On Sept. 19, Canadian/American multimedia artist Shawn Chiki visited vlog to engage students in the innovative art of VR sculpting. The event, organized by Dr. Ashleigh Cassemere-Stanfield, an assistant professor in film and media studies, kicked off with an artist talk led by Chiki, followed by a hands-on workshop where students had the opportunity to create their own “Fictional Architecture.” The event brought together audience members of all ages who were eager to learn more about the world of 3D modeling.
Chiki’s digital sculpting journey began when he moved home after college and bought a VR headset. From there, he downloaded the app Sculptor VR and started building a variety of imaginative playspaces that he and others could explore. Recounting a time when a stranger joined his server, Chiki said, “I was just like drawing, and then some random kid, I assume, joined. They were muted. I didn’t ever hear them talk, but they immediately made themselves really little and then just started running on everything that I was sculpting, and then I just started drawing to keep up with them. It was like this game of ‘will I run out of magic crayon before they get to the end of it?’” His virtual playgrounds are a great way to interact with others interested in VR sculpting.
Once he understood the ins and outs of VR sculpting, Chiki started tackling larger projects, such as castles, and eventually playground structures. He would scan real areas and build them in VR so that he could contextualize them. At one point, University of Buffalo Professor Joyce Hwang was commissioned by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden to create a multispecies lounge. At Hwang’s request, Chiki helped design the structure by modeling it in VR, shrinking himself down to the size of a wasp, and experimenting with different architectural features from the perspective of the future inhabitants themselves. Once the lounge was built, bees inhabited the structure just as Hwang and Chiki had intended. In addition, Chiki taught classes to grad students that prompted them to design structures in VR and then bring them to life. Similarly, he conducted programs for high school students that allowed for creative expression within VR.
Other projects he has completed include an installation called “The Interactive Womp Womp,” a 100-foot-tall grain silo made of LED rings that simulated an alien abduction. That structure—created for an art festival run by the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art and Resource Art—was controlled by different knobs, designed to be safely interacted with by all ages. He’s also created music videos in VR, designed a cover for a SpongeBob mixtape, and even produced background visuals for a live music performance.
Chiki emphasized the importance of preserving both creativity and technicality. “If you’re not dreaming of new worlds, then where is the science going? I’m better at the creative stuff than I am the technical side of delivery, but I don’t want to only be in ‘la la land,’” he said. “I am also interested in the physical manifestations. Think of Minecraft; there’s ‘creative’ mode and ‘survival’ mode. Most of us are living in survival mode, but there’s a way to be both technical and creative.” Fictional architecture teaches new generations how technology can be used to integrate creativity into physical elements.
Chiki demonstrated how VR sculpting represents a fundamental shift toward designing interactive experiences as opposed to static objects. This technology offers educational outcomes and revolutionizes the architecture world by transforming digital dreams into reality.