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The Architecture of Virtual Space

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The Architecture ofVirtual Space

Or Ettlinger

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Or Ettlinger

The Architecture of Virtual Space

Design and layout Or Ettlinger

Jacket design Uroš Strel-Lencic

Copyediting Dean J. DeVos

Foreword Peter Krecic Fedja Košir

Publisher University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture

Print Tiskarna xyz

This limited non-commercial edition is jointly financed by the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljanaand Aaaabbbb Ccccddd

First edition, first printing, 1000 copies

Ljubljana 2008

www.virtualspacetheory.com

© Or Ettlinger, 2008.

All rights reserved. This publication or any part of it may not be reproduced, distributed, used for derivative works, made available to the public, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the explicit prior written permission of the author, nor may it be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikacijiNarodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana

72.038.543

ETTLINGER, Or The Architecture of Virtual Space / Or Ettlinger ; [foreword Peter Krečič, Fedja Košir]. – Ljubljana : Fakulteta za arhitekturo, 2008

ISBN 978-961-6160-90-2

241860352

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Foreword vii

Preface xi

Introduction 1An Exploratory Journey 1The Paradox of the Virtual 1An Overlooked Branch of Architecture 2The Architecture of Virtual Space 5Method of Research and Presentation 7

Part I – The Virtual Space Theory

Chapter One: Art, Illusion, and Architecture 15The Art of Space 15Where Is What We See When We Look at a Painting? 17Techniques of Illusion 18Conditions of Illusion 19Ambiguities of the Third Dimension 20The Analysis of Vision in Art 21

Chapter Two: A Window to Another World 25An Alternative Theory of the Pictorial Image 25What Is Virtual Space? 26What Virtual Space Is Not 29The Terminology of Virtual Space 33The Myths of How Virtual Space Can Be Experienced 36Why They Are Myths 40The Reality of How Virtual Space Is Experienced 42

Table of Contents

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Chapter Three: Devices of Illusion 49A Pattern on a Surface or a Window to Virtual Space? 49The Ancient World 51Classical Antiquity 52The Middle Ages 54The Renaissance 58The Baroque 63The Age of Reason 69The 20th Century 76Film 83Ever More Mediums 98Conclusion 104

Chapter Four: The Contextography of Virtual Space 109The Location of Virtual Places within Virtual Space 109The Basic Principles of Contextography 110The ‘Reconstruction’ Context Zones 112The ‘Documentation’ Context Zones 116The ‘Projection’ Context Zones 120The ‘Invention’ Context Zones 124Contextography and the History of Art 135

Chapter Five: Enter Computer 139The Abstraction Process of Devices of Illusion 139The Abstraction Machine 142One Presentation Tool for All Mediums 143The New Viewports 144The New Mediums 144The New Context Zones 147The New Techniques 156

Part II – Virtual Architecture

Chapter Six: Virtual Architecture 165Applying The Virtual Space Theory 165Virtual Architecture vs. The Use of Computers in Physical Architecture 167The Discipline of Virtual Architecture 170Virtual Architecture as a Form of Art 173

Epilogue 179

Glossary 187Acknowledgements 191List of Illustrations 193Bibliography & Filmography 199

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Foreword

Qui Bene Distinguit, Bene Docet

Peter Krečič Art Historian, Author, and Director of the Ljubljana Architectural Museum

Should any theoretical work bear the Latin motto “He who distinguishes well, teaches well,” it would certainly be this book. With great erudition, a keen grasp of contemporary digital imaging technologies, as well as considerable courage, Or Ettlinger has taken on our civilization’s widespread question of the virtual, and the terminological mess caused by contemporary computer technology, which the notion of virtual space is very closely related to. He provides a departure point for an understanding and scientific research of the virtual, and ends by establishing the foundations for creative use of virtual space with a new area of artistic production – virtual architecture. The essential contribution of this work lies in the realization that the new presentation possibilities introduced by contemporary digital imaging technologies are not an epochal shift in the making of ar-tistic illusions, and their importance does not truly compare to Western art’s discovery of linear perspective and its successors, such as Baroque illusionism and film. Instead, this book proposes that the production of virtual worlds, no matter how technically advanced it may be, is simply an extension of the historical art experience, in which the creation of illusions is an essential component of art itself.

