Augmented Reality Art Installations

Statement

Digital Constructs over Mega Constructs, a series of Mixed Reality Constructs.

A series of Augmented Reality Art Installations drawing on my video game 3D work and created in 2022 in various locations around New York City. Developed as a series of Augmented Reality apps for an Android phone where 3D generated imagery is superimposed and manipulated in real-time over various New York City locations. Interaction is recorded in real-time by screen capture software on the Android phone. The 3D digitally generated work is a mix of per-defined animation and real-time physics simulation. The app was created with Unity 3D, AR Foundation, Maya, and Adobe software and coded entirely by the artist.

The app interacts with real-life New York City locations, detects surfaces, and keeps track of the spatial relationships in real time between the 3d generated images, the phone, and the real-life setting.

In these works, I merge New York City scenes and real-time digitally generated 3D bodies into a synthesized “augmented” reality that exists only in the space of the user’s phone.

The 3D work is a combination of animation and real-time simulation.

The reality of consumer culture brands is that consumer objects are turned into larger-than-life constructs via logos, outsized imagery and branded stores almost like temples of worship.

I also really liked turning the uber constructs of New York City like 100-story skyscrapers into Lego-like backgrounds overwhelmed by giant hands.