Upper School Students Use Virtual Reality to Explore a New Realm of Visual Arts

The advanced art students used one of two HTC Vive virtual reality headsets that St. Margaret’s purchased through the generosity of a PTF grant. 
The evolving classroom experience at St. Margaret’s showed another hint of the future this month, as students in the Upper School’s advanced 2D art class created a project using virtual reality.

The advanced art students used one of two HTC Vive virtual reality headsets that St. Margaret’s purchased through the generosity of a PTF grant. Using the Tilt Brush art program created by Google, students completed an assignment to create a figure in a virtual environment.

“Virtual reality occupies a space somewhere between drawing and sculpture,” said Phillip Griswold, who teaches the class. “Last semester, the students had an assignment to draw a figure in an environment, so this was an evolution of that assignment. It was great to see the techniques they used on paper translate to this medium.”

Using two hand controllers and the immersive VR headset, Tilt Brush allows users to create 3D art all around them, with Google noting that “your room is your canvas.” The program’s virtual palette has an endless amount of paint colors and other special effects available for artists to incorporate into their work. It was one of the first programs St. Margaret’s explored upon purchasing the HTC Vive headsets earlier this school year, and Mr. Griswold will ask for detailed feedback from his students on the unit to see how virtual reality could better fit into the visual arts curriculum moving forward.

Mr. Griswold said this assignment reminded him of the all-encompassing nature of work from famous artists like James Turrell and Robert Irwin—though the students worked virtually instead of the light-and-space work those artists are known for.

“This is not something you usually have access to in a high school setting,” Mr. Griswold said.

“Virtual reality is an exciting example of the innovation emerging from our Strategic Plan,” said Assistant Head of School for Strategic Initiatives Ryan Dahlem. “This pilot program also illustrates our approach to implementation where passionate faculty are testing new ideas and seeking quick feedback from students. This allows us to refine and iterate ideas early on and keeps the student at the center of the design process.”

While Tilt Brush has ways to share the art outside of the virtual reality space, Mr. Griswold plans to assess the students’ assignments by putting on the HTC Vive headset and “walking around in the work” to get the complete experience. There are also plans to feature the students’ work at the Barbara Nelson Selected Works Exhibit this spring at St. Margaret’s, by having the HTC Vive set up at the show for spectators to put on and view.

“It’s wonderful as a teacher to work at an educational institution where we can make these opportunities available to students,” Mr. Griswold said. “It’s beneficial for students to be aware of new creative tools as they become available, and to experience different avenues of creativity.”
 
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