The Architecture of Virtual Space is first and foremost a new theory of art, firmly rooted in the classical tradition of the history and theory of art, which in the past half-cen-tury has been marked in particular by Erwin Panofsky and E.H. Gombrich. As computer technologies arose, they surrounded themselves with a whole new terminology due to the circumstances of their development, and much of the contemporary notion of the virtual – and virtual space in particular – actually emerged in this environment. This new conceptual perspective, however, provided the author with an opportunity to look once again at the artistic past, and to discover that any artistic attempt to create an illusion always produces a new place in the universe of virtual space. What also gives this work special value is its attempt to chart the locations of virtual places within virtual space, to which an entire chapter is dedicated. He introduces the concept of what he calls contex-tography (the term is derived from geography), provides its basic principles, and uses it to delineate distinct context zones within virtual space. In another chapter, he enters the computer itself – one of the most complex machines ever devised for producing illusions – and elucidates its working procedure as merely that of ‘an abstraction machine’, thus enabling whole new perspectives to open up, and keep evolving, as computer technology continues to advance.

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What we have before us, then, is a mature theoretical work that comes as a long-awaited revelation after many years of dreariness in the theory of art history. It creates a theoreti-cal bond between previous theories of art history, from Heinrich Wölfflin and Alois Riegl in the late 19th century, to Panofsky and Gombrich in the 20th century, and links them to the theory of new media. It expands the theory of new media by viewing such media simply as artistic tools – promising devices for reaching new levels in the art of spatial illusionism. In a special chapter the author builds upon his findings to propose a new creative field of architectural production. His concern does not lie in the affirmation of computer design and presentation techniques or the invention of new ones, but rather in the potential to make new virtual places in virtual space – architectural production in virtual space, for virtual space, and without consideration of execution in physical space. With the multitude and variety of images surrounding us, the author might have just dis-covered the best imaginable place for experimentation and for his theoretical reflection.

Res Fictae as Res Factae

Fedja KoširArchitectural Theorist, Author, and Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana

Or Ettlinger explains his goal in very clear terms. He is well aware that the central con-tribution of this entirely original study is that it is practically the first theory of virtual space. The study deals with two key areas of architectural theory – terminology and theo-ry of presentation. The result is a superb work that opens up a multitude of new perspec-tives while at the same time clearing up many misunderstandings. It is a systematization of terms and phenomena concerning the ‘world’ of images, be they images that represent physical spaces, or images of actually non-existent (or merely imagined) ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ spaces: seemingly atectonic spatial ‘emptiness’, and architectonic, or indeed, tectonic ‘fullness’. Yet both types of images are equally ‘non-real’: they are merely de-picted or represented in one way or another. The author, however, implies that he knows very well that at this point he is touching upon the fundamental philosophical question regarding “how real the world in which we think we live actually is.”

Ettlinger’s goal is to elucidate as precisely as possible two key issues: first, to explain what this so-called virtual space is; and second, to provide an overview of all the (meta)architectural creations that are included as unmistakably unique components in the worlds of other visual arts (from painting to film and digitally rendered visualizations of the physical environment). With respect to virtual space, of course, there arises the question of definition – what is it actually? Ettlinger responds with exceptional consis-tency and thoroughness in the discussion that constitutes the core of the book.

The overview of architectural works which can be considered as virtual is the common thread which binds the text into a historiographic whole so skilfully that we do not even notice its direction, even though it is in fact the dominant narrative motif. The common thread of this book, therefore, is architecture in painting as the type of architectural pro-duction that is normally, though unfairly, overlooked or at least neglected: “...a virtual place in virtual space...”. In the author’s opinion, which is undoubtedly correct, the fa-ther of ‘illusionist’ architectural space is Alberti, who constructed one of the procedures for mathematically accurate perspective (as the successor of a tradition that started with Pythagoras and Euclid). He proceeds to list all the important names in this story until finally mentioning Escher – whereupon a wide window opens onto the world of the most contemporary visualization techniques. It is here that the author shines brightest – as a well-informed expert of the newest and latest media. What starts with panoramas and

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continues with the photocollage technique, paintings à la Feininger or Woods, science fiction graphics and ironic caricatures à la Mordillo, ends in the field of production of ‘classical’ films and projection technology à la IMAX, extending into the border areas of commercial videos and video games, TV and holography, VR (‘virtual reality’) and AR (‘augmented reality’). Particular attention is devoted to film, where the author’s analysis spans from the technique for making film sets to the methods of their design. His over-view of these technical achievements starts with the cult film Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927) and concludes with spectacles such as episodes in the Star Wars (2002, 2005) and Harry Potter (2004) series. He then logically proceeds from the technical to the level of meaning, seeking – regardless of production procedures – a suitable intellectual (not to say ideological) context. He comes up with a well-chosen neologism – contextography. Here he distinguishes, for example, between three approaches to making environments that stand for the physical world: authentic representations of the kind we see in films such as Gladiator (2000) or Alexander (2004); stylized or free interpretations such as Griffith’s Intolerance (1916); and purely fictitious or ‘fabricated’ ones, as seen in many soap operas on TV. The hypothesis is convincingly confirmed – there is no doubt about that. With the rich and beautifully systematized visual examples, the main thesis is bril-liantly illustrated.

