Exploded Reader
AGP606
From: Third year studies at Brighton University
For this next project we were asked to create a space/environment/platform in which we had to present/display/perform/explode our ‘Expanded Reader’ project. We had to consider this as an opportunity to extend the ideas at play in our reader into broader conceptual concerns, and to interrogate expanded modes of reading, display, presentation, exhibition and collaboration. I payed close attention to how I was showing and installing the work: the support structures I use/misuse/adapt/build; the performative possibilities of reading/displaying/presenting; the levels of access offered; the kinds of reading/viewing experience I was creating; how I was translating ideas and design decisions made in your ‘Expanded Reader’ into spatial terms.
I thought
about how I could make use of the images surrounding the text, in the book, in the exhibition to really expand on the existing collection of readings. I wondered, how could I portray
the readings in a new way, referencing the book, but employing a new presentation style? After reflecting on what I have enjoyed creating in the last year, I decided to
animate the drawings that were used in the expanded reader. I also wanted to apply a futuristic/technological component to the exhibition, which is why I thought that this
would be a perfect opportunity to try out augmented reality. There is also multiple mentions of this technology inside the book, so I knew this would fit perfectly. I used my
normal process of animating, adding a green screen and then uploading it to a free online application called Artivive. I had to upload a trigger image and a video of the
animation, then I could begin to edit the visual outcome that would be presented to the viewer on their mobile. I chose to have the animation pop out to mimic the immersive
exhibition that I wanted to create.
After a crit where I showed my animations, I realised, from the feedback, I needed the animations to speak about the text it was refering to. I started to make more videos for the exhibition adding the speech to all of the videos and uploading them to the application Artivive. I added a robotic/computer generated ‘human’ voice to reflect a human inteligence style of speaking.
Looking back at this short project I believe I was able to effectively explode and exhibit my work from the
previous project to create a futuristic immersive viewing
experience. I think if I could change something about
the outcome of this project, it would be the location that
I chose to present in. I would have used a location that
better reflected the theme of the project. For example
exhibiting in a 1960s-70s designed home/building, this
would show the contrast in technological developments
of today paired with the aesthetic design of the 1960s,
when the predictions were first made. The hardest part
about this project would have to be the animating and
editing of the original drawings. As they were all pre-existing still images, I had to go back and manipulate
the drawings so that I would be able to make them
move, this was the most time consuming part of the
project. I also think if I could put on the exhibition again, I would make use of more signage, for an easier
user experience, I did add the titles of each extract,
learning from my first exhibition, yet I think I could have
added more, maybe a QR link to the app, to watch the
animation. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this project and
think I executed the brief well.
Final Outcome: