The Virtual Space Theory

The Virtual Space Theory proposes a whole other way of seeing pictorial images. It may seem quite complex at first, but it is in fact extremely simple. It is a way of seeing which might take a while to fully get, yet it eventually becomes so natural and intuitive that it just seems obvious.

We are used to approaching images in one of a few ways. Sometimes we identify them with the visual content that we see in them or what they symbolize, sometimes we consider them to be physical or cultural objects, sometimes we think of them in terms of how they were made. Depending on the context in which we come across them, we usually pick the most convenient approach without even noticing.

The Virtual Space Theory takes the view that pictorial images are not defined by their content or meaning, that they are not necessarily important as objects, and that the technique by which they were produced is irrelevant. Instead, it proposes that a pictorial image is just a means of seeing space where in fact there is none. Then, it tries to understand what the nature of this space might actually be.

Indeed, if we think of any pictorial image we can see – a painting on a wall, a photo in a magazine, a program on TV, or a video game on our computer – and shift our focus only to the space that we see through them, we would realize that fundamentally, it is the same general space in all of them. We could then consider that what makes images different from each other is simply that they are presenting different segments of this larger space, and that what makes mediums different from each other is simply that they are allowing us different degrees of accessibility to this space. Yet as an overall phenomenon, it always remains the same space. It is this space that The Virtual Space Theory considers to be ‘virtual space’.

From there on, The Virtual Space Theory extends to address the whole range of questions that naturally arise once this interpretation is introduced: How does this space relate to the physical space we inhabit? How does it differ from the mental space of our imagination? What kind of technologies do we have for producing such a space and for providing access to it? What are the rules that govern this space, and what internal structure might it have? How would we design places for this space, and how would they affect our experience of it? What is the history of making places in virtual space, and what is being done nowadays? How does this way of seeing images contribute to our understanding of present and future media? How does this theory extend to other fields, and what else could it be good for?

That is what this blog is about.

For many people, the word ‘virtual’ stands for anything that is seemingly unreal, elusive, or intangible, yet maintains some kind of existence on some other level of reality. In other words, it is something that exists on a metaphysical level. This can be related to the idea of alternative realities parallel to ours; or to the view that the world in which we live might be nothing more than a figment of our imagination; or to any of a series of philosophies that question the way we understand the world.

Many of the other uses of the word ‘virtual’ have a somewhat metaphysical sense as well. For example, ‘virtual’ is sometimes used to describe the level of existence of things that are experienced through sound, or the type of reality we experience when we read a book. In quite a similar way, ‘virtual’ is commonly used to describe our experiences when we browse the web, send an email or a text message, or even speak on the phone.

In all these cases there seems to be some other dimension in which the contents of these experiences exist – beyond the vibrations in the air, the printed letters on the paper, or the electric signals running through computers – and we don’t quite have a name for it. So the word ‘virtual’, with its inherent ambiguity, often satisfies us as a faint replacement for a more accurate description of what is actually going on. This is how the whole notion of the ‘virtual’ ended up being entangled with both computers and metaphysics, and how computer technology became perceived as the source of yet another metaphysical phenomenon.

While all these topics may be related to the discussion of virtual space, they are not at the core of what this blog is about. What this blog is about are pictorial images.

The simple fact that we can look at an array of pixels on a screen (or blotches of paint on canvas) and see a visible world through it is already an astonishing phenomenon in itself. It is precisely that phenomenon that The Virtual Space Theory considers to be the essence of virtuality. By using the term ‘virtual space’, then, what is referred to is the notion of an overall visible space that is created by the sum of all pictorial images, of all mediums.

Some readers might feel that this very definition of virtual space is in itself already a metaphysical statement. Maybe. But I doubt that it will grant me admission into the Metaphysicists’ Club. After all, for a metaphysical idea, its contents are too empirical, too measurable, and too tangible. Yet that is exactly what The Virtual Space Theory is proposing: Let’s bring the idea of virtuality out of metaphysics, and let metaphysics deal with metaphysical ideas.

