actually immersed in a high-resolution, 360° illusion space such as «Osmose» or «Ephémère,» it is only with great difficulty that an observer can maintain any distance to the work or objectify it. It is almost impossible to perceive it as an autonomous aesthetic object. If media competence results from the capability, or learned ability, to objectify a given medium, then this ability is undermined by virtual installations. The designers of this medium utilize all means at their disposal to banish this from the consciousness of the recipients. At best, the medium of virtual reality—as indeed all immersive image techniques—can only be objectified through knowledge and awareness of the image production processes and an understanding of their technical, physiological and psychological mechanisms, for in them everything is an image. As the interfaces seem to disappear, as their design becomes more natural, the illusionary symbiosis of observer and work progresses and psychological detachment increasingly vanishes. Inside the immediate existence of <omnipresent> virtuality there will be lasting effects on any mechanism of knowledge acquisition. Thus, in certain seemingly <living> virtual environments a fragile, central element of art comes under threat: the recipient's act of distancing, which is essential for enabling any critical reflection.[29]

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