About Visatopia

The Virtual Institute of Simulation Art (VISA) is an online art center and gallery, currently displaying 4 WebVR collections: Crisis, Sanctuary, Oasis, and Unmapped. VISA allows viewers to travel to a “hyperreality” consisting of artist-designed simulated environments. The space was conceived by Leily Khatibi & Kiki Wu as a curatorial project. Our mission is to leverage digital art and collaboration through open-source, web-based, immersive media that is accessible to anyone with a computer and stable internet connection.

A total number of 26 website-specific works are exhibited on visatopia.xyz from __ May 2020–__ May 2022. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, new and experimental ways of sharing art online arises. In this gallery, a wide variety of responses to the current social and environmental changes are manifested as 3D renders and video. These pieces are created by Art75 students (Introduction to Digital Video Art class–sections 1 & 2, spring 2020) from CADRE New Media Lab, San José State University.

Development Resource of This project

1. A-Frame
2. A-Frame Entity Component System
3. A-frame Particle System
4. a-frame-environment-component
5. a-frame-terrain-component

To Participating Artists and Collaborators: Read Me before your submission.

Basic project Structure

1. A WebVR home page contains many clickable mini museums(3dmodel, obj files)
2. Every mini-museum links to a responsive webpage that shows the artist's works - 3D render images, video arts.
3. An about page shows the statement of this exhibition and a list of participant artists.

How to use GitHub and Git Control?

1. Clone this repository to your local folder.
2. Remember to PULL before editting and adding new files. (the Fetch origin function of Github Desktop)
3. Save, commit, and push!!!

How to use the template?

1. Duplicate the template.html, rename it firstname_lastname.html. Put it in the html folder
2. Name your images as firstname_lastname1.jpg, firstname_lastname2.jpg, firstname_lastname3.jpg...... Put them in the images folder
3. Name your 3D model firstnam_lastname.obj, put it in the assets folder
4. Name your 3D material, texture firstnam_lastname.jpg, put it in the assets folder
5. If you are going to use a custom css to modify your page, name it firstname_lastname.css, put it in the css folder
6. Don't Upload video here, it's always too big!!! Embed your video through YouTube!
7. Check your html file again, make sure all the pathes of your images, css are right. Then save, commit, and push.

To Preview the WebVR in your local computer

Please run Local serverr: Python 2 HTTP Server python -m SimpleHTTPServer or Python 3 python3 -m https.server To know more about local server, please see this article

How To Navigate WebVR?

This experience works on desktop/mobile and with Cardboard VR, Vive, Rift, Daydream, GearVR headsets. For best immersion, using your VR headset is recommended to view the collections in 360, but you can also just use your computer or phone without a headset and click/tap and drag to look around. On the desktop, use ASDW or the arrow keys to fly over the environment.

Example of Contemporary Virtual Museum

1. Panthermodern
2. Digital Museum of Digital Art
3. Tzina
4. Art At Time Like This
5. Uncensored Library

Other Reference

1. almossawi.com
2. marpi
3. finding love