At the NTT Intercommunication Center (ICC), a cultural facility operated by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as NTT East), a special exhibition “Another Museum in a Multi-Layered World – Welcome to Hyper ICC” will be held.
In recent years, we have learned of concepts such as “mirror world,” “digital twins,” and “common ground” being used for a variety of situations. These terms are no longer concepts, instead they are becoming a practical reality. Increasingly fast telecommunications and computer processing is accelerating the creation of a new digital information space that connects the real world with high-precision simulation. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the movement to new digital information space.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many museums to cancel or postpone exhibitions. This has led to new museum initiatives aimed at showcasing exhibitions online. Artists and other professionals have tried different ways of exhibiting their work online, however, the shift to digital can be quite difficult for some artists working in certain mediums. A new age is starting where new models for exhibition are quickly becoming a virtual “digital” reality.
NTT’s ICC is dedicated to developing new models for exhibitions. Using fast telecommunications and computer processing, NTT hopes to publish new forms of digital media and art from existing works.
Online Exhibition
Date: January 16 – March 31, 2021
Venue: https://hyper.ntticc.or.jp/
Admission: Free
Organizer: NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation) Intercommunication Center (ICC)
Exhibition at Real-Space Venues
Date: January 23 – March 14, 2021
Venue: NTT Intercommunication Center [ICC] Gallery A
Hours: 11:00am – 6:00pm
Closed: Every Monday and February 14 for Maintenance
Admission: Free (Reservation is Required)
Online Reservation through “e-tix DATA FARM”
Organizer: NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation) Intercommunication Center (ICC)
*Opening hours and holidays are subject to change. Please visit the ICC website for up-to-date information.
Co-Curation: Taniguchi Akihiko and Tokisato Mitsuru
Supervisor for ‘Virtual Hatsudai’ and ‘Hyper ICC’: Toyoda Keisuke (noiz)
Production of ‘Virtual Hatsudai’ and ‘Hyper ICC’: Nakamura Masatatsu, noiz (Toyoda Keisuke, Tsai Jia-Shuan, Sakai Kosuke, Kyung Seok Min, Marina Lazareva, Ro Aki, Urszula Kuczma, Hirai Masashi, Ines Amine, Kondo Yukiko)
3D Data Measurement and Production: gluon
Website Production: UNIBA INC.
[Virtual World: From Virtual Hatsudai to Hyper ICC]
*Offered as an App for PC.
*Download Page: https://hyper.ntticc.or.jp/download.html
Virtual Hatsudai
Composed of Laser-scanned Point Cloud of sections of the Tokyo Opera City district. Visitors are able to move around freely inside Virtual Hatsudai.
Hyper ICC
HYPER ICC is an “Information Building” standing inside Virtual Hatsudai. The cubes that make up the building showcases the activities (exhibitions and events) that ICC has conducted in the past. The shape of the building changes dynamically when the user selects the timing and type of event they want to view.
Inside Hyper ICC
While based on spaces that are a direct reflection of actual ICC interior spaces, a laser-scanned point cloud will be used to present the works in ways that are free of the physical constraints of the real world.
Connecting The Real World and Virtual Venues
Exhibitions will also be held in the real world. The aim is for the real-world exhibitions and the exhibitions in the online venues to complement each other. A digital information space connects Gallery A of the virtual venue in Hyper ICC with Gallery A in the real-world. Artworks that can be accessed and experienced online will appear in the real-world exhibition space. Elements that are not visible in the actual exhibit are added with AR, and information can be sent online. This multi-layered exhibition style, in which artworks and data can be output in various forms, differs from the concept of virtual exhibitions as being supplementary to the real world.
Users can actually output and assemble data themselves and performers can appear in the exhibition venues. These methods will create exhibitions in which the real and the virtual co-exist, where the real and the virtual can be linked and information flows freely between them.
Multi-Layered Experience Enabled Through a Web Browser
Devices: Any terminal with a web browser installed (like a PC, smartphone, tablet, etc.)
The website will serve as a portal to Virtual Hatsudai and Hyper ICC. The website enables users to browse content and experiences available. The web portal is designed to be a tour-like experience.
Application for PC Users
Device: PC
Users can customize their experience to the highest degree. This includes moving freely around Virtual Hatsudai and changing the external appearance of Hyper ICC.
AR
With an installed AR app, viewers can experience additional features not available in the real world by holding their smartphone or tablet in the real space.
Papercraft and 3D Print Data
Papercraft and artworks in 3D-print form will also be published as a souvenir that can be enjoyed anywhere. Users can download the data for artworks, such as papercraft items created by artists, from the website and print it to assemble and complete themselves. In the future, artists will provide workshops and performances using papercraft and 3D printed data
Japanese article: https://www.ntt-east.co.jp/release/detail/20201215_01.html