by Laurie McRobert

Toronto University Press
Publication date April 5, 2007

Approx. 290 pages
17 halftones, 16 colour plates

Cloth ISBN 0-8020-9094-X £32.00 $50.00

When world renowned Canadian artist, Char Davies, originally a traditional 2D painter, wished to depict an osmosis between self and world, she turned to technology for help. The result is an art that immerses individuals in a 3D virtual spatiality where they can interact with abstract artistic images in a way that does not happen by just viewing 2D art. In order to experience as well as participate in Davies' immersive virtual art, an "immersant" must don a Headmounted Display and wear a specially designed body vest to monitor breathing and balance. The realtime images they see respond to their bodily movements and are unique to them; no two immersions in the artworks, Osmose and Ephémère, are the same.

This book will be of interest to readers interested in art; artists, art historians, philosophers, educators, psychologists, vision scientists and neurobiologists.

As promised in the book, readers will find the following additional links on the world wide web. They are intended to augment information and images that could not be included in the book.