“Pure Land”: Inhabiting the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang

Abstract

This article examines two exhibition installations that integrate high-resolution digital archeological datasets (photography and 3D architectural models) with immersive, interactive display systems. These analogous installations, Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang and Pure Land: Augmented Reality Edition, allow visitors to engage in different ways with a full-scale augmented digital facsimile of Cave 220 from the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Mogao Grottoes, Gansu Province, northwestern China. The peerless treasuries of paintings and sculptures at Dunhuang are extremely vulnerable. Comprehensive digitization has become a primary method of preservation at the site. The digital facsimiles of this cultural paragon can be transformed, providing formative personal experiences for museum visitors. The Pure Land projects contribute to new strategies for rendering cultural content and heritage landscapes. Interpreting these installations through the lens of phenomenology and panoramic immersion helps situate them at the forefront of virtual heritage today.

Digitizing Dunhuang Cultural Heritage: A User Evaluation of Mogao Cave Panorama Digital Library

“…In fact, an immersive exhibition of Cave 220 using virtual reality technique and 360-degree panoramic projection has been held in China and overseas (Kenderdine, 2013).…”

Pure Land

“…Inside its panoramic enclosure (10 meters in diameter and 4 meters in height) visitors engage in a surrogate true-to-life experience of being inside this cave temple and seeing its magnificent Buddhist wall paintings at a one-to-one scale [Kenderdine 2013a]. …”

“…A single user interface, operated by one of the visitors or a docent, provides interaction with the digitally rendered cave, allowing the user to reveal key elements in the mural paintings on its walls. As well as offering a powerful space of embodied representation, Pure Land uses various digital image processing techniques, 2D and 3D animation, as well as 3D cinematography to further develop its experiential and interpretative capabilities [Kenderdine 2013a].…”

“…As the zoom factor increases up to 10 times, so does the size of the magnification window, which appears to detach itself from the plane of the painting and float closer and closer to the viewer. In effect, what is being simulated is the real-world dynamic of a viewer approaching closer to the mural to examine it in more detail; however, in Pure Land, this greater detail enlarges and approaches the stationary viewer, a digital trompe l'oeil effect that has a powerful perceptual impact [Kenderdine 2013a]. …”

“…A group of people will always surround the user and will follow, direct, gesture, prompt, and photograph the user's view of the world. This dynamic is integral to the interpretation and performance of the work [Kenderdine 2013a] (Figure 9). …”