LASCAUX was a virtual reality art installation, inspired by the Cave of Lascaux. I began work on the project in 1991 and completed it in 1995, premiering it in Paris and Korea, and exhibiting it internationally during 1995 and 1997. It was experienced by millions of gallery viewers. |
This is the original script for LASCAUX, written in 1991 in San Francisco. |
After consulting with the Ministry of Culture in France, I was astounded to be invited to visit the original cave and discuss the project with the Conservators of the Cave, Monsieur Jean-Michel Geneste and Monsieur Norbert Aujolat. |
Meeting at the Cave in Montignac, I was honored to experience its physical presence and describe my project with the conservators. Here is M. Aujolat, me, my sister-in-law Patricia Britton, a wonderful reporter whose name i forget(!), M. Geneste, and another archaeological expert from the Ministry of Culture whose name I also cannot remember(!), and my wife Lisa took this photo; we all toured the cave together. It was my first of two trips to the Cave. On the second visit, I was able to bring Mark Hamilton, with whom I built the actual 3d model of the Cave. |
This is a frame capture of the Axial Gallery in the virtual reality Cave of Lascaux. |
This is a frame capture of the Main Hall (Hall of the Bulls) in the virtual reality Cave of Lascaux. |
After exploring the interactions inside the virtual cave, viewers share a communal experience, |
LASCAUX at the Kwang-Ju Biennalle,in Kwang-Ju Korea 1995 |
LASCAUX virtual reality art installation at the Kwang-Ju International Bienalle, Kwang-Ju Korea, 1995 |
One of four physical photos in the gallery installation of LASCAUX |
One of four physical photos in the gallery installation of LASCAUX |
One of four physical photos in the gallery installation of LASCAUX |
One of four physical photos in the gallery installation of LASCAUX |
The team that built LASCAUX: David Britton (system programmer), Mark Hamilton (art director), Patrick Mills (video editor), Ben Britton (principal artist), Lisa Britton (photographic artist), Robert Murray (artist-engineer), and Adam Yuan (project manager) took the photo. |
I was honored to meet and work with the famous video artist Nam June Paik and many other wonderful artists, like Taka Iimura, Steina Vasulka, David Rokeby, Paul Garrin, Edmund Couchot, Wen-Ying Tsai, and many others. |
Just after the LASCAUX world premiere in Korea, I opened the project in Paris, France, at the Galerie Le Monde de l'Art near the Gare du Nord train station, sponsored by Trois Suisses. Many thousands of French art lovers were able to experience a visit to the virtual reality version of Lascaux at this show. It was one of numerous exhibitions of LASCAUX in France. |
In 1996, I was invited to exhibit LASCAUX in Tokyo, and by that time I had modified the VR to support not just VR headmounts, but also multi-screen "CAVE" style virtual displays. |
LASCAUX was a wonderful project that took me on many enjoyable adventures all over the world. Here in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, I played with futuristic technology and explored Japanese culture. LASCAUX took me on travels to four continents, and I showed the work to hundreds of millions of viewers on television, and over ten million people in museums and cultural centers all over the world. Of all my projects, LASCAUX was the most enjoyable, rewarding, and spiritually satisfying for me so far. It was and is an absolutely non-commercial art project, dedicated to the preservation and sharing of humanity's cultural legacy. Its production and exhibitions were generally unimpeded by financial or political machinations, and the egos of all the project's true participants blended in good faith successfully and supportively. I really enjoyed making and showing LASCAUX. |