Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
real time, allowing millions to relive atrocities in hyper realistic detail as they are
happening. This conversation and experience can be easily extended to the Internet
and social networks with ease.
1.5
Augmented Reality Activism in the Present
AR activism finds roots in the Situationist's idea of “detournement”. In detourne-
ment the artist or activist appropriates an existing media artifact and then alters it
with the purpose of giving it new meaning (Boyd and Mitchell
2012
). Activists
do this with subversive goals, often targeting corporations and advertising. Culture
jamming is a modern take on the Situationist's detournement. “Many culture
jams are intended to expose apparently questionable political assumptions behind
commercial culture. Common tactics include re-figuring logos, fashion statements,
and product images as a means to challenge the idea of “what's cool” along with
assumptions about the personal freedoms of consumption.” (Boden and Williams
2002
)
Some of the first AR activism was inspired by the work of culture jammers
and graffiti artists who boldly created works in public spaces without permission
from the establishment. Often times these messages were interventions, challenging
the notion of public and private space. These activists often modified commercial
messages to pointing at social injustice and political issues. Culture jamming
interventions by the art activists groups like the Billboard Liberation Front remix
corporate billboards to create subversive political messages (see Fig.
1.4
). The
process of remixing existing content is ideal for AR activism because it requires
minimal effort on the part of the activist.
Logo hacking allows activists to easily target corrupt corporations and expose
their misdeeds by generating subversive messages on the corporation's own logo or
advertisements. This turns the corporation's own logo against them; countless logos
Fig. 1.4
Billboard Liberation Front, Milton Rand Kalman,
NSA_2
(Images reproduced courtesy
of the artist)
