Experiments of Virtual-Installation Art at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Contemporary art is known as the works of artists with special structures,
forms, aesthetics, and purposes. The artists who practice different types of
contemporary art normally live in the 21st century. This form of art is also
called the art of today, which is created with in our lifetime. However, it was
developed decades ago from the end of the last century. Today, many artists
worldwide practice contemporary art with a dynamic mixture of materials,
methods, concepts, and subjects. In an art educational setting, there are
however limitations, especially when it comes to art materials, equipment,
space, and resources for art and design education. This research shares an
experiment of introducing Virtual-Installation Art for art education students at
the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman. Samples of the study are from
44 students enrolled in the course of "ARED 3110: Contemporary Painting"
at SQU. Students in this course were asked to produce virtual digital art
pieces focusing on artistic characteristics of Installation Artworks as work
designed to transform the perception of a space. The result also shows that
their artworks are art mirrors of the contemporary culture and society with the
sense of global, cultural, and technological influences. The visual results of
this experiment are recorded in this research study and discussed with
specific suggestions and recommendations for improving the teaching and
learning of contemporary art in schools and higher education.