Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality has become an innovative tool for creative expression. With recent advancements of technology, the merge of the real and the digital are becoming one. Artists have used these advancements, to express their practices in ground-breaking new ways.
Some key artists and exhibitions that I would like to focus on, highlight the user engagement experience through augmented reality.
Due to the current restrictions of COVID 19, user engagement within art institutions has become extremely limited. Therefore, this has created an urge for new and innovative ways to create immersive experiences. The festival of the Impossible, founded by Stefan Corazzo, who is also head of the Augmented Reality department for Adobe, created an annual exhibition that explores the use of augmented reality within artists works. Through using AR, it encourages artists to be playful with the word around us and provide a sense of fluidity between the real and the digital. One artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, uses his experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, to illustrate the change in people’s relationships through technology. Through using AR, he explores the reliance on voices due to the lack of face to face interaction; claiming that voices help to reinstate an intimate connection. In, his piece ‘Choir’ (2020), he creates these digital characters who each sing a certain element of a music piece. The viewer is encircled by these characters who each form into a symphony of sound. The characters take on these fluid-like forms in which their limbs seem to move as though they were separate from the body. These flowing motions, echo to the glitches found within video conferencing software’s used during the pandemic; thus, questioning the quality of digital interaction, compared to face to face interactions. I would argue there is an interesting juxtaposition regarding the abilities of technologies; although interactions through zoom cannot fully replace the experience of the face to face, it does illustrate the potential of digital technology to bring people together. The use of sound within this AR experience, references to the importance of sound in developing a connection. At first, I found the noises to be slightly unsettling, however the convergence of these sounds to create music, insights this sense of ease and comfort. Overall, I found this piece to be most interesting with the use of sound within AR, and something of which I may consider within my augmented reality filters, in order to give a further sense of depth. Through having these characters depicted in the real world, it enhances this sense of immersion and thus engagement.
Barcia-Colombo, G. (2020) Choir [digital media]
Another example of Augmented Reality, that follows from this theme of immersion, into the possibilities of how this can aide the arts market. Sebastian Errauriz and artist Zander Eckland, create an online platform that allows artists to upload their pieces in a 3-dimensional form, which allows art collectors to view these pieces in their homes, in order to view for purchase. This mechanism has proven to be most innovative due to restrictions on visiting art auctions or even in shops. Ikea has since implemented this function, which allows individuals to select pieces of furniture and view them within their home. This not only proves the possibility for AR within the art world but also with home décor.
Errauriz, S. and Eckland, Z. (2020) All Show [online platform]
In the future, once the world comes back to a degree of normality, there are ongoing questions about how will AR and VR further impact our daily lives? Regarding the gallery experience, many art institutions have experimented with using AR in order to enhance artworks. One example, is at the National Museum of Finland. Through using VR technology, they have created a program that transports visitors inside the paintings and visit the various landmarks or even converse with the figures depicting in the painting. In essence, this gives a true meaning of bringing art to life; the use of VR can offer contextual insight into a paintings history and offer an immersive experience. This could create a fascinating way to discover paintings through visual discovery.
Zoan, Oy. (2018) The Opening of the Diet 1863 [virtual reality experience]
Although the use of VR and AR can present many fascinating possibilities for the art world, we must think realistically about these potentials. The use of these technologies can be quite expensive and involve many experts to create these experiences. Unlike the film industry or video game industry, there is more abilities to gain profit and funding. Due to the pandemic, much of the funding that was going into the arts sector, has been cut due to other under-resourced facilities such as healthcare and medicine. This questions the feasibility of these technologies for the arts and whether better funding strategies must be laid out.
Here are some links to the sources that I have mentioned:
Gabrial Barcia-Colombo - Choir (2020) https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2020/08/07/gabriel-barcia-colombo-singing-the-body-electric.html#gs.n0ix85
Sebastian Errauriz and artist Zander Eckland - All Show (2020) https://www.allworld.io
The National Museum of Finland - The Opening of the Diet 1863 (2018) https://www.helsinking.com/national-museum-of-finland-virtual-reality/2018/4/17/national-museum-of-finland-vr-experience