Homage to the Cube
Dana Li
Inspired by the complexity of the Josef Albers’ series Homage to the Square, Homage to the Cube dives deeper into his exploration of color and dimension through the use of the cube. Homage to the Cube is a set of three experiences that explore visual perception in the new frontier of virtual reality. Albers seeks to escape flatness with color, while the innovation of virtual reality allows this in a completely different way. Homage to the Cube escapes flatness through immersive virtual reality technology built in Unity and Google Cardboard. Using only the cube, color, interaction and movement, the three experiences engage the user through a world of color.
Part 1, “Pyramid,” brings Albers paintings to the virtual world by making them three dimensional and giving the user the ability to set their own colors. The room is filled with color as pyramids close in around the user. Part 2, “Tunnel,” uses stacked cubes to create a colorful pathway whose speed can be altered. Finally, Part 3, “Stack” allows the user to be creative with the cube and interact with their creations.
Homage to the Cube is a study in creating abstract art in a virtual world. How will art change once artists can take their art into the next dimension in virtual reality? With the current advancements in virtual reality, Homage to the Cube is an example to showcase possibilities that can be achieved, even through the simplicity of a cube.