Art, Activism, and Augmented Reality

Description

One of the latest genres in New Media art is that of Augmented Reality, or the overlay of digital content onto physical reality through the use of smart phones and computer vision. Marshall McLuhan heralded artists as early adopters of new technology, and the emergence of AR as an art genre is no surprise. Numerous AR works have sought to explore the expressive and critical possibilities of the technology, and groups like Manifest.AR have used this medium as a means of creative dissent through their Occupy Wall Street AR intervention. With AR a burgeoning platform for New Media art investigation, we will discuss the potentials and limitations of the medium and discuss the history and context of work being done today, and discuss the tactical potentials of AR as political intervention.

Questions Answered

How is augmented reality evolving as an aesthetic medium?
What are some examples where augmented reality serves as a medium for aesthetic and conceptual exploration?
What are the potentials and limitations of AR as a medium for art.
How does art conspire with activism, and to what end?
What are the tactical potentials of AR as political intervention.