Why Augmented Reality?

My goal for Inventing Spaces is to expand the traditional 2D visual art experience into an immersive site activation using augmented reality and community programming to create dialogue around the use of art in public spaces. Viewers will utilize a QR code scanned with their smartphones to activate a web-based augmented reality element, which can be self-guided or accessed with the help of support staff through which they may receive assistance, ask questions, and voice feedback. This ease of access will invite viewers who may have hesitancies around technology to participate. Using a public art model will allow us to provide services while capturing visitors in their daily routines. In doing so, this project hopes to minimize the pressure to bring prior knowledge or experience to the site, thus creating the most authentic interactions. These engagements will encourage immersive play without the normal boundaries of 2D art and ask viewers to become an active part of the project. Inventing Spaces will ask the questions:  How does emersion in the art affect our reaction to it? How can/ do we interact in these spaces? Do we change ourselves or the space in order to fit certain ideas or biases?

I am interested in using public art as a catalyst to spark imagination and encourage play. By creating a space that changes based on an individual’s participation or method of exploration I seek to remove any preconceived barriers or expectations when entering the art space. As an abstract painter, I am inspired by movement and the visceral physical and emotional reactions to art itself. My paintings create environments where viewers can explore multiple layers and feel as though they have entered a fictitious space. Augmented reality allows me to take these fantasies and bring them to life, fully immersing the viewer in a created and invented environment.