HOME OF THE BRAIN (1990-91) - PHILOSOPHICAL DIALOGUES IN VIRTUAL SPACE
Created between 1989 and 1991, HOME OF THE BRAIN by Monika Fleischmann and Wolfgang Strauss is considered to be one of the first pieces of Virtual Reality in the world to make use of a data glove and a head-mounted display of Jaron Lanier and Tom Zimmerman's VPL company. In this networked VR installation, visitors can explore an imaginary world. The experience offers visual and auditory sensations with a striking three-dimensionality to the virtual spaces.
What was the significance of 'Home of the Brain' in VR history?
“Home of the Brain” holds significant historical importance in the realm of Virtual Reality (VR) and marked several milestones:
Early VR Artwork: It was one of the earliest artistic explorations of VR, predating the widespread adoption of VR technologies.
Immersive Experience: “Home of the Brain” immersed visitors in a virtual world using a head-mounted display and a data glove. Participants could interact with the environment, experiencing a sense of presence.
Conceptual Innovation: The piece challenged traditional notions of space, perception, and embodiment. It blurred boundaries between physical and virtual realms.
Narrative Exploration: Through visual and auditory cues, it offered a narrative experience within the virtual space, emphasizing storytelling in VR.
In summary, “Home of the Brain” contributed to shaping the artistic and conceptual landscape of VR, paving the way for future immersive experiences.
What was the public reaction to Home of the Brain?
The public response to Home of the Brain was a mixture of curiosity, awe, and fascination, as well as vitriol from traditional art historians and intellectuals. As one of the first VR works of art, it attracted particular attention for its novel use of technology and immersive experience, but as it was dedicated to four philosophers and scientists it was also understood as a new public space for public discussion, a new world brain, as it featured the Think Tanks - philosophers' houses of these renowned philosophers and AI scientists. Visitors were fascinated by the mix of visual and auditory elements and the sense of presence in the virtual environment. Some saw it as a glimpse into the future of interactive art, while others questioned the boundaries between physical and digital spaces. Overall, the exhibition left a lasting impression and contributed to discussions about the potential of VR for artistic expression and the digital future.
THE STORY OF HOME OF THE BRAIN
Ever wanted to get inside the minds of great thinkers? With Home of the Brain, we have created a virtual reality space where you can do just that. Imagine hearing the voices of influential figures as you wander through a digital realm. Depending on how they move, each visitor creates a unique montage of the contrasting wisdom of the four protagonists.
In a virtual replica of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the VR installation Home of the Brain represents the thoughts of four philosophers as metaphorical virtual houses. Chosen for their contributions to the discourse on artificial intelligence, human-machine interaction, network culture, and the impact of technology on society, the installation presents the contrasting theories of Marvin Minsky, Joseph Weizenbaum, Vilém Flusser, and Paul Virilio. Equipped with a data glove and data glasses, the viewer enters the virtual space of the philosophers' houses, a networked computer brain. The thinkers’ voices become audible through the participants’ movement. The audience experiences an interactive scenario in real-time.
Home of the Brain aims to reflect on the new medium. It stages the media discourse as a philosophical debate. Each of the four Denkhäuser was associated with a main statement. This resulted in combinations depending on how one moved through the virtual environment.
Here, in the medium of this virtual environment, the theoretical discourse on new media that usually takes place in books is directly experienced. Flusser is heard to say: "People are getting worse, but technology is getting better. Minsky argues that there is no difference between the real you and your digital clone. Weizenbaum wonders: Why do we need this? What is the difference between a virtual hand and a real one? Minsky suggests implanting chips in the human brain to speed up learning. Virilio describes the development of the digital world as a rapid standstill. Their opposing positions on digital culture become visible and audible as a battle of words-heated debate that forms the narrative basis for the cognitive mood of this virtual environment.
The art historian Oliver Grau calls the Home of the Brain “one of the earliest memory spaces that represented a completely new form of public space—that of global computer networks. … A modern version of a Stoa, it offers a simulated, highly symbolic information space in which to engage in a metaphorical discourse about the ethical and social implications of new media technology”.
Voices are heard as if someone were standing next to the viewer. Those who think speak disembodied, but those who participate do not act disembodied. They have a new experience of their bodies through gesture and movement. The quality of the visual atmosphere is enhanced by what is probably the first use of special image synthesis in a 3D environment, which normally appears graphically flat due to standard rendering methods. In "Home of the Brain", however, the virtual space is bathed in physically calculated light that uses a specially developed radiosity algorithm to cast shadows and make individual objects glow when approached. The spatial effect is reminiscent of Giorgio de Chirico's Pittura Metafisica (Metaphysical Painting). The ability to simulate magical light scenes is a powerful way to convey attention and meaning. In 1992, Home of the Brain was awarded the Golden Nica at the Prix Ars Electronica.
Software: VPL Body Electric, Star UX, Alias Wavefront, Inhouse Radiosity.
Home of the Brain"(1990-92) was first described in detail in Oliver Grau's dissertation: Virtuelle Kunst in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Visual Strategies, Berlin,Bonn: Dietrich Reimer Verlag 2001