The book is intended for a broad circle of disciplines. For instance, it deals with film so intensively that it could belong to film aesthetics just as much as it belongs to architec-ture. This is precisely the hybrid ‘interdisciplinary’ method that is so irresistibly charm-ing and makes contemporary study so attractive, since it evades the dreary and often hollow (though all-too-common) practice of specialization. Such a varied and therefore demanding context requires utmost terminological precision. Yet the author’s language is exceptionally readable – without being any less scientifically accurate. The book is also distinguished by the excellent choice of references, both classical and recent, and the author unfailingly cites his main sources. Furthermore, the visual materials are very prudently positioned: they are where they need to be in order to complement the text without any inconvenient page turning. The overall result, then, is a truly smooth and flowing reading experience.

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Preface

This book is in fact two studies in one. On one hand, it is a methodical articulation of the elusive idea of virtual space. On the other, it is a historical overview of works of architecture that were made specifically as contents of image-based works of art. What brings these two seemingly distinct topics together is the realization that they are in fact complementary – that is, that researching one would provide answers for the other, and vice versa. As such, this study is a work of media theory as well as a work of architectural theory. However, due to both its methodology and its contents, it is also closely related to several other fields: the history and theory of art, film theory, computer technology, digital imaging, and information design.

Media Theory – As a work of media theory, this study primarily aims to reconcile new media phenomena with old media theory:

At the heart of this study is a methodical articulation of the idea of virtual space. Pres-ently, the terms ‘virtual’ and ‘virtual space’ are very loosely defined. As much as they are widely used in both popular culture and academic discourse, they nevertheless assume very different meanings in different contexts. What actually is virtual space? Is it the visible space that is seen in computer-generated graphic environments? Is it a metaphor for the usage of computers and the Internet? Is it the subjective worlds which each of us personally constructs based on our everyday experiences? Is it the abstract metaphysical aspect of the world around us? With so many contradicting meanings, confusion reigns supreme and virtual space ends up being just an empty buzzword – meaning practically nothing at all.

This study proposes a specific and consistent view of what ‘virtual’ and ‘virtual space’ are by drawing an arbitrary line in the current fog of their multiple meanings. It proposes that virtual space is the visible world of pictorial images: paintings, films, photographs, TV programs, video games, or any other pictorial medium – i.e., physical devices that al-low us to experience through them something that is not physically there. According to this interpretation, whatever is seen through any such device is considered to be located inside of virtual space, and therefore – ‘virtual’.

This interpretation of virtual space has led to the formation of an alternative theory of the pictorial image. Most existing ways of approaching pictorial images consider them in terms of the subject matter seen in them, in terms of the technique by which they were made, or in terms of the resulting images as self-standing cultural objects. The main idea that is proposed by this study is rather the possibility of considering pictorial images in terms of the space that is created by them, and which is seen through them. It draws on the Renaissance metaphor of a painting as ‘a window to another world’ and takes it further: it extends the metaphor of the ‘window’ to stand for all pictorial mediums, it

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extends the metaphor of the ‘world’ to encompass the visible space of all pictorial images ever made, and then sets out to determine what the rules that govern that ‘world’ in itself are.

As a result, this theory provides a single systematic model for understanding all types of pictorial images. It presents a unified approach which can be applied to any pictorial medium, any historical period, or any kind of technique – equally covering the whole range, from ancient vase paintings to present-day flight simulators. It therefore allows traditional theories of illusionism in art – often considered to be currently obsolete and relevant only to the study of older mediums – to regain their relevance and be effectively used also for reaching an understanding of newer mediums and phenomena that were introduced by them.

