If you saw the exhibition “Are We Global Yet?” before, you still have not seen it now! Although to the naked eye the gallery space may appear unchanged, an entirely new installation of 12 objects is now visible in augmented reality. Visitors to the gallery are encouraged to download the free app “Layar” on their personal devices or borrow one from the gallery before traveling the space of the exhibition. Using the devices, visitors now can see and interact with virtual installations in the physical space created by students from Prof. Metrick-Chen’s January term course: “Art / Virtual Reality / App.”
In the J-term course, Prof. Metrick-Chen led the students in an immersive exploration of contemporary issues raised by the intersection of our world of digital world and public art. As part of the J-term, New Media artist, Prof. John Craig Freeman (Emerson College,) guided the students in a week-long workshop in which they created objects in augmented reality. The students participated in Freeman’s ongoing and transnational art project, “Things We Have Lost,” in which participants choose an object that represents something absent. The resulting artworks use prosaic objects to disclose moving and personal themes.
The Anderson Gallery will host a closing reception for the exhibition on Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 4:00-6:30 PM, and encourages Drake students, faculty, staff and the Des Moines community to join in the festivities! The exhibition, in both its physical and augmented form, will continue to be on display at the Anderson Gallery through Friday, February 12.
The exhibition is supported by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, the Center for the Humanities at Drake University, Humanities Iowa, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.