ARART: An Augmented Reality Application

Kei Shiratori, Takeshi Mukai and Younghyo Bak recently created an application that brings famous works of art to life! When a mobile device is held to a piece, "a new story will unfold, as if time trapped inside the painting has been stirred alive".

Additionally, ARART animates the illustrations within Alice In Wonderland as well as common objects such as records and CDs. The app uses the camera of the device to detect the objects, and if it is registered, the image will move. Watch the video below to see ARART in action.

This is incredible! What I really love about ARART is the use of technology to add depth, and potentially redefine well-known masterpieces as well as the world around us. Soon ARART will be available to download for free at the iTunes App Store. The creators plan to add even more features than what is shown. (I can't wait!)

(For more information, check out the project site.)

Until next time!

These Are a Few of My Favorite (Art) Blogs!

The Internet is filled with many great art-related blogs, but I thought I would share with you the three I visit the most.

1. My Modern Metropolis: My Modern Metropolis is fantastic because it is not only one blog--it is an aggregate of multiple blogs. The site describes itself as: "a collage - our very foundation is made by the people, for the people. We're a hub to gather and share the little, intricate things that we find creative and inspiring in this world". Anyone can create a blog through theMET, and contribute art-related posts! What I love about this blog(-hub) is that it truly does rely on its contributors, and fosters a sense of community through sharing artistic discoveries. The large number of people who post to the site keeps the main page moving and updated--so you can learn about a new piece of art just about every day. I can spend hours going through the different pages and reading through everyone's posts!

2. Pretty Much Amazing: I discovered Pretty Much Amazing fairly recently, but I totally had a "where have you been all my life" moment when I read through it. The contributors of Pretty Much Amazing post regularly about artists that I'm familiar with--and artists that I want to listen more to! One of my biggest problems is when I become obsessed with artists or bands, while I love their music, it takes a lot for me to go out and research news about them. PMA is my hero because it keeps me updated! What I really love about PMA is that it covers news about a variety of musical genres. Pretty Much Amazing has detailed album reviews, general news about artists and bands, music video posts, and much more.

3. My Eclectic Depiction Of Life: What drew me to this Tumblr blog was its simplicity. Appropriate to the simplistic nature of the blog, the blogger only provides a short blurb about the pieces of art posted, along with links to the artist's website (if they own one) and the site where the work was seen. What I love about the blog (along with the fact that the blogger links back to the original source) is the layout. It is incredibly minimalist-ic--which lets the pictures do all of the "talking". The choice of layout makes the blog look visually appealing because it clearly emphasizes the art. The blogger manages to post about a wide range of artistic mediums. I definitely recommend checking out MEDOL if you're looking for a quick update into the artistic community.

CLOUD

CLOUD is an interactive sculpture created by Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett. It was recently was displayed at the Nuit Blanche arts festival in Calgary on September 15th.

The sculpture is constructed from 6,000 light bulbs that are both functioning and burnt-out as well as steel, metal and pull strings. Something interesting to note (and what I really like about this project) is that all of the burnt-out bulbs were donated. 

The website for the project states that "CLOUD asks the viewer to participate by experiencing the work first hand – standing beneath the structure and pulling lights on and off, creating the flickering aesthetic of an electrical cloud".

I think CLOUD is absolutely beautiful--especially because of how much the general public was involved with the building stages as well as the display itself.

(For more photos and information, check out the project site!)

Until next time!