Virtuālā realitāte, sensori un dati kā tehnoloģisks patības paplašinājums. Transhumānās mākslas prakses Latvijā

• Authors: Vēliņa Līga

Title variants

EN

Virtual reality, Sensors and Data as a Technological Extension of the Self. Transhuman Art Practices in Latvia

• Languages of publication: LV

Abstracts

EN

By using and combining new technologies, artists often embody transhumanist ideas, reflecting potential scenarios in which technology surpasses nature, or exploring the transformative potential of technology as a means for new existential self-revelations and experiences. Technology thus becomes a tool for shaping new understandings of the self and the world, including the interrelationship between humans and nature. One of the emerging technologies increasingly present in both our daily lives and in the context of art is virtual reality (VR). Digital culture theorist Lev Manovich describes virtual worlds as one of the defining cultural forms of the 21st century, much as cinema characterized the 20th.Virtual reality technology integrates narrative, presence, and the spatial expansion of sensory experience (vision, hearing). When combined with motion sensors and other technologies, it can foster a closer relationship between humans and technology – an interaction or even fusion – thus creating more immersive and engaging artistic experiences. Although VR has often been criticized for its focus on a single sense – vision – there are examples in Latvian art where VR is combined with other devices and methods to expand the medium’s capacity to visualize and evoke the invisible, the inaudible, and the imagined. This study examines technopositive, transhumanist examples in Latvian art – case studies where virtual reality, both independently and in combination with other technologies, stimulates the senses and acts as an extension of human subjectivity, fostering new existential understandings of the self both as an individual and as part of a larger natural whole. Within the context of this article, particular attention is given to themes explored by Latvian artists and the technological methods employed in the creation of their works.

Keywords

EN

virtual reality; transhumanism; digital culture; new media art

• Publisher: Institute of Art History of the Latvian Academy of Art and Art History Research Support Foundation
• Journal: Makslas Vesture un Teorija
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 29
• Pages: 89-99

Contributors

author

Vēliņa Līga

• Art Academy of Latvia, Kalpaka Blvd 13, Riga LV-1010, Latvia