Art Experience in the (Post-) Digital Age. {original | digital | virtual}

The inter- and transdisciplinary project “Art Experience in the (Post-) Digital Age { original | digital | virtual }” (OrDiV) addresses the question of how the perception of original art differs from digital and virtual reproductions. Today's technological developments are constantly creating new possibilities for presenting, sharing, and experiencing art. Digital reproductions of originals can be accessed online on screens within a very short time and participatory exhibition formats such as VR or AR installations offer immersive experiences.

The effects of this digitalization on the experience of art have not yet been sufficiently researched. In order to investigate this, it is necessary to compare and analyse works of art in different media formats (original, digital, virtual) to determine whether there is a media-specific experience of art. Taking Walter Benjamin's "concept of aura" into account, the project will investigate whether there are differences between different visual media with regard to the perception of artworks and how these differences might influence different visitors. The project will be conducted using a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods such as eye tracking, questionnaires and an online survey. The aim is to empirically capture the complex relationship between art experience and visual media through comparative studies.

The project is led by Dr. Hanna Brinkmann and based at the Center for Cultures and Technologies of Collecting at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies of University for Continuing Education Krems. National research partner is the Belvedere Research Center in Vienna with Christian Huemer Ph.D., and Dr. Johanna Aufreiter.