I think, I feel, I experience – creating new artistic impressions in augmented reality
For many art fans, the possibility of experiencing art is nectar and ambrosia for their artistic soul. A phenomenon without which their life would be like a bottomless pit of sorrow and despair. And just as Fryderyk Chopin needed a piano, Jan Matejko needed a brush, and Adam Mickiewicz needed a pen and a scrap of paper, so the connoisseur of art needs to feel it. Nevertheless, current times throw up a number of challenges that we have to meet in order to be able to delight in outstanding works of art again.
Augumented Reality, which we’ll write about, is the answer to the needs of those who, in the rush of everyday life, seek respite in the works of others. Its innovation and existing solutions make it possible to extend the real world by locating content we can interact with in it. How does this relate to art, and why does it represent its future?
Although it might seem otherwise, augmented reality has been reigning in the technology market for several years now. It’s the focus of interest not only for developers, but also scientists and an average Smith. Its phenomenon is used, among others, in mobile applications, it is also more boldly entering new markets and has great potential to revolutionize them.
The artist, who decided to take a step towards technology, was the visionary and computer scientist Myron W. Krueger. In 1967, he made a breakthrough and created the first installation that was an attempt to combine advanced interaction of the real world with virtual reality. “Glowflow,” as he gave it its title, allowed the behavior of fluorescent particles to be influenced by the movement of characters interpreted by a computer. Although the technology and computing power of the time didn’t allow the creation of virtual reality at a level that we know today, the creator didn’t stop at one project and year after year he tried to improve his prototypes.1
Another of the innovative solutions, using the possibilities of AR in culture, was the “Paint Job” campaign, dedicated to one of the most famous Dutch museums. Visitors to the Rijksmuseum were able to scan paintings on their smartphones using the Layar Reality search engine. This gave them access to special encrypted messages. The virtual layers opened up the world of art for visitors, along with new possibilities that allowed them to experience the works from a completely new perspective.2
Source: https://theinspirationroom.com/
The combination of technology and art is therefore no longer just an unusual misalliance or futuristic vision of the world. Museums and art galleries more and more often use the benefits of virtual reality and artists imply it in their work. That is why this space offers a number of possibilities for all those whose imagination reaches even further than the classic contemplation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine or Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
Virtual reality is, above all, a solution for the modern age. In the near future, it’ll allow us not only to contemplate the benefits of culture, but also to experience completely new feelings while doing it. It’ll enable the promotion of artists in an unconventional form that we can take with us from cultural centers to our homes, out in nature, and for a break at work.
This advanced technology will create opportunities for those who will want to move their material works of art to the online space, where access to them will be much more accessible, also for those who do not always have the opportunity to go to museums or art galleries. The new solutions will not only open the way to success for many young artists whose creativity goes beyond the classics, but will also open the door for anyone who would like to be closer to art at a distance.
And although for some it may sound irrational, out of the ordinary or just plain strange, the Mateico team is here to take a journey with you into the future of art, explaining the incomprehensible phenomena and the phenomenon of the coming changes and the opportunities they bring.
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1 https://www.vrlab.com.pl/2019/08/28/historia-wirtualnej-rzeczywistosci/
2 https://www.podrozepoeuropie.pl/panorama-raclawicka-wroclaw/