ArtTech – A future trend

ARTTECH topic has been receiving a lot of attention, especially in the recent time. ArtTech is predicted by experts to be a FUTURE TREND, an intersection between art and technology bringing unique, creative and immersive experiences to participants. This trend is expected to continue to open up many new opportunities, promoting development in the field of future art and technology and strong applications in many industries and fields.

What is ArtTech?

ArtTech (Art and Technology), the integration of art and technology, is a rapidly growing field. People often mistakenly think that ArtTech is simply the application of digital tools to art. What is more, ArtTech refers to using technology to create unique interactive art experiences, bringing vivid, immersive experiences and leaving a deep impression in the hearts of viewers. ArtTech often includes a combination of fields listed as digital art, multimedia design, virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), NFT, Robot Art, Virtual Human, Interactive Art, Real time Graphics, Generative Art, and many other technologies to create new and unique art experiences.

According to Dr. Dong Su Yi – Deputy Dean of UEH School of Media Design (Former Global Creative Director of Ogilvy&Mather) said: “In the current context, ArtTech is an important intersection between artistic creativity and technological advances. History shows that pioneering innovators with radical visions like Nam June Paik, with groundbreaking innovations in the field of video art, predicted the integration of ArtTech, or Steve Jobs who is famous for combining aesthetics in design and technology asserted that the pinnacle of technological progress lies in the intersection with art. The future trend is the blend of art and technology”.

ArtTech delivers immersive and creative experiences for the unique combination of art, philosophy and science. Besides using the creativity of art to explore, challenge and expand the limits of technology, ArtTech promotes profound contemplations on the nature and value of art, along with the use of science and philosophy to create new perspectives on art. This opens up unlimited potential in art, with new creative opportunities and challenges to traditional notions of art and technology. Therefore, investing in training in the field of ArtTech will create conditions for a new generation to be ready for creating and contributing to artistic innovations, instead of enjoying it.

Experiencing vivid digital art installation – Floating Flower Garden at Tokyo Museum of Art (Japan)

Machine Hallucination – NYC, A/V Performance, Exhibition, Installation New York, USA, 05 Sep 19 – 05 Feb 20

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, 2013. Wood, metal, glass mirrors, plastic, acrylic panel, rubber, LED lighting system, acrylic balls, and water, 287.7 × 415.3 × 415.3 cm. Courtesy of David Zwirner, N.Y.

ArtTech has achieved a number of achievements in the recent years. Interactive art using AR/VR allows viewers to participate and interact with the artwork. In addition, digital sculptures with CNC (Computer Numerical Control) technology and 3D printing have allowed artists to create complex, detailed digital sculptures with high precision. Liveshows that apply new technology and modern art events often use light, sound, digital images, and technical effects to create a vivid and immersive experience for the audience. For example, the 2023 Asian Games taking place in Hangzhou (China) from September 23 to October 8, 2023, have used ArtTech to create a unique sports experience by combining artistic and technological elements to make sporting events more attractive to audiences using big data, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The avatars have the ability to move, jump, engage and even participate in the Metaverse world of “Hangzhou Games” where interactive virtual reality sports games with the Game’s mascots take place. Athletes and tourists can approach the automated mobile ice cream carts, and simply wave their hands to choose from a variety of ice cream flavors, including avocado, peach and vanilla. The photo booths are equipped with 140 small cameras capable of creating creative 3D representations for visitors in just 5 to 8 minutes.

Avatar of table tennis player with mascot Lianlian in the 2022 Asian Games metaverse

Global and Vietnamese ArtTech trends

ArtTech is becoming a global trend with 4 prominent branches. One is Interactive Installations, with the philosophy of “expanding multi-sensory experiences’, art installations are becoming more and more interactive. Using sensors, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, ArtTech creates interactive experiences that push the boundaries of traditional art. The second is Virtual Art Galleries. In the digital world, geographical barriers are being broken, organizing exhibitions and online virtual art galleries allows artists to have a platform to incorporate global perspectives, as works and exhibitions can be accessed and shared around the world via the internet, eliminating geographical and time constraints. This promotes diversity and creativity in the arts, allowing artists to engage with international audiences more easily than ever before. Third is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), reshaping the value of art in a digital aspect. NFTs validate the value of digital artists and bring reality to virtual works. Fourth is AI-Created Art, challenging the nature of creativity is the key point of art created by artificial intelligence (AI), blurring the lines between human imagination and machine precision. This creates works that can achieve limitless precision and creativity.

In Vietnam, recently, ArtTech has developed significantly in many fields listed as marketing, advertising, communications, event organization, performing arts, entertainment industry, etc. Art organizations and businesses have begun investing in and supporting ArtTech projects, enabling artists and technology developers to develop creative ideas. For example, the exhibition series Lit, Under The Sun, etc. organized by Sunlife insurance company has shown a unique combination of art and digital technology. In addition, Vietnamese visual artists have collaborated to create a digital art museum called Livelab with a scale of more than 1,000 square meters in Hue. This is a space that combines technology – art – entertainment and education, providing visitors with unique experiences, while also helping visitors have a vivid view of local culture. More and more artists are digitizing and using technology to create digital works of art, from digital painting to 3D sculpture and VR/AR art. NFTs have begun to attract the attention of artists and promote the development of NFTs in Vietnam. In that trend, UEH is building and is expected to deploy an ArtTech training major in the near future.

In short, ArtTech is truly a future trend, with the potential to bring many development opportunities in the field of art and creativity, in many industries both globally and in Vietnam. Let’s look forward to many interesting things from this couple of ‘Art’ and ‘Tech’ in the near future.

*ArtTech Fusion 2023 (ATF) takes place from October 13 – 15, 2023, at campuses A, B, V of UEH. ArtTech Fusion 2023 includes 16 exhibitions, 5 seminars, and 1 interactive performance. ArtTech Fusion aims to apply ArtTech as a tool to solve social and professional problems through education and research to contribute to improving the quality of life. At the same time, it is an environment that encourages creative innovation and inspires art towards sustainable action.

News and photos: ArtTech Hub, Department of Marketing and Communication