Exhibit Takes Unusual Approach to Traditional and Digital Art
Sacred Heart University’s art & design department has an exciting new exhibit in its gallery focusing on augmented reality (AR or [AR]T) curated by Jon Walker, associate professor.
The exhibit, entitled The Augmentists, presents a new art form and mass medium that combines various media to augment a work and deliver an experience impossible through traditional design, art and media.
AR is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated animated experience on a user's view of the real world. AR is forming an entirely new medium, providing a composite view previously unseen. Associate Professor Mary Treschitta, chair of the art & design department, calls it a new way to look at art.
“AR combines design, fine art, technology, motion graphics and poetry, with a big dose of creativity, for a unique educational experience. We are able to bring it into the curriculum and use it as a classroom teaching tool,” she said. SHU is making the integration of these new paradigms a priority, Treschitta added.
A portion of the exhibit, The Danger Tree, features two internationally renowned augmentists, Scarlett Raven and Marc Marot, whose works combine traditional painting and digital media. The Danger Tree commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and tells the story of WWI soldiers in their own words, narrated by some of Britain’s finest actors. Through the use of Artivive, an AR app, the experiences of the soldiers in one of the bloodiest battles in human history provide a revelatory visual, aural and emotional experience. The exhibit also covers a range of topics including space exploration, health science, portfolios, sports, history and cutting-edge technology that allows the viewer to experience AR.
Viewers download apps that bring the AR experiences to life through smartphones or tablets. While looking at works on display, viewers open the apps and hold phones or tablets up to the art or design pieces. These then come to life in poetic animations, combining traditional art with digital expression through time and motion.
“I am excited that we were able to bring this type of exhibit to Sacred Heart. There is a large opportunity to share information through art with AR. It is a paradigm change that makes learning more effective as well as engaging, exciting and fun,” said Treschitta.
In conjunction with the exhibit, Marc Marot discussed AR and his experience as an augmentist as part of art & design’s graphic design IV course. True to the digital emphasis of the department, Marot spoke by means of a FaceTime video conference from London to SHU students in Fairfield. The department hopes to make these video conferences with designers and artists from all over the world a regular part of their curriculum.
The exhibit will be in the art & design gallery at Sacred Heart’s main academic building (5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield) until January 10, 2020.