For many people, the word ‘virtual’ instantly brings computers to mind, and the term ‘virtual space’ conjures images of a vague mix of the Internet, cyberspace, and Virtual Reality. Indeed, computers have introduced countless abstract and intangible phenomena into our lives, and the media hype around them has stirred our imagination as to what they might mean, and what the future may bring. In such discussions, the word ‘virtual’ tends to come up quite often. And yet, this blog is not about any of these. In fact, the common linking of virtuality to such phenomena is precisely one of the views that this blog sets out to challenge.

What this blog is about are pictorial images. From paintings and drawings, to photographs and films, to video games and the unending new technologies, The Virtual Space Theory proposes an alternative way of seeing what pictorial images are. This is clearly expressed in its sub-title ‘an alternative theory of the pictorial image’.

According to The Virtual Space Theory, whenever you look at a pictorial image of any kind, your eyes may be looking at a physical object in the physical world, but what you are seeing through this object is not part of the physical world. For example, when you look at the photograph on the right, your eyes are staring at your computer screen and its colored pixels, which are part of the physical world in which you live. And yet, the tower that you are seeing is not in the physical world: Even though there may be a tower just like it which is physically built somewhere, the particular tower in front of you at this moment does not occupy physical space in the sense that it is hovering behind your computer screen. So, where is it then?

The Virtual Space Theory proposes that what you see in a pictorial image is located in a space which we could call ‘virtual space’. This virtual space is not just the space of that particular picture, but rather the overall space of all pictures, and of all pictorial mediums. This is quite a far-reaching idea, and it is the task of this blog to address the multiple aspects of this idea and the questions that it brings up.

When adopting such an interpretation of what pictorial images are, one of the topics that naturally comes up is the role of computer graphics technologies. So in that sense, yes, absolutely, computers will be mentioned in some of the posts: One of the categories that are already planned for this blog is called ‘digital technologies’. Yet the central topic of the blog remains pictorial images themselves, and the space that is made available to us through them.

The year was 1994. I was a student at a school of architecture, fascinated with architecture as a means of expression, yet personally disillusioned with it as a profession. The time was also the dawn of computers and the Internet as a part of everyday life, and it was not long before I set out to study and explore them directly, in search of the undefined territories that may lie between them and architecture.

The year is 2009. I am a professor at a school of architecture, still fascinated with architecture as a means of expression, which has eventually found its appropriate place in my professional life. Computers and the Internet are now everywhere, images are more common and important than ever, and architecture is a key element in forming our experience of images, and of the space we see in them.

This blog will revolve around what I learned during the years in between, as well as what I keep discovering and developing. The Virtual Space Theory is a formalized expression of my very personal way of perceiving virtuality, images, and their relationship to each other. It is a way of seeing them that was gradually formed over the numerous years I spent in the exploration of architecture, computer science, digital imaging, art, philosophy, the Internet, film, and design – as I searched for the underlying commonalities which would link them all together. And so, by the time I was done, I had discovered that I had also become a media theorist. Now I even have a book to prove it.

The relevance of The Virtual Space Theory goes way beyond my own fields of interest which originally spurred its creation. Whereas my book delves into the core theory itself, this blog is where its various further applications and extensions can be explored. The particular directions this might take will be influenced also by you, the reader: What else do you wish to know about The Virtual Space Theory and about the book? Which topics would you like the blog to expand on and elaborate? How do these ideas connect with your own fields of interest and activity? Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome, either in response to the relevant posts or via email. It will be interesting to discover unexpected applications of this theory, and I look forward to writing posts on topics which I cannot even predict at this time.

Over the next few weeks, I will mostly write posts of an introductory nature, presenting the basic premises of The Virtual Space Theory and laying the foundations for this blog. From there, the contents of the posts will progressively extend to cover ever more topics at the wide intersection of art, architecture, media, and technology.