Letter from the Editor

by Tristan Evarts

Dear Reader,

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Art appears through numerous mediums. From ochre paintings on cave walls made by our ancestors to the marble statues of Michelangelo and onward through the ages in canvas and steel, all the way to the blank screens used by Artificial Intelligence art programs. Art is an ever-evolving organism, and the newest medium to have arrived isn’t real at all.

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I refer to of course, the virtual medium or art being created in Virtual reality. VR has opened up entirely new realms of possibility for artists creating their work. With programs like Tiltbrush and Oculus Medium artists can create work not only in counter to the physical restrictions but without the financial costs for materials. There’s a component of ownership and accessibility in virtual reality – any artist can create and curate their own exhibit exactly how they would like to display it without needing to rely on physical restrictions of any given space. Virtual Reality exhibits can also increase accessibility, not needing to be pinned down to any single location in time or space to be viewed. 

Exhibits like Synthesis Gallery and Something Nouveau have already started to incorporate Virtual Reality into their exhibits.  Synthesis Gallery creating new content and Something Nouveau bringing a new dimension to classical works. 

It’s still in its infancy, but what marvels might be born of this brave new virtual world remain to be seen. There is great potential, but a vast majority of it has not yet been realized. As the technology evolves and develops new opportunities may open up, both in giving artists a new medium to explore and giving them a new outlet to showcase their works.

There is a world filled with endless wonder at our fingertips. So as we journey into our special December issue, which celebrates amazingly talented artists from all over the world (and features some of our favorite fiction from the past year), let us immerse ourselves in new worlds both written and visual. Let us go onward, ever onward, through the impossible!

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Tristan Evarts, Editor-in-chief

Utopia Science Fiction Magazine