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hallucination” that was the dream of the early cyberpunk authors and virtual reality
evangelists (Gibson
1984
), augmented reality is redefining the barriers between
what we consider “the real” and “the virtual.”
Human culture has always been fascinated with the invisible, whether these were
gods and supernatural spirits that could only be seen via divine grace, or remote
galaxies and tiny organisms that could only be seen with scientific instruments. Both
individuals and entire societies invest sites with invisible layers of meaning as a part
of personal and collective memory. Augmented reality art can now merge these
invisible layers of memory and culture with the actual physical location. As with
all site-specific artworks, viewers can also record their own personal encounters in
screenshots, creating a dialogue between the work, the site and their own particular
gaze.
In 2011 when we did these interventions there were still voices that spoke
of smartphones as elitist devices for the wealthy. Even then however our social
lives had already moved into virtual space: we shared experiences by posting our
photographs on the Internet, and the small incidents and passing thoughts of our
daily lives on Facebook and Twitter. Now, less than 2 years later it is clear that soon
more people worldwide will be using mobile devices than PCs, and smartphones
will become our main access platform to the digital commons (Standage
2012
).
What is the likelihood that kids in East Harlem
2
or people of all ages in Kenya
(Talbot
2012
) will view AR art on smartphones versus viewing art in galleries and
museums?
2.3
Site as Canvas and Context
As interventionist art, augmented reality questions the possession and control of a
physical space. As site specific art, it also exploits and appropriates the physical
space as its canvas and its context, as the virtual artworks are always seen merged
with the live camera view of the surroundings. It enters into a dialogue with the
location visually to integrate it into the visual composition of the viewed augment,
conceptually to trigger associations of memory and culture, but also physically
as the viewer interacts bodily with the site. Usually the viewer must search the
surroundings to find the augment, like bird watchers scanning with binoculars, or
must walk the site dodging real world obstacles in order to experience the artwork
in its totality. Thus, though the artwork is virtual, the viewer must engage physically
2
In 2012 the author helped the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute
(CCCADI) to bring in a Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Grant to create “Mi Querido Barrio,”
an augmented reality tour of the history and art of East Harlem. As AR Artistic Director for the
project the author is conducting AR workshops for artists in East Harlem (Rockefeller Foundation
2012
; CCCADI
2012
).
