Past, Present, Future

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dc.contributor.authorKimbangu, Rodney Bidien
dc.contributor.committeechairTucker, Thomas Jamesen
dc.contributor.committeememberFranusich, David Johnen
dc.contributor.committeememberWeaver, Rachel L.en
dc.contributor.departmentArt and Art Historyen
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-28T08:03:51Zen
dc.date.available2023-07-28T08:03:51Zen
dc.date.issued2023-07-27en
dc.description.abstractPast, Present, Future is an immersive and interactive art installation that seeks to put displaced Congolese and African artwork - commonly displayed in world museums - into their original cultural context. The exhibit's immersive experience sheds light on the colonial exploitation of African peoples and their lifestyles: specifically the expropriation of lived African spiritual and artistic expressions. These artifacts - sometimes stolen outright, sometimes obtained through imbalanced terms of trade, and sometimes obtained by fair bargain - often appear in exhibits as disembodied objects devoid of explanation or reinterpreted through the conceptions of the exploiters. This phenomenon has historically supported the consciousness of colonialism and now of post- and neo-colonialism, maintaining its propagation through museums, schools, and other institutions worldwide. The exhibition is composed of a virtual environment in addition to projection mapping. The visual, aural, and interactive elements engage with and challenge the viewer's culturally conditioned ways of thought regarding artwork "consumption." This thesis, building on the exhibition, examines the possibilities of employing evolving technology and coding toward the long-term task of "softly" repatriating displaced artifacts while starting a conversation about physical repatriation and providing a model that Congolese scholars and artists can use to preserve and reclaim their cultural heritage.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralPieces of art from Congo and much of Africa are often perceived in the Western world as exotic objects to be looked at and photographed. To the Congolese people, those objects are an essential part of their ongoing life. It goes without saying that they are central to the collective spirit, sense of the world, cultural identity, and ancestral history. Past, Present, Future is an immersive art installation that takes displaced works from Congo and other settings in Africa and restores their living context through a Congolese artist's lens. This paper examines the process by which they were extracted from their home and found their way onto Western institutions, what they were and what was lost, and how through contemporary technology-integrated creative expression, they may be made whole for the enrichment of those from whom they came, their current hosts, and people everywhere.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Fine Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:37732en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/115890en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/en
dc.subjectphotogrammetryen
dc.subjectVRen
dc.subjectARen
dc.subjectscanningen
dc.subjectunreal engineen
dc.subjectarten
dc.subjecttechnologyen
dc.subjectartifactsen
dc.subjectAfricanen
dc.subjectlooteden
dc.subjectdisplaceden
dc.subjectcolonialen
dc.subjectCongoen
dc.subjectKongoen
dc.subjectmasksen
dc.subjectprojection-mappingen
dc.subjectrepatriationen
dc.subjectvirtualen
dc.subjectrealityen
dc.subjectexpropriationen
dc.subjectmuseumsen
dc.subjectTshokween
dc.subjectChokween
dc.subjectBauleen
dc.subjectZandeen
dc.subject3D Modeen
dc.titlePast, Present, Futureen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCreative Technologiesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Fine Artsen

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