Abstract
Immersion is a hot topic, but it is often invoked in a vague or shallow way. This essay aims to arrive at a more nuanced consideration of the immersive experience by presenting some perhaps surprising arguments from the past—from Renaissance music and visual arts—drawing parallels with our own time, and positing that the Network Arts can take inspiration from this history to enhance its own immersive endeavours. Four interrelated topics serve as the basis for this investigation: miniature devotionalia, polyphonic canons, anamorphic puzzles, and early cosmology. By using perspective to disclose hidden meanings, ideas, and realities, these varied practices draw their practitioners into a kind of immersive epistemic procedure—repeated again and again across disciplines—that speaks to notions of self, presence, and locality. They each communicate a deep interest in the practitioner's inner world, revealing a historical immersion discourse in the process. This essay calls for a more thoughtful integration of these insights into modern artistic practices. By deconstructing immersion and reframing it via historical examples, it offers new perspectives that highlight the potential of Network Arts to foster immersive experiences that are unique to its platforms.
License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Recommended Citation
Hallock, Andrew. "How to Be in Two Places at Once: A Search for the Immersive Experience in Renaissance Music and Visual Arts.." Journal of Network Music and Arts 6, 1 (2024). https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/jonma/vol6/iss1/3
Included in
Art and Design Commons, Communication Commons, Computer Engineering Commons, Music Commons