It was apparent, as Future Human hosted ‘Beck’s Green Box Project Live’ at Dray Walk Gallery, that technological innovation in the arts is reaching invigorating and unprecedented territory. Over the next three years, the Beck’s Art Fund will enable hundreds of digital commissions to be realised globally, as part of their their groundbreaking Green Box Project, in which participants from differing creative disciplines such as art, fashion and music will engage with the unifying media of digital representation and Augmented Reality (AR).

Future Human’s Ben Beaumont-Thomas opened the salon with the somewhat startling confirmation that while AR is a relatively new and evolving medium in which to express digital data, it is already a significant participant in contemporary culture, citing James Cameron’s renowned science-fiction film The Terminator, during which the audience views the world through the display of statistical data that is an integral component of the Terminator’s vision. This was an important example to illustrate a significant benefit of the integration of AR with the everyday, namely, to enhance our comprehension of the immediate environment in which we find ourselves and simultaneously increase the usefulness of that environment.

Ben continued with more recent examples ranging from the educational Do Crew, billed as ‘the world’s first augmented reality cartoon,’ which encourages children to be physically active, to pop group The Black Eyed Peas, who incorporate holographic technology into their live performances, to adult gaming with Julian Oliver’s LevelHead in which the figure of man wanders through a three dimensional AR maze, his movements determined by the gamer, triggering a feeling of omniscience. Other extremes of Augmented Reality took the form of tattoos and t-shirts that leapt into action upon activation of a two dimensional ‘QR code’ (a matrix barcode that’s increasingly used to trigger AR displays), illustrating some of the boundaries pushed by contemporary fashion. However, these were not as astonishing as the habitat suggested by Keiichi Matsuda’s films, in which every banal surface we come across in our daily life essentially becomes a blank canvas for augmentation by commercial brands (as shown in the video below).

The Technocrat Retrofit of London from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

Intriguing as this is, Ben warned of the dangers of novelty diluting the power of the AR medium, expressing the necessity to “plug in meaningful narrative” if AR is to develop as a mode that is both accessible and lasting.

Ben’s talk was followed by a presentation by Digicave, who describe themselves as a ‘free viewpoint media production company’, whose presentation showed the use of a three dimensional scanning process, in which multiple, evenly spaced cameras capture complex physical forms with exceptional accuracy.

While Digicave assert that the purpose of such technology is not to replace canonical two-dimensional media, there is a place for three-dimensional representation in the creative arts, which goes beyond participatory entertainment and into commercial realms. The ‘virtualised ownership’ evoked by the ‘e-commerce’ trading of digital AR objects was one of Digicave’s examples, where interaction with an AR advertisement might enable a purchaser to essentially, ‘view’ a potential purchase, such as sofa, in the context of the surroundings of their own home; Digicave said a ‘fundamental shift’ is still required if the interactive digital realm is to be drawn away from the perceived confines of the gaming community, however, and into the ubiquity of the broad commercial environment.

After Digicave’s presentation, Future Human’s MD Jack Roberts chaired an enlightening panel discussion with James Alliban, an artist working extensively with digital media, Estela Oliva, co-founder of Alpha-ville, the ‘International Festival of Post-Digital Culture’ and Dominic Flannigan, Creative Director of the LuckyMe record label and also a commissioned artist for the Beck’s Green Box Project.

The Green Box Project Digital Salon panel (l-r): Jack Roberts, James Alliban, Estela Oliva, Dominic Flannigan

Opening with the question, ‘How will AR shape the creative industries of tomorrow?’ the discussion quickly reached the vast disconnect between the idealised online representation of oneself and the reality of the daily grind. One of the fascinating aspects of Augmented Reality, James Alliban noted, may be to provide a tangible medium through which we can combine our online idealised selves with our real personas.

In terms of the accessibility of the medium for artists, the question as to whether most artists could be priced out of AR technology was a valid one, however Estela Oliva was confident that although this was a danger, many devices, such as the Layar application already exist to bring AR innovation closer to the individual.  Equally, while the democratisation of the medium renders it accessible to activists, Alliban suggested that the reality is less subversive since logistical constraints ensure a greater proportion of society will see the video of the protest after the fact, rather than actually witness it.

It is interesting to note that much of contemporary cultural progress rests upon the innovations of technological advancement. In the case of Beck’s Green Box Project, artists whose disciplines may not overlap at all on a daily basis find themselves working within the same hitherto unrelated discipline, that of the burgeoning art of digital media.

As Augmented Reality innovation continues to develop, the contemporary art world will be forced to confront AR as a legitimate contender, as the mode embodies characteristics associated with experiential installations or performance pieces. The starting points of works will vary enormously as this digital field develops: for example, many works will be ‘built’ specifically for the mode of Augmented Reality with entirely digital beginnings, while other works which are already firmly rooted in the tangible, such as Kate McGwire’s darkly magical sculptures, are adapted to engage with the AR medium.

A Digital Salon guest tries out the augmented reality graffiti wall

The growing ubiquity of ‘smart’ digital devices, combined with initiatives such as the Green Box Project, changes the nature of ‘art in the public realm’, enticing it towards the 21st century; this is public art disseminated in a new and highly accessible way. Will this mean a decline in the traditional crafts of cast bronze, carved marble, steel contortions, delicate drawings and paintings? The digital age may affect not only the makers of such art, but also the conservators of it. In the quest for Augmented Reality, we must be careful not to compete with reality so as to eliminate it entirely.

Perhaps the digital data medium will encourage a new section of society to engage with the arts? Those that shy away from visiting imposing art institutions may be happier to interact with great works on an AR platform, which encourages independent engagement with a tailor-made interface. But which ‘version’ of the artwork would people find more informative or appealing?  Would it be the original, perhaps an oil painting several hundred years old, or the augmented, interactive, digital version?

One thing is certain however: at a time when government funding for the arts has fallen so dramatically, Beck’s Green Box Project is leading the way for ingenious opportunities in Augmented Reality for artists across disciplines, via the Beck’s Art Fund.

Looking towards the near future, James Alliban suggested that it may only be three years before the general public are able to buy their own AR glasses, through which they could engage with their own AR environment. As if this was not sci-fi enough, the ultimate AR goal, Alliban says, is for the digital data to be transmitted directly to the brain from the retina. It seems that technology is no longer the limiting factor for human imagination.

All photos © Victor Frankowski.