"Reality’s Fugue: Virtual Reality Meets Art & Philosophy" will appear from Feb. 10 through March 1.
The Bucks County Community College School of Arts and Communication is pleased to announce that the Hicks Art Center Gallery will host its first virtual reality exhibition, Reality’s Fugue: Virtual Reality Meets Art & Philosophy from February 10 through March 1, 2025.
An author and artists’ talk with author F. Samuel Brainard, artist Carol Cruickshanks and designer Christian Kowalchuk will be held on February 12 at 2 p.m. in the gallery followed by an opening reception, 4–7 p.m., on the same day. Both events are free and open to the public.
Based on his book, “Reality’s Fugue: Reconciling Worldviews in Philosophy, Religion, and Science,” the author F. Samuel Brainard collaborated with David Tamés to produce and direct the approximately 10-minute VR experience which features immersive and dynamic visuals, realistic audio narration, and motion tracking without hand controllers.
Carol Cruickshanks hosted the premiere exhibition as Executive Director of New Hope Arts in January 2024. Since April of 2024, she has been the co-producer of the current exhibition, the staging, refined installation, and new collaboration. As exhibition designer, Christian Kowalchuk has worked with Brainard to re-envision the upcoming installation at Hicks Art Center to include two rooms within the gallery to enhance the individualized experience.
Unlike gaming VR environments where the goal is usually to successfully achieve a task, Reality’s Fugue: Virtual Reality Meets Art & Philosophy guides participants through nonhierarchical worldviews of the universe demonstrating an origin story illustrated by our creatively shared experiences. Both the book and the VR production strive to prove how we are simultaneously individuals and collective beings.
F. Samuel Brainard, Ph.D., is an independent scholar of Asian and Western religions and philosophy. He has taught at Temple and Rutgers Universities. His work has been published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion as well as in his prior book, Reality and Mystical Experience (Penn State University Press, 2000). This is his first book for both general and academic audiences, and several of the concepts that it develops reveal connections to his earlier work.
Reality’s Fugue: Virtual Reality Meets Art & Philosophy was produced and directed by F. Samuel Brainard and David Tamés. The contributing artists include Carol Cruickshanks, Susanne Pitak-Davis, Aurelle Purdy Sprout, and Stacie Speer Scott. Patrick Nugent served as the developer and the 3D artists were Patrick Nugent and Katerina Pak. The composer was Linda Erickson and the narration was written by Jenny Paschall with Fran Perlman narrating. Technical consultants included Danger Donaghey, Oscar Keyes, and Matt Seibert. Special thanks go to New Hope Arts, Stanley Timek and the Bucks County Community College Media Center, Robert Bullington and Front Row Seat Productions, LLC, Susan Bindig, Jeffrey Jacobson, Ryan Murray, Carol Parker, Celia Pearce, and Elizabeth A. Stier.
Hicks Art Center Gallery, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, PA 18940
Gallery hours during the exhibition: Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturdays February 15, 22 and March 1, 12–4 p.m.
For more information please contact gallery@bucks.edu
