VIRTUAL ART FOR PANDEMIC TIMES

Human interaction and physical contemplation of Art will continue to be important, but the situation we find ourselves in now forces us to find different alternatives to adapt to the new normal of social distancing, where exhibitions have been postponed, museums and galleries are closed, and the future celebration of Art Fairs is in the air.

Augmented Reality sculpture by Amarist Studio

At the beginning of March Amarist Studio saw how from one day to another their entire work calendar was being altered due to the global Coronavirus outbreak.

“During this unprecedented lockdown we have transitioned our work to Augmented Reality so we could still keep our creative work on but most importantly, so our public and collectors could still see and interact with our new artworks at home.”  the duo explains.

Augmented Reality available in Amarist Studio’s webpage

Digital exhibitions and augmented reality exponentially widens the audience and eliminates the intimidating factor that entering a gallery continues to have for many. In unprecedented times like these, technology gives people the opportunity to access culture while remaining at home, offering a closer and a more intimate approach to the artworks.

Augmented Reality even gives people the opportunity to directly see how real sculptures could look in their homes, which maybe turns some of the audience into first time art collectors.

Like many other fields that have been disrupted by technology, Augmented Reality has the potential to disrupt the art industry. It opens a new door with infinite possibilities to explore creatively and economically. And moreover now when smart phones have the capacity to open and display AR automatically without the need of any other devices or the installation of additional apps.

“At Amarist Studio we even wanted to go a step further to approach and attract a broader younger generation to Art through the incorporation of our sculptures on Instagram Filters. With this feature every user can incorporate the artworks in their daily Stories, giving them the opportunity to play and interact with the Art at another level.” Arán and Clara comment “Which for us, as the creators, is also very interesting because you see your audience giving your artwork another meaning and concept, each one from their own perspective.”

Instagram users interacting with Amarist Studio’s augmented reality sculptures.

Their goal with this quarantine project is to bring Art closer to the general public and to invite everyone to participate and interact with the artworks. At the same time they investigate how the new technologies will affect the way we make, exhibit and enjoy Art in the near future.

Below are a couple of the new digital sculptures Amarist Studio presented during their quarantine lockdown:

MASKS OFF
Year: 2020
Medium: DigitalThis is the first 100% digital sculpture presented through an Instagram Filter (check @amariststudio profile to learn how to use). Titled ‘MASKS OFF’ the work reflects on the geopolitical tension between USA and CHINA. Heads and Tails of a same coin rotating on its axis.

SEE ‘MASKS OFF’ AUGMENTED REALITY (iPhone)

WAR RELIC
Year: 2020
Medium: Digital