As part of the 2024 edition of the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Haltadefinizione celebrated 15 years of collaboration with Ars Electronica, consolidating its partnership with one of the main exhibition and research spaces dedicated to digital art and new technologies. This also marked the start of the countdown towards Haltadefinizione’s 20th anniversary in 2025.
The day opened with the presentation of Haltadefinizione’s Journey, a conference held in the Deep Space 8K of the Ars Electronica Center, which included projections of some of the ultra-high resolution works in the Image Bank, such as the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, Spring by Sandro Botticelli and Judith and Holofernes by Caravaggio. These works provided a captivating atmosphere in the immersive exhibition space. The incredible quality of the ultra-high resolution images provided a unique experience focusing on optics, perspective and the facial expressions of the characters in the paintings. The presentation highlighted Haltadefinizione’s central role since 2005 in promoting ultra-high definition digitization of works of art.
Participants in the Haltadefinzione workshop at the 2024 Ars Electronica Festival
Participants got to experience some of the latest immersive technologies, including mixed reality and virtual reality headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro. With these tools, visitors can have unique experiences, transporting them into digitally recreated environments to explore digital twin works of art. The public also saw physical replicas of some works of art, made for educational purposes, from ultra-high definition and 3D digital scans.
The event highlighted how gigapixel and immersive viewers have radically transformed the practical applications of the cultural heritage, making art more accessible and engaging for a growing audience.