Stephen Vineburg, an artist known for digital art, NFTs, and augmented reality fashion, thought about creating an art space—a gallery to showcase his collections. With this idea emerging in the post-Covid era, Stephen decided not to limit himself to physical space. Given the global movement restrictions and the digital art boom sparked by NFTs, it seemed only natural to explore the possibility of recreating a virtual version of a physical gallery in augmented reality.
Virtual art spaces offer social media users a uniquely personal encounter with artworks, liberating them from the constraints of physical barriers such as location, time frames, and accessibility. In collaboration with AREYES Studio, Stephen Vineburg bring his collection of six art pieces to world, encompassing both digital and physical mediums, into a conceptual realm easily accessible to all through Instagram experiences.
Through the Virtual Gallery AR portal, the artist seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how people interact with art in the augmented world compared to the in-person experience. The accessibility of data offered by the virtual format contributes to a more comprehensive analysis of human aesthetic experiences.
In this digital era, artists are more than creators; they're brands. Vineburg emphasizes the importance of artists' messaging, personality, and use of virtualization in brand communication and strategy.
The Virtual Gallery was a logical progression in Stephen Vineburg's journey, as he began translating his physical sculptures into augmented reality, creating NFTs, and developing AR clothing back in 2020. The virtual gallery serves as a 360-degree gyroscope gateway where Stephen's artworks are gathered and available 24/7 for anyone who wants to explore his thought-provoking objects and art pieces.
Virtual Gallery Design: A significant aspect of our plan involved upgrading and optimizing existing 3D models to enhance the virtual gallery's aesthetics and performance. Semi-translucent white walls were incorporated, as per Stephen's preference, to maintain a subtle backdrop that accentuated the art without being overshadowed.
Execution: Utilizing Spark AR and Blender, AREYES seamlessly integrated the upgraded 3D models into the virtual gallery environment. Interactive features such as pop-ups and animations were also implemented to engage viewers further. Moreover, we prioritized accessibility, ensuring seamless compatibility across various devices to reach a broader audience.
Key Features: Unlike similar projects primarily designed for desktop versions, this Virtual Gallery is accessible from a phone without compromising quality, even overcoming Instagram restrictions that were prevalent at the time. The second noteworthy feature is the soundtrack, generated by artificial intelligence through Mubert. This adds an additional layer to the immersive experience, evoking a techno-era ambiance that complements the overall atmosphere perfectly.
Challenges Faced and Overcame: We encountered several challenges throughout the project, the most notable being the integration of Stephen's artistic vision with augmented reality capabilities. This required careful consideration and iterative adjustments to strike the right balance between aesthetics and functionality. Additionally, optimizing the user experience posed challenges that we addressed through continuous refinement based on user feedback. Despite these hurdles, our commitment to delivering a seamless and immersive virtual gallery experience remained unwavering.
The Virtual Gallery AR portal garnered significant interest with over 10K virtual sessions, indicating strong engagement. Users spent an average of 23 seconds exploring the artworks. The 2.1k captures reflect active interaction, possibly through screenshots or sharing specific artworks. Overall, these analytics contribute to learning how humans perceive art through technology by providing quantitative data on user engagement, interaction, and reach. In-person gallery visits typically yield a median view time of approximately 21 seconds per art piece, with the mode at 10 seconds, indicating longer observation periods (February 2016, Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts 11). In contrast, the average view time for one art piece in the augmented reality environment is approximately 3.8 seconds, suggesting shorter engagement durations. Despite the drawbacks, AR offers significant advantages, particularly in terms of accessibility and engagement. Unlike traditional physical galleries, which may be confined to specific geographic areas, virtual galleries have the capacity to reach a global audience, democratizing access to art. Positive reach metrics, as well as high levels of engagement and interaction, indicate active involvement from users. The number of captures suggests that users are actively participating in the experience, potentially by taking screenshots or sharing specific artworks with others. This level of engagement underscores the effectiveness of virtual galleries in fostering meaningful connections between users and artworks, despite the digital medium.
