Virtual Reality Re-Activation of an Immersive Audio Art Installation from 1999

Interactive multimedia artworks pose unique challenges for their preservation, such as the obsolescence of original components, software, and playback devices, and other issues related to their interactive and time-based nature. Since 2014, to address these issues, the Centro di Sonologia Computazionale (CSC) of the University of Padova has been developing the Multilevel Dynamic Preservation (MDP) model, which aims at ensuring the long-term preservation of multimedia artworks by treating them as dynamic objects rather than fixed ones, allowing for a deeper understanding and appreciation of their complexity. Reactivation is a fundamental step for allowing the long-term preservation of multimedia artworks. Among various reactivation strategies, Virtual Reality (VR) provides a unique opportunity to recreate the original immersive experience while still maintaining the concept of the artwork and enabling the audience to experience it in a digital environment. The research team of CSC started to work together with Italian artist Roberto Taroni, a central figure in the experimental artistic scenario, who often combined music and visual arts in his works. In particular, this thesis concerns the reactivation in VR of Roberto Taroni’s artwork "Dissonanze Circolari" from 1999. This installation featured a room with 16 speakers, each one playing a fragment of Beethoven’s piano performance, Op.111, executed by different musicians, creating a dissonance-based immersive experience. The reactivation process was carried out by working closely with the artist and using the documentation and audio samples from the original installation. The VR environment was created using the real-time 3D creation tool Unreal Engine 5. his project aimed to recreate the original artwork's immersive experience by applying VR technologies to allow its preservation and fruition. Furthermore, the reactivation process allowed to maximize access to the artwork, providing new information for curators, scholars, and art enthusiasts.