Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that creates a simulated, computer-generated environment with which the user can interact. The main goal is to completely immerse the user in this artificial world, making them lose perception of their surrounding physical environment.

Below is a paragraph from my thesis, of which the project presented here is a part. The thesis discusses the historical steps in art that demonstrate the possibility of using VR as a medium for artistic creation:

"The sphere of art has expanded enormously. Anything can be transformed into 'art,' even without its creator knowing anything about it. Who has the legitimacy and authority to perform this metamorphosis?"¹ 

Having reached this last chapter, we should have acquired a clear understanding of the concept of medium, its evolution throughout the twentieth century, and the inclusion of virtual reality as a possible medium. The truth is that there is no absolute truth that declares this thesis right. In a world full of opinions, the veil of skepticism that can succumb to any argument, even the most studied or proven, has the possibility of negating a given research. To affirm VR as a medium, the approach taken so far has been a historical re-examination aimed at demonstrating how society has inexorably evolved thanks to continuous revolutions and scientific discoveries. This approach to discovery has inevitably influenced the culture of society and its intellectual level, leading to asking and accepting ever new forms of interest. Among these, art in the twentieth century faced the most extravagant novelties, leading to expanding its boundaries and accepting new media within its walls. This does not prevent, as we have seen since the 1990s, that discoveries in the field of technology have also significantly influenced the world, and consequently the artistic field. Ineluctably, the contagiousness of technology use in our lives, which has increasingly taken hold in recent years, could not remain distant from art. Therefore, the medium that allows us to immerse ourselves in virtual worlds and experience an augmented reality, in a mixture of our home and the most incredible places, is considered a great resource for art.  

The medium of virtual reality represents a new solution to overcome the frontier of shock. To affirm VR as a medium, the approach taken so far has been a historical re-examination aimed at demonstrating how society has inexorably evolved thanks to continuous revolutions and scientific discoveries. Today's daily life leads people to experience a general lobotomy, caused by the social media they are exposed to daily. The desensitization of public opinion is crucial in the creation of works of art, especially if their primary purpose is interaction with the public. In relation to this topic, it is interesting to recall the approach of artists from the post-World War II period to the emotional aspect of art. The world had just suffered an enormous shock, marking its existence with a trauma it would carry forever.  In this context, various artists began to reflect on the concept of emotionality conveyed by their art: the goal was no longer to transmit the author's emotion, but to encourage the development of the viewer's emotionality. To succeed, they sought to make the creative process as mechanical, dehumanized, and devoid of the artist's emotional intervention as possible. An exemplary figure in this approach is the composer John Cage, who, through his famous 4'33 minutes of silence, culminates this concept. The public finds itself in total silence, and while the composition does not begin, the first dissents begin to be heard. The four minutes aim to give full space to the public's feelings, making their emotions the art to be enjoyed. This approach by Cage, in response to the strong post-war expressive trauma, also manifests in the creation of compositions through the sole use of numbers in the composition of verses. A process that can be likened to computerized behavior, which can be resorted to in order to create a work. Conversely, today's artists have also shown how the use of technology does not preclude the intervention of human emotions. It is about a human artist, subject to errors, and a perfect digital system, which together create a work of art. This can be characterized by a more human side, or a less sentimental one. But resorting to technology would have represented a possible solution for the post-war research carried out by artists. 

It would have allowed the introduction of the spectator into a new immersive reality, devoid of other people's emotions. In which it is possible to concentrate only on one's own psyche, on one's own trauma. Applicable to the current digital age, such immersion can represent the solution to the desensitization of the previously mentioned content, in an attempt at a new surprising discovery that makes public opinion more attentive and susceptible to certain issues. This thought about society, anesthetized to the pain of others or indifferent to wonder, conforms to the logic that characterized the iconic figure of Jaron Lanier. He is known for his criticisms of social media and their negative impact on society, which he defines as impacting manipulation and consequently the autonomy of one's own thought. Considered the pioneer of virtual reality, Lanier is an American computer scientist, composer, and essayist, founder of VPL Research, in the 1980s he represented one of the first companies to deal with the commercialization of virtual reality devices. Lanier describes virtual reality in these words:

"Virtual reality represents a scientific, philosophical, and technological frontier of our era. It is a means of creating the illusion of being in another place, perhaps in a different body. Yet it is also the most important means of investigating the true essence of the human being."²

Jaron addresses the theme from a philosophical-moral aspect, demonstrating how this technology is not limited to mere computer science, but can inherently possess a more aesthetic and cultural soul that we can utilize in the field of art. However, if we were to ask artificial intelligence, a purely computer software, through which we can exclude human emotion, VR is defined as:

"Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that creates a simulated, immersive, and interactive environment, in which the user can interact as if it were real. Unlike augmented reality, which overlays digital elements onto the real world, virtual reality completely replaces the real environment with a virtual one."³

The software directly presents us with an interesting distinction to consider. When talking about virtual reality, the terms augmented reality and mixed reality are often connected. As introduced by AI, augmented reality differs from virtual reality in its ability to immerse the user in a world that coincides with the physical one they are in, adding game elements to it. Mixed reality, on the other hand, represents a combination of these first two realities: it is the solution obtained by immersing the user in a reality created by the mixture of the physical reality they are in and the unreal one, created to simulate a certain environment. This is a hybrid reality, characterized by the presence of both real physical objects and objects projected by the device before our eyes. A hybrid reality that recalls Plato's myth of the cave. Unlike the moral and philosophical discourse, it is necessary to focus on an analysis of the technical aspects, to clarify the actual functioning of virtual reality and the devices that allow access to new worlds. The main component is the VR headset. The main hardware identifiable as HMD, or Head-Mounted Display, which consists of three main elements. The first allows three-dimensional vision, thanks to the internal screens that show stereoscopic images. The second necessary aspect are the motion sensors, essential for tracking the orientation of the head and the position that the user occupies in real space, preventing them from damaging themselves and others in the real world when interacting with objects in the virtual world. Finally, the third and not always present component, allows total immersion through audio. Thanks to the integration of headphones, therefore, not only the visual, but also the auditory sensory perception of the user is affected, who in those conditions, in some cases, also perceives the loss of the sense of touch in reality in favor of virtual reality. In this case, specific devices already exist, called Haptics, which provide the user with tactile sensations through vibrations or temperature changes. The subsequent components of this small teleportation machine are the controllers necessary to interact in the virtual environment, by tracking the position of the hands.

The computer then represents the entire computing machine that generates the virtual environment, sending the images to the viewer. These images are created thanks to software that renders 3D models, generating realistic images that, together with the sound, update in real time during the user's interaction with the virtual environment. This complex mechanism guarantees the user the possibility of a new experience. It expands their horizons and influences their perception of reality.  

¹ Perniola, Mario. L’arte Espansa. Giulio Einaudi Editore, 15 Sept. 2015.

² Lanier, Jaron. L’alba Del Nuovo Tutto. Il Saggiatore, 26 Sept. 2019.

³ Definition of virtual reality produced by artificial intelligence, Gemini.

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