Impossible Experiences: Experiments In Augmented Reality

By Kristen Nelson

November 2019

Richard Humann used Membit to create his location-based augmented reality multimedia art installation, Ascension, which placed 12 newly imagined constellations over the city of Venice, Italy.

The promise of augmented reality is as seemingly unlimited as the technology itself, adding new dimensions to our experience while also breaking down physical barriers to see beyond what was previously opaque. As more augmented reality glasses enter the marketplace, and mobile-based apps provide users with this new way of experiencing the world, we’re just beginning to see how augmented reality enables experiences that were impossible until recently.

Already, the worlds of art, education, corporate training and robotics are shifting with the presence of augmented reality. Where once there were barriers to the forms of communication and information sharing in these spaces, these formerly impossible experiences are happening now.

Adding Artwork to the Sky

For artists working in realms of creative expression that can be difficult to realize in tangible form, augmented reality is a valuable medium. And as the technology continues to evolve, new tools can provide a more direct translation of an artist’s vision, observes Karina Mitchell, Director of Community and Partnerships for Membit: “Now people are seeing things very much in a way that creatives are already seeing the world around them.”

Originally conceived as a geolocative photo sharing app that allows pictures to be placed and viewed in the exact location they were captured, the Membit platform has become a gateway for users to share creative works as well. Seeing the potential for creative expression, the team at Membit is collaborating with artists to bring new work to the world.

One such artist is Richard Humann, who worked with Membit to create augmented reality works reflecting one of the earliest visual storytelling methods. Harking back to how the Greeks extrapolated their myths across constellations of stars in the sky, Humann is using augmented reality to add new drama to the skies above. The first such endeavor was Ascension, a location-based augmented reality multimedia installation comprised of 12 newly imagined constellations suspended over the city of Venice, Italy and made viewable from anywhere in the world via the Membit app.

Humann worked with Membit to create The Tiger Horse, an augmented reality piece inside the DMZ between North and South Korea.

From there, Humann went even more site-specific and impossible with his augmented reality works. In 2018, he installed The Tiger Horse augmented reality piece inside the Civilian Control Line at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea during his exhibition at the Hangang Art Park in Seoul.

The pairing of augmented reality with specific locations adds a layer of “cultural density” to an artistic venue, Mitchell notes. “That’s why it’s important to be thoughtful about how we pair experiences with location. Once people see the augmented art, it’s then part of their memory, their experience and their feeling about the place. Even though it’s not a physical thing, it’s very much part of their memory.”

Link to Article:
https://www.avixa.org/pt/insight/Whitepapers/Details/impossible-experiences-experiments-in-augmented-reality/