On a crisp evening typical of San Francisco, I waited by a motley laundromat in the Divisadero Corridor. Hipsters filtered past me and up some stairs to the party where I was to meet artist and filmmaker, Luska. She was running late via Uber, and as I listened to the muffled crooning of an electric guitar, it occurred to me that there was something very anti-Silicon-Valley about this whole getup.
I had come here to learn about virtual reality, an unmistakably mainstream topic, and yet everything around me evoked a sense of nostalgia for the historic countercultural charm of San Francisco. Whether it was the music, or the guy standing next to me with the words this machine kills fascists spray-painted on the back of his leather jacket, it was clear that these partygoers considered themselves the last remnants of the beatnik culture that once existed in North Beach and the Mission, before it was all swept away by IT success and gentrification.
Virtual reality is the hot topic of Silicon Valley. Google, Facebook, Apple, and a whole slew of smaller startups are all working on some VR development or another.
But in the heart of San Francisco, among circles where man-buns and feathered hats are worn with abandon, VR isn’t just the latest technology to grace the Valley; among these small iconoclast spheres VR is a new and powerful medium for creative output. By harnessing VR in their creative process, artists are blending the high tech and bohemian worlds of San Francisco—developing a hybrid subculture, the minute details and philosophy of which I hoped Luska would reveal to me.
‘Jolene’ by Luska (Left) | Luska’s graffiti in Paris, France (Right)
“VR is a new canvas” says Luska, fidgeting with excitement and sipping sangria… we’ve left the upstairs party and settled into a Mexican bar that specializes in cheese-drenched baked potatoes. Originally from Yerevan, Armenia, the 28-year-old artist has lived in a variety of metropolises, pursuing her painting career and studying everything from filmmaking to game design. These days Luska has made San Francisco her home, and her enthusiasm for VR strikes me as particularly unique for an artist who in the past has worked primarily with more traditional materials.
By studying her art, however, you can tell that Luska has always sought to challenge the limits of her medium. Her paintings of striking females and dramatic graffiti hint at other worlds that exist just beyond the 2D image, but which cannot be accessed with the naked eye. Luska’s style does not shy away from psychedelic fantasy or reverie. Perhaps what attracts her to VR and AR (augmented reality) is that these mediums can transform the eerie depths of her imagination from mere hints on paper into actual vivid experience.
“VR tells stories”, says Luska, “that’s very important.” The immersive nature of VR requires a certain level of responsibility on behalf of the artist. You have to “think really hard” about what you’re creating, she says, because people don’t realize “how powerful VR can be.” When [...]
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