Grant Proposal, Art + Technology Lab LACMA
In the latest update to ARKit, Apple’s augmented reality API, Apple introduced the possibility of positioning augmented reality objects in a specific global location (using latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates). Our proposal is to use this capability to create a first-of-its-kind shared augmented reality public art experience.
Many artists are currently creating augmented reality art, which is wonderful. But the only way that this augmented reality art is currently experienced is by “placing” the AR art in front of where you are at any moment. This removes the opportunity for the art to be built and designed for a specific location, and also removes the unique element that comes with an art exhibit of having a single place of viewing, and a shared community viewing the same piece in the same place.
This AR public art will be a shared experience by all viewers, and will be allowed to integrate and communicate with the environment that it is viewed within. For example, one could have an art piece floating in the middle of Times Square. Everyone in Times Square will be able to view the art piece (augmented on top of their camera view). Additionally, this art piece will only be able to be seen in Times Square, which creates an AR exhibition that one actually needs to visit, walk through, and experience in a way that AR has not been experienced before.
This API is very new, and this type of AR object placement is not supported everywhere yet (you can see the most up to date list by scrolling to the bottom of this page: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/arkit/argeotrackingconfiguration). Working within the constraints of what current technology allows, my hope is to push forward how augmented reality art can be experienced.
For the audience that views the art, there will be a free experience offered. All will be able to download the app and go on a walk to view the AR art that has been created by artists and put in specific locations. There can be temporary exhibits put up with pieces in well-traveled areas of major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. These exhibits will be free to enjoy by all, they will be a local attraction to visit, and they will be a unique experience (there is no other public art exhibit that allows the artist to plaster their work on the Washington Monument, for example). Eventually, paid exhibits can be introduced to balance costs, but there will always be a free experience available.
For the artists, this will be an opportunity to create art in ways that were before impossible, and with costs so low that opportunity to create will be accessible to artists of all backgrounds. Video artists can project videos onto empty walls in AR, sound artists can create experiences to be walked through, sculptures can be placed in places where they would never normally be allowed, pieces can comment on their environments, or they can simply play with scope and scale in new ways. Without restrictions of cost and disruption, public art pieces can explore new ideas and possibilities.
The artists creating these pieces can come from any and all background, but in many exhibits a strong preference will be given to artists local to the area where the piece will be shown. A process will be created to curate exhibitions, and create healthy rotations. An important aspect will be to balance the enabling of artists all backgrounds to participate and create unique pieces with the need to have limited pieces in an exhibit. When a gallery is built through software, it is vital that the curation be done carefully and in a way that preserves the value of all the art throughout the gallery. The process of how the AR art is submitted, selected, and viewed, can be evolved over time, but initially there will need to be judicious process and quality control to make sure that the viewing experience is remarkable. However, this will not limit the ability of the platform to be open to artists of all types.