강남의 파도가 더 큰 규모로... 국내 최대 몰입형 미디어 아트 선보이는 아르떼뮤지엄
It's said that art imitates nature, but an exhibition on Jeju Island takes things one step further, with artwork so immersive that visitors might struggle to tell art and nature apart.
Our culture correspondent Kim Bo-kyoung went there to give us a peek. Outside, the leaves are falling as winter is just around the corner, yet here, colorful spring petals fall to the ground instead.
Arte Museum Korea's largest immersive media art exhibition was founded by digital design company d'strict.
Under the theme 'Eternal Nature', the 46-hundred square meter space on Jeju Island presents an immersive experience through ten media art exhibitions.
One of the visitors' favorites is a giant cube that makes it appear like an enormous wave is trapped behind glass.
It's a larger version of d'strict's previous public media art 'Wave' at COEX in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District.
Another popular exhibition is a beach that stretches endlessly into the distance, reflected through mirrors.
"The waves crashing on the beach, the majesty of the aurora, all a mirage, give the visitors a feeling that’s surreal."
The CEO says the museum focuses on nature because it is the most intuitive and popular subject that all the age groups can enjoy.
And the company brought in experts to make the exhibitions fully immersive.
"To make the immersive experience, we didn't just focus on visuals. For sounds, we worked with an engineer at Soundmirror Korea who won Grammy awards twice for the first time in Korea,.... and for scent, we used 'Scentby' the Korean partner of France's GIP fragrance school."
Nature is not the only subject the exhibition depicts.
It also immerses visitors in Western artwork from the Renaissance to Symbolism as if they were at a museum overseas.
The exhibition is attracting around two-thousand to three-thousand visitors a day.
"Usually exhibits just stay still but with the beautiful and colorful media art stretching from the ceiling to the ground, even my 17-month-old baby likes the show. There are even works based on famous paintings that people from all age groups can enjoy."
As virtual reality becomes more advanced, visitors can feel completely immersed in digital art without the need for head-mounted displays or other gadgets.
Kim Bo-kyoung, Arirang News, Jeju.