Invisible Art
by Kenneth Lyen
One of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is that artists are exploring new ways of presenting their art. There has been a flowering of virtual reality art, which is replacing the traditional physical art where you can see and even touch the artwork. When a piece of invisible virtual sculpture by Italian Salvatore Garau was sold in June 2021 for £13,000 some of us laughed. There was literally nothing for us to see. It was invisible. Hands up those who would buy an invisible sculpture for £13,000?
More recently many art galleries in the world are also displaying invisible art. They can only be viewed via your mobile device and handphones. If you forget to bring your mobile phone, then bad luck. Nothing for you to see.
What are the advantages of invisible art? What else can this technology be used for? Some of the invisible art is animated, and this has its attractions. The art displayed can be gigantic and this can be quite inspiring. Perhaps one can add some sound effects or music to enhance the art even further.
Other uses of this technology is to use it in shopping centres and supermarkets, to label the products and persuade you to buy more. Another advantage of invisible art is that there is nothing to steal. However, how does one verify that the art is really original and not copied? Maybe there are ways of placing an indelible signature or watermark of the artist!
We better not laugh too soon. Every generation has a revolutionary art form that defies all the odds, the rules and conventions. We may initially be shocked by impressionism, pointillism, cubism, dadaism, surrealism, abstract expressionism, pop art, op art, minimalism, etc. But eventually we get used to the new art forms, and they become embedded into the status quo.
So let's give our best wishes to Invisible Art!
Written by Kenneth Lyen
13 November 2021
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