Art in Virtual Reality and the Modern World

by Cloie Davis, Staff Writer

Jim Klein, an artist and student in the Fine Arts program at Georgia Southwestern State University, has been expanding and revolutionizing the concept of traditional sculpture through rethinking and redesigning traditional sculpture and incorporating it into the digital, modern world, through virtual reality, 3-D printing and various digital, sculpting programming mediums. Upon asking Klein what his art is about and what are the main ideas behind his work, Klein responded, “The main ideas behind my work all factor into power and how our country uses this power to exploit the people through capitalist loopholes and urban sprawl, resulting in a contemporary manifestation of manifest destiny that continues to this day. By using both real world and digitally created objects, I comment on these issues through visual metaphors using motifs of the road, casinos, and night life. By using the digital realm as an intermediary I intend to show people the beautifully horrifying world of my unconscious and hopefully show them that they have their own unconscious that is ready to be explored.”

Your art sounds very interesting, what are you working on?

“I’m currently working on sculptural plate dramas and custom images on license plates to take the role of canvas. License plates are already indicative of locations but these locations will be places within my unconscious built up from stuff I have found in the real world, whether that be graphic tracing and repurposing, or actual junk sculptures created from what usually would be considered as worthless to most.”

What made you want to become an artist?

“I think I always wanted to be an artist. As a child, art was my favorite thing, so I just followed suit with that and now I’m here. The early 2000s were my childhood so I hold a lot of stuff from that time period in high regard, and it inspires me a lot. Aside from that, I get inspired by other artists, movies, video games, and various types of media, that makes a mark on the collective unconscious which is why I lean into some references heavier than others.”

That’s really interesting. You mentioned the collective unconscious a few times while describing your inspirations and ideas behind your work. How would you describe the presence and influence of the collective unconscious in your work?

“As something that has been evolutionarily bred into us as humans, the collective unconscious shows in all of us, as it is the go-between for all human minds, and gives us that real sense of connection, because it is what makes the human experience. Media is a large influence on this, which is why I choose to take ideas and images from media and advertising. The road is another interesting connection as we all have it, know what it looks like, and know the symbols of the road. They are so natural to us that we forget they are there. I suppose that by building off of these mental motifs I can connect to the human experience and solidify my presence in the timeline with where we are now in society.”

That’s so fascinating. I really resonate with that. Would you say the process of making art is different in virtual reality than it is in the real?

“In its current state, there are a lot of differences that are physical; such as not being able to feel the object with your hands (which is already being addressed with haptic technology designed to stop hands to simulate form), and a more helpful difference is that you can shrink yourself down to smaller sizes and work more closely with the object. Aside from that, all of the fundamentals of sculpture still apply. It’s just the new tools that you have to figure out that’s a little difficult.”

Creating in virtual reality sounds like it would be a very intriguing, almost psychedelic experience. What is that like?

"It is psychedelic in a lot of ways, but the best part about it to me is how natural it feels. I get to use my kind of learning which is extremely hands on. It is also extremely convenient for stuff that would usually be tough in the real world, especially since gravity is not an issue in the digital realm.”

How has modern technology, like 3d printers, sculpting programming on computers, and virtual reality headsets, changed the way you make and think about art?“

All of this stuff has radically changed my outlook on digital art and has broken down barriers between what is “real” and what isn’t. It gives me a lot of room to play with these ideas conceptually in my work, and in the next five to ten years, I think all of the technology is going to be extremely common and easy to use, hopefully giving many more people the same realization.”

It’s really interesting that you bring up the real and non real. What does the real and non real mean to you in your work?“

Ever since I got into virtual reality, it has been fun to challenge what it means. To me, reality is really just perception. When you put on a headset or fall asleep, you enter a new perception.”

That’s so true. Your art and conceptual ideas are extremely fascinating and really resonate with me. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.

“Of course! Thank you so much!