8 Bit Bonanza

Yesterday, I crafted a font called 8BitBonanza. The font is based on memories of old videogames, specifically the hand-held variety. Feel free to download and use it for whatever you like. If you do something cool with it, let me know in the comments!

Enjoy!

Project Glass and Three Visions for the Future of Art

Back in 2003, I wrote a story involving a pair of glasses called ASpects, or Augmented Spectacles. It was a silly name, containing the anachronistic duality of a conceptual item. Having to wear glasses myself, the idea of turning my physical hindrance into a technological advantage had been a dream since being introduced to Geordi LaForge. Now, in 2012, Google introduces Project: Glass. For some, it sounds like hi-sci-fi, with the harshest critics claiming vaporware. For hopeful futurists, it is like being told Santa Claus is real and is bringing you cyborg vision.



Google itself has done a fantastic job describing some of the prospective everyday uses for the technology, but what about more specific applications? Certainly it will bring a new level of discourse to business, providing stock traders with up-to-the-second tickers available right within their field of vision. Should a sports model be available, it would surely be outlawed on the professional field of play, as applications could theoretically be developed that would allow batters to determine the speed of a pitch, and providing them signals regarding whether to swing or not. What applications could the art world develop for use of this prospective new technology?

I propose three options. Not the last word in any sense, but examples of possible uses:

1 - Use in Development

Painting a canvas is messy, especially when you lack a steady hand. Even an artist with dedicated focus can pull back and find they have added an arc instead of a line to the portrait. An obvious option involves the use of a straight edge to guide the brush, but then we run back into the dilemma of mess. Projecting a line or shape onto the canvas is another option, but then you still have to factor in shadows.

With AR glasses, an artist could establish some of the more difficult lines and arcs and synch a virtual screen over the breadth of the canvas, giving the artist a guide to follow that doesn’t smudge the paint or place the artist in uncomfortable positions while trying to keep out of the light.

Hanging the piece would also become simpler, as an onscreen level would show how far left or right you need to nudge the piece to be parallel to the ground. 


2 - Use in Media

What will be most interesting is the use of AR glasses as a medium itself. The lines between traditional and digital media will blur to the point of indistinguishable from one another as artists begin coding their canvas to synch with what the viewer sees. A landscape painting will suddenly become a haven for a pre-programmed imaginary friend living in the Cloud.

Portrait without AR Glasses

Portrait with AR Glasses

3 - Use in Collection

You’re seated in a coffee shop, reading a magazine, when you view one of the most gorgeous sculptures you have ever seen. The AR glasses scan the tag that accompanies the image and discovers that the piece is being exhibited at a gallery across the city, is for sale, and has received five-star ranking from countless critics within the city. With the bat of an eye, you have purchased the piece remotely and are given directions to the gallery so you may pick it up in person, as well as browse what else they may have in their collection that is similar to the sculpture.

As I mentioned before, there are countless other possibilities, and I’m sure we won’t even uncover a small sampling of them until the glasses are available and within the hands of the public. What other uses can you envision for AR glasses in the art world?

The Show Must Go On and On and On...

Narcissus and the Golden Man

"That is, an artist who creates lots of work probably experiences

prolific days and slower days." - Buffy Sainte-Marie

Despite my resolve to remain patient, February and March became a sort of time trial. During the course of the past two months, I found that I could produce a show from start to finish in an incredibly constrained amount of time. Though I have never been one to procrastinate, I have always felt that I work best under pressure, and thus have produced ten pieces of the best art of my career all in the span of 20 days.

Stories 01, or Red

The reason for my artistic surge was the Altered Esthetics Solo Exhibition Program. The program is meant to assist new and emerging artists in launching their careers. Back in August, when I first heard about the program, I was searching for a challenge that I could utilize to up-the-ante of my creative talent, having felt that I was growing complacent. So, I chose to apply. Part of the process included a proposal of the type of show you would like to produce. Feeling overly ambitious, I crafted a carefully worded proposal about creating a show within a show, about art from art. Being selected for the program, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to implement my proposal to much success.

The show ran from March 2nd - 29th at the Spring Street Tavern in Minneapolis, Minn., with a reception held on March 10th. Altered Esthetics even wrote a nice blog post about the show. The show itself consisted of images from two individual series of images; Stories and Between the Lines.

Stories was a series of six images inspired by fairy tales that had hidden within them the essence of all great stories, thus telling a story in itself.

Original thumbnail for Between the Lines 02

Between the Lines was a continuation of the idea behind Stories, but with a different theme. BtL was at its core a purer representation of the original proposition that was submitted to the program. At its base, BtL was ten images that could stand alone as individual pieces of artwork. As a collection, it told the story of an artist's journey. Finally, hidden within the pieces themselves, much like Stories, were keywords that, when combined, spelled out the overall theme for the show itself.

Overwhelmingly, comments about the show and reception have been absolutely positive. I am incredibly grateful to have such supportive friends and family, as without them, the pieces would not have been as strong, and the show would not have been the success it was.

For those of you who missed the show, yet would still like to see it, there is hope. I am making arrangements to produce an extended version of the show in the form of a viewbook. Details are still amorphous at the moment, so keep an eye on this blog, as I will inform you of its completion as soon as it is ready.

In case you are impatient, have a look at Stories, and see if you can solve the puzzle: