Joseph Nechvatal's Essays on Art in the Age of Virtual Reality

Joseph Nechvatal's collection "Towards an Immersive Intelligence" (2009) compiles essays from 1993-2006 exploring art's intersection with computer technology and virtual reality. Nechvatal, who began using computers and robotics for painting in 1986 and experimented with computer viruses from 1991-1993, co-founded Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine in 1983. He coined the terms "viractual" and "viractualism" to describe the blending of virtual and corporeal space. The book includes essays on automatism, Francis Picabia's mechanomorphic period, and Jean Baudrillard's simulations. Nechvatal argues that immersion in virtual reality contaminates reality but offers escape through excess, drawing on Georges Bataille. He contrasts with Baudrillard's pessimism, asserting that art can break free from simulation by overloading representation. The essay "Austin Osman Spare" links automatism to cybernetic feedback loops, while "Francis Picabia's Singulier Idéal" examines Dada machinery-human hybrids. Nechvatal analyzes the Lascaux caves' palimpsest as a model for transcending boundaries. Published by Edgewise Press, New York, 96 pp., $10.