SUMMARY

To learn about the exhibited sculptors and sculptures, please use the free Augmented Reality app provided via the onsite signage.  Tech startup company XR-ROOM partnered with the Sculpture Forest to create the world’s first Augmented Reality exhibition of real-world physical sculptures.  A national Call for Artists resulted in a curated selection of sculptures from around the country, all transformed and transported to be here in front of you via the magic of Augmented Reality.

ABOUT THE AR EXPERIENCE

The Sculpture Forest’s Augmented Reality (AR) app seamlessly blends together an interactive, 360-degree digital creation with your personal real-world setting. A real-world sculpture has been digitally transformed into Augmented Reality and then placed onto a real-world sculpture pedestal within the real-world forest around it. For comparison, “Virtual Reality” is different: VR is where everything that you see is digitally created without seeing any of the real world (think of wearing goggles with a screen inside that blocks out viewing any of the real world around you). Augmented Reality truly “augments” your reality with an overlaid and integrated digital experience that enhances your local world.

One of the driving principles of the Sculpture Forest is for visitors to leave more excited about the possibilities of art and nature than before they arrived. Hopefully, you will take that enthusiasm with you out into the rest of the world. This exhibit helps show how unbounded the possibilities are for art and shows new mind-opening ways to both create and interact with art. We hope it will help expand art enthusiasm among both younger people and tech savvy groups. And for non-tech savvy groups, it will provide a user-friendly way to show them all new possibilities that they have never experienced before.

Creating an experience that stands on its own regarding the quality of art while also making a completely new art experience fun for people of all backgrounds is a difficult though achievable goal. This showcases the ability to move forward beyond normal expectations and ways of presenting art. It also helps draw art and nature lovers to our beautiful island while interacting in a site-contained, respectful way.

XR-Room has been terrific to collaborate with and has created a lot of completely new value. We also received appreciated community support when Island County provided a grant toward our accessible AR path and viewing circle, and the Coupeville Festival Association provided an appreciated grant toward our AR software development.

One of our guiding principles has always been to provide free access for everyone so that all people can enjoy everything regardless of ability to pay and family or group size. Purely optional donations and occasional behind-the-scenes appreciated donors are what enable us to stay open for the community and grow new experiences such as this for everyone.

You just need to bring either a modern Apple or Android phone or tablet. We provide the app, onsite Wi-Fi to download, and the Augmented Reality experience.

Approach the introductory sign that explains how to get started. Then point your camera at the appropriate QR code on the main sign, which allows a free download of the AR app to your personal device. The AR app provides detailed yet simple How To instructions. Be sure to allow camera access for the app, if asked.  There are 4 separate sculpture plaques around the perimeter of the viewing circle ahead of you, each with a different sculptor name, sculpture title, and unique QR code. You can point your AR app’s camera at any desired sculpture’s QR code, turn around to walk a couple steps toward the center sculpture pedestal, and then an Augmented Reality sculpture will magically appear in the air above the pedestal as seen through the app. The AR sculpture is highly detailed and can be fully walked around 360 degrees to see all aspects from all angles up, down, and around. In addition, the app allows someone to take their picture by any AR sculpture, learn more about the sculptor and sculpture, and scan another QR code to see the other AR sculptures.

ABOUT XR-ROOM

XR-ROOM Services for Art & Culture by Prefixa has a team mission to bring Art to Life by creating interactive visualizations, Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, interactive apps, and 3D digital assets and spaces. They are a creative tech firm who creates cutting-edge 3D visualizations and custom immersive experiences specifically for Fine Art and Culture uses. Their goal is to help artists’ digital visions come to life. They strive to increase engagement and awareness of artworks by bringing them directly to an audience, wherever they are, through these new visualization technologies.

XR-ROOM has used their experience and research to simplify the conversion of real-world physical artwork into a 3D model that can be used in Augmented Reality. They believe that using 3D modeling is the best way for artists and galleries to showcase their artwork with others in different locations. The engaging format of interactive 3D allows viewers to see 360 degrees of artwork in all directions. In the future, their immersive viewing experience technologies being showcased here can be placed within a virtual gallery, online presentation, or a custom-created setting to provide an interactive experience with paintings, sculptures, audio, and video.