Stepping into art – Exploring the Convergence and Hyperreality of Immersive Experiences
(2025) MKVM13 20251Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
- Abstract
- Over the last few years there has been a buzz circling one word: immersive. This word is not only connected to communication technologies, but it is also a way to explain what to expect when entering for example an art exhibition. Within the world of immersive experiences are visitors meant to watch digitised art – which is reconstructed from existing artwork – in a new and engaging way. Through communication technologies, different media technologies, and engagement practices like sensory engagement, are visitors transported into a new reality, a hyperreality based on the artist's lifework.
This thesis focuses on the exhibition Viva Frida Kahlo Immersive Experience to exemplify the media phenomenon immersive experiences, using in-depth... (More) - Over the last few years there has been a buzz circling one word: immersive. This word is not only connected to communication technologies, but it is also a way to explain what to expect when entering for example an art exhibition. Within the world of immersive experiences are visitors meant to watch digitised art – which is reconstructed from existing artwork – in a new and engaging way. Through communication technologies, different media technologies, and engagement practices like sensory engagement, are visitors transported into a new reality, a hyperreality based on the artist's lifework.
This thesis focuses on the exhibition Viva Frida Kahlo Immersive Experience to exemplify the media phenomenon immersive experiences, using in-depth interviews with key informants, visitors, and fieldwork to argue: people of today’s media-oriented society are being spoon-fed mediated information, until complete fullness without needing to use their own imagination to comprehend the art displayed in front of them. This is done through dissecting existing art into art nuggets to be more graspable, understandable, and to some extent enjoyable. Visitors to immersive experiences are being taught information through edutainment, a learning process controlled by the producers who present artwork of an icon in a format where more people are able to see it – highlighting the problem with framed art not being easily transported compared to immersive experiences.
Immersive experiences are defined by a conversion of: media materiality; participation; technologies. It has been argued that immersive experiences are leaning towards a display of today’s media technologies rather than displaying the art itself – primarily targeting the older generation which appears to be attending these types of exhibitions and to some extent art exhibitions overall. Simultaneously does the thesis show an increased interest in art through immersive experiences, where the visitors want more than what is shown at this particular exhibition. The visitors appropriate, objectifies, and converse about the immersive experience by continuing the consumption after their visit, in other words they incorporate it into their lives. However, not without seeing the preferred reading which is visible through the production of immersive experiences. The visitor is supposed to forget the outside world and immerse themselves within this hyperrealistic exhibition, some notice this guidance through the experience but accept the format of immersive experience for what it is.
Using the hyperreality theory from Eco and Baudrillard, it is possible to see how people are made to believe that they are entering a new reality when the distance, surrounding and context of the artist is displayed on screens rather than within the existing framed original artwork. Moving between screens speaks for an experienced reality, XR, exhibition to engage the visitors. The multidimensional adjective that is immersive experience is not only dependent on a definition to be studied more thoroughly – due to researchers making up their own definitions – it also speaks for a need to understand in which ways immersive experiences are consumed, spoken about and primarily understood by the visitors. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9188515
- author
- Laos, Johanna LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MKVM13 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Immersive Experience, Art Exhibitions, Hyperreality, Audience Experiences, Digitalisation, Media technologies, Participation
- language
- English
- id
- 9188515
- date added to LUP
- 2025-07-04 08:40:29
- date last changed
- 2025-07-04 08:40:29
@misc{9188515,
abstract = {{Over the last few years there has been a buzz circling one word: immersive. This word is not only connected to communication technologies, but it is also a way to explain what to expect when entering for example an art exhibition. Within the world of immersive experiences are visitors meant to watch digitised art – which is reconstructed from existing artwork – in a new and engaging way. Through communication technologies, different media technologies, and engagement practices like sensory engagement, are visitors transported into a new reality, a hyperreality based on the artist's lifework.
This thesis focuses on the exhibition Viva Frida Kahlo Immersive Experience to exemplify the media phenomenon immersive experiences, using in-depth interviews with key informants, visitors, and fieldwork to argue: people of today’s media-oriented society are being spoon-fed mediated information, until complete fullness without needing to use their own imagination to comprehend the art displayed in front of them. This is done through dissecting existing art into art nuggets to be more graspable, understandable, and to some extent enjoyable. Visitors to immersive experiences are being taught information through edutainment, a learning process controlled by the producers who present artwork of an icon in a format where more people are able to see it – highlighting the problem with framed art not being easily transported compared to immersive experiences.
Immersive experiences are defined by a conversion of: media materiality; participation; technologies. It has been argued that immersive experiences are leaning towards a display of today’s media technologies rather than displaying the art itself – primarily targeting the older generation which appears to be attending these types of exhibitions and to some extent art exhibitions overall. Simultaneously does the thesis show an increased interest in art through immersive experiences, where the visitors want more than what is shown at this particular exhibition. The visitors appropriate, objectifies, and converse about the immersive experience by continuing the consumption after their visit, in other words they incorporate it into their lives. However, not without seeing the preferred reading which is visible through the production of immersive experiences. The visitor is supposed to forget the outside world and immerse themselves within this hyperrealistic exhibition, some notice this guidance through the experience but accept the format of immersive experience for what it is.
Using the hyperreality theory from Eco and Baudrillard, it is possible to see how people are made to believe that they are entering a new reality when the distance, surrounding and context of the artist is displayed on screens rather than within the existing framed original artwork. Moving between screens speaks for an experienced reality, XR, exhibition to engage the visitors. The multidimensional adjective that is immersive experience is not only dependent on a definition to be studied more thoroughly – due to researchers making up their own definitions – it also speaks for a need to understand in which ways immersive experiences are consumed, spoken about and primarily understood by the visitors.}},
author = {{Laos, Johanna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Stepping into art – Exploring the Convergence and Hyperreality of Immersive Experiences}},
year = {{2025}},
}