Virtual Reality Takes Center Stage at Berlin Biennale

A photograph of Mark Zuckerberg striding through a crowd of VR headset-wearing attendees at the Samsung Mobile World Congress in Barcelona sparked widespread anxiety about virtual reality, but the technology is experiencing a major revival in both tech and art. Facebook acquired Oculus Rift for $2 billion two years ago. Artists like Jon Rafman are embracing VR for its immersive potential, presenting new works at the 2016 Berlin Biennale. Rafman's exhibition at Zabludowicz Collection in London last year featured high-immersion VR, and he told Art.sy that VR creates a qualitatively new sensation, not an escape from reality. The history of VR in art dates back to the 1930s with Antonin Artaud, and practical applications emerged in the 1960s and 1970s with artists like Myron Krueger, David Em, and Jeffrey Shaw. Companies like Google (Cardboard Viewer, Tilt Brush) and Samsung are active, while startup Magic Leap focuses on mixed reality. The article, written by Valentina Tanni, appears in Artribune Magazine #31.