Architectural Theory – As a work of architectural theory, this study is related to the disci-pline of architecture and to its common themes of interest on several layers:

First, the topic of virtual space is central to the contemporary discourse of architectural theory, which is affected by the same confusion inherent to this topic in general. Ar-chitectural discourse is saturated with theoretical references to advances in computer technology in an attempt to understand the nature of the so-called new ‘computer-spaces’ it has made available. Terms such as ‘dataspace’, ‘digital space’, ‘cyberspace’, and so on, are extensively and interchangeably used, together with ‘virtual space’ – all in a widely undefined and often quasi-mystical way. This study aims to clarify such issues by separat-ing their discussion into two distinct topics: one is the phenomenon of pictorial images, and the other is the wide range of new possibilities brought into existence by computer technology. It formulates an alternative interpretation of pictorial images through which all pictorial phenomena can be explained irrespective of technology. Computers are in-troduced only towards the end of the discussion, in a form which acknowledges their nov-elty, yet clearly presents them as an extension of principles that existed long before them. In effect, this study proposes a lucid terminology for the discussion of virtual space, in a form that allows a distinction between fact and hype.

Second, known as ‘the art of space’ when practiced in its physical form, architecture is also a useful tool for exploring the space that is seen through pictorial images. In its phys-ically-built form, architecture defines the human environment – architecture is located in space, architecture generates space, and to experience architecture is to perceive space. Yet the human environment – in the visible sense of the word – does not consist only of the physical space around us. It extends to include also the visible space we perceive through pictorial images. Given the study’s task of reinterpreting this ‘world of images’ from a mere metaphor to a consistent visible space, it is then only fitting to do so with the help of works of art containing rich architectural content. Architecture is often found fulfilling various roles in pictorial images: the background for the theme of the work; the frame with which to delimit the theme; the setting inside of which the theme takes place; or the main subject of the work in itself. Through the analysis of such works this study explores how an experience of space can also be created in what is otherwise nothing but an arrangement of pigments – or colored light – on a flat surface.

Third, the architectural designs themselves in such works of art are often overlooked by the history and theory of art, as well as by the history and theory of architecture. The his-tory and theory of art generally tends to be more concerned with the characters, story, significance, technique, or style of a given work of art – even in cases where architectural content practically constitutes the vast majority of the surface of the image. One excep-tion is film, a medium for which architectural creation did receive some focused atten-tion, though mostly from the point of view of film theory itself. The history and theory of architecture, on the other hand, is mainly concerned with two forms of architecture: proj-ects which have been physically built, and projects which were either intended, or hoped,

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to be physically built – yet remained unbuilt. Therefore, the research of architectural content in art as a whole, situated as it is in the undefined area between various fields, has not yet been pursued within any of them. In that sense, this study is intended to be an introduction to the wealth of the architectural oeuvre created especially for pictorial works of art from ancient times to the present day.

Fourth, given the prolific expansion of virtual space made possible by computer technol-ogy, this study aims to provide the discipline of architecture with a practical departure point for designing places for this other kind of space. Films, TV content, video games – not to mention the potential future of websites or holography – are becoming part of the environment in which we mentally live, at least as much as our physical environment is. The gathered knowledge and experience of the discipline of architecture in planning physical space can also be extremely valuable to the design and planning of places in vir-tual space. This may be a task that can also very well be completed without architecture, but then, so can physical buildings. In virtual space just as in physical space, the question is what an architectural approach can contribute to the making of places. The true chal-lenge here is not just to replicate our physical environment ‘as is’, and put it in virtual space, but rather to find a way to translate the architectural design process itself for the distinct conditions existing in this other kind of space. Therefore, in order to provide the missing link between the discipline of architecture and virtual space, this study sets out to define what this space is, formulating the ground rules on which architectural prin-ciples might then be applied inside of it.

Finally, the theoretical articulation of virtual space as proposed by this study can be seen as an architectural construct in itself. As is the case in the physical world, it is often the discipline of architecture which leads many otherwise separate fields to work together on a project that goes beyond their respective independent scopes. In the case of this study, the challenge is to bring a diverse collection of multiple fields together: architecture, the history and theory of art, film theory, computer technology and digital imaging, media theory, as well as several others. Yet it is the system-wide approach inherent to architec-ture in particular which allows them to all become interwoven in the formation of a com-prehensive theory of virtual space.

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About the Author

Or Ettlinger, Ph.D. Arch., is an Assistant Professor and a senior researcher of virtual ar-chitecture and media theory at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His exploration of virtual architecture and virtual space has spanned both for-mal education and professional experience across the multiple disciplines from which these emerging fields derive. This fifteen-year journey has ranged from architecture to computer science, from product design to information design, from classical drawing to digital imaging, and from art history to media theory.

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