VR as a Preservation and Simulation Tool for Media Art Installations

David Hall (1937-2014) was one of the pioneers of video art in the UK, beginning with TV Interruptions that he made for STV in 1971 as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. He continued to make single screen video works, but his main focus was the creation of video sculptures. Most of these sculptures used old cathode ray tube monitors. Although these are still available and working at the moment, over time it will become more and more difficult to find any working examples. Due to these problems with technological obsolescence, many of Hall’s and numerous other artists works may not be so easily replicated in the future. With this in mind, other ways to present these works need to be considered to allow them to be appreciated by future audiences. One way to do this is by using virtual reality. This paper summarises the recreation of two David Hall video installations in VR. Viewers experienced the work by being immersed in a 3D virtual gallery. This gave the viewer an idea what the work would be like in real life. The process of creation, maintaining the integrity of the work, authenticity and the user experience will be examined.