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Arts & Communication Reflecting on art through virtual exhibitions

become spaces that aim to attract increasingly large Vicente Rodríguez-Pérez, Ana Felicitas López-
audiences, both in person and online. They have updated Rodríguez
their content and reformed their spaces to become meeting
places, with interactive activities for audiences of all ages Ethics approval and consent to participate
and “thematic” exhibitions, where a narrative thread Not applicable.
relates different works by contemporary or very distant
authors, aimed at both art-savvy audiences and people Consent for publication
who have never visited a museum. For example, there is Not applicable.
an exhibition held at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum on
the fashion designer Balenciaga and the works of different Availability of data
painters who inspired his creations.
Not applicable.
The rest of the questions may be more complex to
answer. Can digital technology and even AI be considered References
a tool? Yes, but we cannot be so simplistic as to compare 1. Linde A. Understanding of the self through phenomenology
it to a brush or a chisel. It can yield much faster but in art and architecture. J Undergrad Res. 2017;19(1):1-8.
morally questionable results (similarly, the pursuit of mere 2. Baudrillard J. Simulacres et Simulation. Paris: Galilee; 1985.
economic profit, without considering any other variables,
can make an exhibition a spectacle of very low quality 3. Li J, Wider W, Ochiai Y, Fauzi MA. A bibliometric analysis
but very profitable). Like new technologies, these tools of immersive technology in museum exhibitions: Exploring
user experience. Front Virtual Real. 2023;4:1240562.
are clearly here to stay, but it is also up to us to garner the
wisdom and skill to use them appropriately and responsibly. doi: 10.3389/frvir.2023.1240562
Are virtual exhibitions and immersive experiences ends 4. Foo S. Online virtual exhibitions: Concepts and design
in themselves? Absolutely not—they should not be ends in considerations. DESIDOC J Libr Inform Technol.
2008;28(4):22-34.
themselves. None of the exhibitions summarized in Section
5 were intended to be so; rather, they are simply other ways doi: 10.14429/djlit.28.4.194
of approaching art. In fact, they will continue to coexist with 5. Bitgood S, Ellingsen E, Patterson D. Toward an objective
more “conventional” ways of displaying art for a long time. description of the visitor immersion experience. Visit Behav.
The telegraph, radio, cinema, and television, among others, 1990;5(2):11-14.
constituted “new technologies” at one point. It was feared that 6. Psotka J. Immersive training systems: Virtual reality and
they would replace more “conventional” or “analog” media. education and training. Instr Sci.1995;23(5/6):405-431.
Nevertheless, today, we still write by hand, paint on canvases, doi: 10.1007/BF00896880
chisel stone, carve wood, and make ceramics in ways that are
very similar to those of our ancestors thousands of years ago, 7. Birney BA. Using rotating guides to interpret immersion
while digital devices control the rest of our social interactions. exhibits: A solution to public display problems. Curr Trends
Audience Res. 1990;4:1-3.
Acknowledgments 8. Harvey ML, Loomis RJ, Bell PA, Marino M. The influence
None. of museum exhibit design on immersion and psychological
flow. Environ Behav. 1998;30(5):601-627.
Funding doi: 10.1177/001391659803000502
None. 9. Dede C. The evolution of constructivist learning
environments: Immersion in distributed, virtual worlds.
Conflict of interest Educ Technol. 1995;35(5):46-52.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 10. Jones J, Wageman S. The promise of immersion environments.
Curr Trends Audience Res Eval. 2000;13:103-112.
Author contributions 11. Koran JJ Jr., Lehman JR, Shafer LD, Koran ML. The relative
Conceptualization: Miriam López-Rodríguez, Ana Felicitas effects of pre- and postattention directing devices on
learning from a “walk-through” museum exhibit. J Res Sci
López-Rodríguez Teach. 1983;20(4):341-346.
Writing – original draft: Miriam López-Rodríguez, Vicente
Rodríguez-Pérez, Ana Felicitas López- Rodríguez doi: 10.1002/tea.3660200408
Writing – review & editing: Miriam López-Rodríguez, 12. Stickler JC. Total immersion: New technology creates new

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 9 doi: 10.36922/ac.3688