Augmented and Virtual Realities: Highlight on Immersive Technologies
By Marie Chatel
Apple lost you last week when they announced the “revolutionary” feature of an A12 Bionic chip on their new phone? Tell me again, was it better for augmented reality, virtual reality or both? And, actually which is which, how do they function, and how are these technologies complementary? If you’ve been asking yourself these questions, here’s a clarification.
First of all, both augmented and virtual realities fall under the umbrella of what we call “immersive technologies” — technologies that connect a physical world and a simulated one, blurring the limits between what is real and what is fictional. Say scuba diving, skydiving or astronautical journeys are immersions, in this specific case the experience is provided through a device, as a user interface (e.g., screen, goggles, keyboard, mouse) which allows the viewer to interact with a given immersive environment. The latter draws to the concept of interactivity as media deliver different visual, textual or multi-sensorial information depending on users’ input through the interface. Users thus shape unique experiences through a sensorimotor exploration of an image which runs through both space and time.
Augmented Reality (AR). Yes, this is one you get on your phone and all sorts of screen displays. This technology adjusts just as well to 2D and 3D environments, moving or still image. We say a picture is augmented when it features information — textual or visual — that was not included on the original shot and is distinct from the context or environment it describes. Snapchat stands as a good example. If you wish to post an image of a life event and overlay it with a label or an emoji, then you’ve literally “augmented” that picture. AR has many fields of application, notably in advancing museums’ multimedia. For instance, instead of listening to an audio-guide facing an artwork, you could also enhance your experience by superposing digital elements — visual or textual — to what you see, using a phone or tablet as an interface. The said information is usually triggered by either a QR code or image recognition, and you’ll most probably be asked to download an app developed for the specific purpose and context of the exhibition.
Artists who adopted AR technology early include Joseph Farbrook, John Craig Freeman, Will Pappenheimer, and Zachary Brady, often collaborating and investigating public spaces as demonstrates Pappenheimer and Brady’s Drawing Constellations (2016), and Freeman’s Metro-NeXt, Grand Central Station (2014). Amongst other artists promoting this scene, we see Carla Gannis and her augmented book The Selfie Drawings (2016), Michael Mittelman and his digital enactments of Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings in AR.Lewitt (2016), and Claudia Hart’s The Flower Matrix (2017), which consists of patterned wallpapers embedding QR codes for the enhanced display of three-dimensional animations of flowers. Similarly, Laffy Maffei’s Justine Emard works with AR in Intermissions (2016) as she augments drawings of US open-air cinemas with the screening of videos projected during intervals in the fifties.
Virtual Reality (VR). You can also get this one on your phone, but it’s usually for when you wear goggles, as by definition it consists of visually sealing viewers off from their external reality. More than just a panoramic view, VR immerses observers in a 360° environment while giving the visual impression of evolving around 3D objects. The technology works with both parameters of space and time, but compared to AR the spatial dimensions look way more real due to its hermetical and three-dimensional character. Simulations can either depict a real or a virtual environment, and some include additional sensory information, for instance, sound through headphones or speakers. Up to certain levels of immersion, VR can also be displayed through screens (computers, tablets, phones) in the sense of providing a 3D and interactive journey, although won’t be as persuasive as when using stereoscopic devices.
In the creative sector, VR mostly emerges from joining video and installation art. The technology, pioneered in the 1980s by Jaron Lanier, has been explored as early as 2002 by artists like Langlands and Bell, and later with Cao Fei for her installation RMB City at the 56th Venice Biennale. With works like Brand New Paint Job (2013) and Transdimensional Serpent (2016), and Legendary Reality (2017), digital artist Jon Rafman quickly became essential for 3D representations and VR art. Other significant protagonists include Jordan Wolfson and his controversial installation Real Violence (2017), Jacolby Satterwhite and his time-based animated narratives, and Rachel Rossin creating immersive paintings such as the stereoscopic 360° video Man Mask (2016). But the VR industry impacts more of the art world daily, which explains how acclaimed artists like Marina Abramović, Anish Kapoor, and Yinka Shonibare now turn to the medium. Big tech players also take action, and just as Rafman and Rossin used Facebook’s Oculus Rift, Google’s app Tilt Brush influences the development of artists like Elizabeth Edwards and Stuart Campbell.
Hybridization refers to mixed realities and is becoming more and more frequent which probably explains the AR/VR confusion. When faced with both at once an excellent way to recognize AR is that it provides graphical information that is “disconnected” and additional to the reality you see (may it be real or simulated). On the other hand, the VR experience involves moving through a three-dimensions space and defines the actual environment you evolve in.
With evolving technologies, the scope of application could even get more substantial (and we shall keep updated). Mat Collishaw’s 2017 installation, Thresholds, is only a first example of what a fully immersive environment could be. At Somerset house last summer the artist restaged William Henry Fox Talbot’s 1839 photography exhibition not only using VR, but also including sound, touch while moving around physical objects, and other sensory stimuli like feeling the warmth from a burning fire. You might need to get yourself ready for improvements in immersive realities, not just more interaction, but even perceptions referring to all senses, visual, auditory, tactile, olfactive, and gustative.
