Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica are famous cities you can unlock drew label.’s hidden works of art. Label’s creative works include “toast.” as well as the August 6 launch of his “label. LA” app. Using an augmented reality app format, the 15 street art installations pop up at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Santa Monica Pier, and other famous locales.
Art is riding on the crest of the wave of AR technology. Artists have used canvases, city walls, and now use mobile phones as a direct medium to express their artistic vision. drew label. has the spirit of DIY and a no limits perspective. The new augmented reality app exists in a unique era of art history. This is where tech, typically bound by code, has converged with boundaryless art.
drew label.: I appreciate that, and I couldn’t agree more. One of the reasons that visual art can make a big impact on society is because it’s… visual! And AR takes that to a whole other level. When you can actually see imaginary objects overlaid in the real world, like a homeless camp along Rodeo Drive, my hope is that it becomes an even more powerful artistic experience.
drew label.: One of the things that really defines my work as an artist is exploration. I just want to learn and experiment with everything in order to find creative mashups between mediums. So, early this year, I was teaching myself to program apps in my spare time and I came across augmented reality. I immediately saw the opportunity to share my own artwork through AR, and I started quickly prototyping this app.
One of the reasons that visual art can make a big impact on society is because it’s… visual! And AR takes that to a whole other level.
As I got into it, it was like a blank canvas unfolding because the opportunities are limitless. I realized I could place my work inside museums without permission, I could place art in public spaces without permits, and I could do things that have never been done before (like 3D versions of famous paintings that would otherwise be physically impossible), and so much more.
drew label.: I used Apple’s free Xcode environment, including their ARKit API, which is fantastic and does much of the heavy lifting of creating AR apps. For the art design, I primarily used the free Blender 3D modeling software.
This is an incredible part of the AR story at the moment – the tools are democratized, free, and are becoming easier and easier to use. In fact, Facebook’s new Spark AR platform is so easy that artists can create AR art in a drag-and-drop environment with no coding experience. The barriers preventing us from creating and sharing digital art just keep getting lower.
drew label.: The thing I’m most excited about with AR art is what it represents. For the first time, we can reach our audience directly. Unless you’re one of the ten big-name contemporary artists, as I am not, your opportunities to show your work to the public are so small. AR changes all that. Now, we can reach anyone with a smartphone, with no middlemen or gatekeepers restricting what we can or cannot do. Now, we’re limited only by the things we can imagine.
drew label.: Under the hood, the app uses reference images to know where to place the 3D models. When you open the app’s AR camera and point it towards one of these scenes that I pre-defined in the app, it displays the artwork in relation to that scene. For example, it knows to recognize the big doors of the Griffith Observatory, so when you point the app at them, it automatically places the “earth, 2120.” model in the right location based on that information. The app provides clear instructions for finding the reference scenes for each exhibit.
drew label.: At this point, it won’t, unfortunately. Perhaps down the road, but the app is iOS only for the time being.
Virtual reality creates safe and immersive environments that help police officers hone their skills, equipping them with new ways to…
YOGES has an innovative take on adapters for Quest 2 controllers, including a unique removable piece that turns both controllers…
Live XR theater started during the pandemic, but it’s more than a way to avoid a crowd. The medium allows…
Applying real-world laws to XR spaces will require governments, businesses, and institutions to work together for effective regulation.
Alien Invasion AR FPS does a lot with relatively little as it hooks me into the story through a combination…
AI is like any tool - it makes the job easier but only if you know how to use it.…