From Object to Data: The Metamorphosis of the Art Experience

When a museum transforms its collection into data, it is not merely digitizing objects—it is rewriting the very language through which we interpret culture. The Science Museum Group recently embarked on this radical journey (Source 7), raising a question that resonates throughout the contemporary technological landscape: what happens when we stop seeing artifacts as static entities and start considering them as fluid, interconnected sets of information?

This metamorphosis from objects to data is not an isolated event but reflects a broader phenomenon that is redefining the boundary between the physical and the digital in fields ranging from art to artificial intelligence, from video games to virtual reality. Let’s explore how this transformation is reshaping our cultural and creative experience.

Artificial Intelligence as a New Operating Environment

OpenAI’s recent move to transform ChatGPT into a full-fledged operating platform represents a paradigm shift in our relationship with technology. During the OpenAI Developer Day, Sam Altman presented applications that run entirely within the chat window (Source 1), signaling an intention to turn a textual interface into a complete operating environment.

This revolutionary approach suggests that the future of human-machine interaction may be less based on traditional graphical interfaces and more on fluid conversations with intelligent systems. It is no longer just about typing commands, but about inhabiting a conversational space where applications exist as extensions of a continuous dialogue.

In parallel, OpenAI’s massive investment in computing infrastructure, as highlighted by the deal with AMD (Source 3), demonstrates a bet on the almost limitless demand for artificial intelligence. This infrastructural expansion is not just a technical matter but reflects a vision where AI becomes the default environment for content creation and consumption.

Extended Reality as a New Artistic Language

While OpenAI redefines interaction with data through language, companies like Meta and Apple are radically transforming our visual experience. The launch of Meta’s display glasses and the upcoming update to the Apple Vision Pro (Source 2) signal the emergence of a new extended reality ecosystem that merges the physical and digital worlds.

This evolution finds a surprising echo in the world of video games, where mods like the one for Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance (Source 6) show how even 26-year-old titles can be revitalized through virtual reality. The power of these modifications lies not simply in updating the graphics, but in completely transforming the nature of the experience, converting a two-dimensional game into a full sensory immersion.

In this context, the pioneering work of collectives like Studio Azzurro, founded by the late Fabio Cirifino (Source 5), takes on new relevance. Their revolutionary approach to multimedia art anticipated many of the issues we face today regarding the fusion of physical and digital space, demonstrating how technologies can be tools for radically rethinking the artistic experience.

The Transformation of Exhibition Spaces: From Object to Environment

The exhibition “Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s-Now” at M+ in Hong Kong (Source 4) is an illuminating example of how exhibition spaces are evolving from containers of objects to immersive environments that radically transform the visitor’s experience. The twelve female artists featured in the show do not simply exhibit works; they create true experiential ecosystems that redefine the relationship between spectator, space, and artwork.

This environmental approach to art finds an interesting parallel in the Amsterdam exhibition dedicated to Van Gogh’s “The Postman,” where not only the painting is displayed, but also the physical chair depicted in the work (Source 8). This juxtaposition of representation and real object creates a bridge between the world of art and that of material artifacts, suggesting new modes of interpretation that transcend simple visual contemplation.

However, it is perhaps in the initiative of the Science Museum Group (Source 7) that we find the most radical example of this transformation. By treating its collections as data rather than as static objects, the museum is not just digitizing its heritage; it is recoding its cultural mission, allowing for the discovery of hidden connections and alternative narratives that escape traditional physical organization.

Toward an Aesthetic of Interconnection

What emerges from these diverse trends is an evolution toward an aesthetic based on interconnection rather than isolated contemplation. When ChatGPT becomes an operating system (Source 1), when an old video game is transformed into an immersive VR experience (Source 6), or when a museum collection is treated as a set of interconnected data (Source 7), we are witnessing the birth of a new cultural paradigm.

In this paradigm, value no longer resides in the isolated object but in the dynamic relationships created between different elements. The artists in the “Dream Rooms” exhibition (Source 4) do not simply create objects to be contemplated, but environments to be inhabited and explored, just as OpenAI is not simply building an application but a conversational ecosystem (Source 1).

The passing of figures like Fabio Cirifino of Studio Azzurro (Source 5) reminds us of the importance of the pioneers who anticipated this transition, exploring the possibilities of multimedia art when technology was still in its infancy. Their work laid the groundwork for the current fusion of art, technology, and space that we see manifesting in increasingly sophisticated forms.

In light of these developments, we can interpret OpenAI’s massive investment in computing infrastructure (Source 3) not just as a commercial bet, but as the construction of the foundations for a new kind of cultural space—a space where human creativity and artificial intelligence intertwine in ways we are only just beginning to understand.

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This essay was generated using an artificial intelligence workflow designed and supervised by Enzo Gentile. The sources were selected and analyzed automatically, and the final text was critically reviewed before publication.

From Physical Object to Digital Data: The Metamorphosis of the Creative Experience

Artificial Intelligence as a New Operating Environment

Extended Reality as a New Artistic Language

The Transformation of Exhibition Spaces: From Object to Environment

Toward an Aesthetic of Interconnection