That the metaverse is a mystery that won’t stop flying is a truth that gets caught in the intractable reality determined to metaverse itself.
That said: just as the collapse of FTX challenges aspects of cryptocurrencies but does not challenge the vast possibilities that blockchain technology opens up, the clumsy launch of the Mark Zuckerberg-sponsored metaverse does not hinder experimentation with 3D technology , which is described as one of the great innovations of the coming years. And these days, two good examples of that overlap in time.
The first is You Destroy. We created. The war on the culture of Ukraine, a VR for Good project (the part of Meta that promotes immersive storytelling focused on social impact), the 360° videos, photogrammetry (an amazing concept that will certainly be useful for future columns will provide), aerial drone footage, and 3D animations to take us to a small but important part of the Ukrainian conflict: the preservation of art and the lives of artists during the Russian invasion.
In the audio part of You Destroy, the testimonies of artists mix with the alarm sirens, with the screams and the terror, with the hasty running every time an explosion is heard. In the formal part, the remains of destroyed streets mix with new street paintings, with new theatrical performances on destroyed stages and with the virtual reconstruction of buildings that were there and are no longer there. The award-winning project from Berlin-based NowHere Media is available on the meta website and is recommended for anyone with access to a virtual reality headset.
The “You destroy. We create’ during the shooting.
The second initiative is closer. The exhibition Nebrija (ca. 1444-1522), the pride of being a grammarian, on view at the National Library until the end of February, is dedicated to our first grammarian (whose death marks five centuries) and in addition to incunabula, dictionaries and manuscripts to show that astound both by their state of preservation and by their historical importance for the study of grammar hides a final surprise.
The show includes a virtual reality video that fully immerses us in Nebrija’s grammar adventure. This video, created by Onirica VR, is more modest than the one in VR for Good (it only lasts about five minutes), but has the merit of showing two events that mysteriously (or not) overlapped in time: the construction of the Nebrija grammar and Columbus’ voyage to America, commissioned by the Catholic Kings and witnessed through virtual reality.
The trip to supposed India turned out to be completely different than planned. Something similar can happen with this immersive technology: the metaverse may or may not be exactly what Zuckerberg preaches, but what is certain is the impact virtual reality and three-dimensional experiences will have in the years to come. Because besides modifying leisure and work, this tool is used for something else: to get closer to others and to preserve important things that have been shaped over time.
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