Augmented Reality Activism - Augmented Reality Art - page 22

Fig. 1.18 Will
Pappenheimer, Skywrite,
Create AR messages with
clouds, (2012) (Images
reproduced courtesy of the
artist)
is to make the creation process simple enough that anyone with a smartphone can
create and broadcast their messages with minimal effort. Creation software is made
to democratize AR technology and empower the masses.
These AR mobile apps rely on the public to create the message or idea. This
type of work is called crowdsourcing. They rely on the users to create the message.
These projects are often popular because of the creative freedom it provides the
public. The activists who make the software can never know or control what the
public will create often leading to unexpected results.
The more successful creation apps generate strong metaphors, often giving the
public power to remix known experiences from the real world. Skywrite by Will
Pappenheimer, allows the public to draw AR clouds in the sky with a smartphone or
tablet (Fig. 1.18 ). A person using the app looks at the sky with their mobile device
and draws on its display with their finger. As they do so a cloud appears and the
sound of an airplane can be heard. Skywrite could be used in a countless number
of ways form art creation to love letters. Pappenheimer creates context to the work
by choosing specific locations that people can create messages above. On a number
of occasions Skywrite has been placed over political and corporate locations such
as the U.S. White House, the U.S. Capitol Building, and Apple and Facebook's