Van Gogh The Immersive Exhibit: NYC
NYC, 2022
Do visitors really feel entirely immersed in the experience?
Project Overview
Duration: 2 months
This case study is a part of my M.A. thesis project.
THE POSSIBILITY OF WALKING IN A PAINTING
The rapid development of accessible digital technologies has allowed agencies to produce immersive and interactive works exhibits that appeal to the senses.
These works surround the spectators and create an environment for multi-sensory experiences, allowing them to feel completely involved in an experience. Sounds exciting!
But do visitors really feel entirely immersed in the experience? I observed that the agencies designing these exhibitions did not consider the subject of experience.
Goals
The project aims to understand the experience of immersive environments by focusing on the following:
Understanding how the components of the immersive exhibits experienced
Defining the factors that affect immersion
Evaluating the immersive experience from a cultural viewpoint
My Role
This research is a part of my thesis research process. This is why I carried out all the steps of this project myself:
Research design,
Research process,
Analysis,
The report and presentation.
Methodology
FIELD RESEARCH
Since this project basically aims to understand how people experience the surrounding environment, the field research method is used to understand the notion of immersion and other influential factors, observing visitors in a natural setting.
Participant Observation: Involving the field as a participant and an observer allows the researcher to understand the experience and interaction of the visitors directly and to establish a more natural communication with the visitors.
Nethnography: Observations were also made on social media platforms, as some exhibitions focus on being an Instagram-friendly experience.
Research Process
STEP 1:
DESK RESEARCH
Reviewing studies focused on culture, art, and technology and examining their connection with human interaction and experience.
Aiming to understand the human experience from the aesthetics, psychology, new media, and the anthropology field.
STEP 2:
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
Self Analysis:
To better analyze the participant’s experience of the exhibit, I needed to understand and analyze my own experience.
Direct Observation:
The data is collected by observing the visitor’s experiences without altering the environment.
STEP 3:
NETNOGRAPHY
Since this exhibit is mainly designed to be Instagram-friendly, social media platforms are helpful for data collecting.
The platforms were defined by using desk research techniques and one-on-one interviews:
Twitter,
Reddit,
Instagram,
Tiktok.
Analysis
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
Literature Review
Specific connections and how they relate to the project are defined.
Themes are identified.
A synthesis chart is used to organize the sources and the main ideas.
Grounded theory
The data obtained from the interviews was iteratively evaluated.
Throughout the process of constant comparison, the patterns and structures were conceptualized.
The categories, themes, and subthemes were defined, and then the concepts were linked to the theories of aesthetics and anthropology.
Affinity Mapping
The qualitative research data was organized thematically to analyze the information.
This showed the similarities and differences between the themes.
Result
Key Findings
The experience contains a variety of elements. This has both a positive and negative effect on immersion:
The positive effect is allowing spectators to gain knowledge about Van Gogh, helping with the immersion feeling.
The negative effect is that the experience is fragmented, due to the constant shifting of focus and attention.
In the ads of the exhibit, the video mapping experience offers the viewer an active experience; however, in reality, the exhibit presents a passive viewing experience. This causes the experience not to be as expected, leading to disappointment.
Key Insights
The participant's knowledge of the art directly affects how they experience it.
Due to the art landscape of New York, visitors are well-versed in artistic knowledge; thus, the show does not appeal to the city's culture and does not provide a satisfying experience to some audiences.
On the other hand, it makes art accessible to those who consider museums and art as high-status and feel as though "it's not for me.”
The exhibit offers a form of entertainment/education for families with young children.
