Augmented Reality (AR) has opened up so many new possibilities that otherwise didn't exist in the past. They have been used in the gaming world and with social media apps for several years now. They are also used for different kinds of simulations and have lots of scientific uses as well. And more recently many companies and brands have been using AR for marketing and retail. And with smartphones becoming "smarter", in that they do many things these days, and also much more accessible to the average person, the use of AR is also becoming more and more popular. More recently AR has even found its way to the world of arts. This is a very exciting prospect. Moco Museum in Amsterdam for example is having an AR exhibition by Studio Irma.
AR has changed the world of arts in many ways
AR frees the arts from the restrictions of a gallery or museum and allows it to expand its reach to a whole new audience. It also enhances the visitors experience in ways that were not possible before. One of the interesting ideas that they allow people to experience exhibits that are not on show anymore in a virtual manner long after the exhibition was held both on smartphones or Virtual Reality. Creating an AR exhibition can also allow the audience to engage rather than just observe. There are also new AR dance experiences that have been developed. These AR experiences have transformed the way people see and interact with dance. Some AR experiences allow the audience to interact with each other, and also the work of art itself, influencing how the conceptual art piece is created and transformed going forward such as some of these new AR dance experiences.
How AR art work is being used in museums
As mentioned before, museums are also being slowly transformed from places showcases still pieces of art, to digital playgrounds for AR art experiences. One cool idea is to bring famous pieces of art to life using AR. Each museum or gallery can have their own app and people can connect to the AR art installation from using these apps on their smartphones from their own homes. So for example their can be layers of graphics, sounds, and games overlaid on top of the original art piece. These AR additions could be used to make a statement about the art piece or artist or just to take it to the next level.