Tate Gallery teams up with Minecraft By Dougal Shaw Technology reporter 21 November 2014 The Tate Gallery is going to showcase some of its most acclaimed artworks in 3D form, in the virtual world of the computer game Minecraft. Is this a good method to appreciate art? Have you ever thought about taking a step into the painting and performing some exploration? The Tate invites visitors to climb over its works and browse. There will be no security guards watching. It has teamed up to the Minecraft creators - an online game where millions of players carefully create fantasy worlds block-by-block - to create 3D versions for two of its paintings in an online gallery. Andre Derain's 1906 painting The Pool of London, and Christopher Nevinson's painting of New York, Soul of the Soulless City (1920) are the first two paintings to get this digital, 3D transformation. Visitors will see a white cube which is the Tate Gallery, explains Jane Burton, Creative Director of Tate Media. You enter the door with the painting in your palm. What you can now do is walk up to the painting and dive into it. This is where the adventure begins. Enter the art Visitors can interact with the world of the painting. To get a glimpse of Nevinson's cityscape from the train, you can take it. You can also stop for lunch with the builders while they take a break from building towers. Visitors should be cautious about pirates along the Thames when visiting Derain's photo. They may also play with explosive paint pigments. You explore activities and challenges that are related to the themes of the artwork. It's art, history and adventure, says Jane Burton, whose children introduced her to the magic of Minecraft. The idea of exhibiting in Minecraft originally came from artist Adam Clarke, who is an acclaimed creator within the Minecraft community. He put the idea forward for Tate's IK Prize, which is given to an idea that utilizes digital technology to inspire people with the arts. When the concept finally was realized, Tate enlisted the skills of other celebrity Minecraft builders like Dragnoz, Kupo, Featherblade and Tewkesape to build the worlds inspired by the famous pictures. But not everyone is convinced. Perspective These Minecraft creations will give younger audiences a better understanding of artworks so that they can see original artworks in galleries. Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Times art critic, says it's like seeing an old buddy. That sense of recognition, like seeing a celebrity, is a powerful way to help appreciate art and encourage audiences. But paradoxically the Minecraft games themselves provide a flatter experience, she continues. It is more of an entertainment experience rather than an imaginative relationship with the painting when the 3D mapping in Minecraft replaces the real painting's illusionistic surfaces and does the work for you. Digital opening You can download the two works of Derain and Nevinson beginning Monday Players must pay to join the Minecraft community, however the maps available for download of Tate's pictures are free. With six more 3D masterpieces on the way viewers will be keeping an eye to see how big the queues are on Monday the day that Tate's Minecraft exhibition opens its digital doors. Minecraft Servers List Code masters: The latest digital artist 2 April 2014 The eclectic, electric collective 12 August 2014 Meet the British YouTube moguls 10 July 2012
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