ARt Traveler 2021: Realistic Interactive Land Art 5th

Venue: Soochow University

Organizer :Tomorrow Hub

Executor:Tomorrow Hub、Hu’s Art Company、Corma New Media

Artists:Meng-Yu Wen, Lanya Huang, Wei-Hsuan Huang, Agi Chen

 

Introduction

The “Soochow University Reality Art Festival” is Taiwan’s first campus art festival that utilizes augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) as interactive mediums. Initiated in 2017, this six-year art project was co-curated by Associate Professor Wei-Gong Liu of Soochow University’s Department of Sociology and Sean C.S. Hu, CEO of Hu’s Art Company. The “5th Soochow University Reality Art Festival” commenced on December 23, 2021, at Soochow University’s Waishuangxi and Downtown campuses. The event featured four contemporary artists—Meng-Yu Wen, Lan-Ya Huang, Wei-Hsuan Huang, and Yi-Chieh Chen—under the theme “ARt Traveler.” Their works integrated the natural environment and cultural characteristics of the Soochow campus, opening a new spatial journey through reality technology and prompting a rethinking of the possibilities for art in the pandemic era. Currently, the Soochow campus boasts the most reality art in Taiwan, with contributions from 28 artists, 35 artworks, and 7 pieces co-created by artists and students.

When Art Meets Reality: “ARt Traveler” in the Post-Pandemic Era

The festival theme “ARt Traveler” was inspired by the artistic actions of British artist Jacqui Kenny, who, due to her panic disorder, explored the world’s captivating scenes using Google Street View without leaving her home. Amid the global pandemic, with museums, art spaces, and other venues closed to comply with government measures, people’s physical spaces were increasingly confined and isolated. However, through screens, we could reconnect with the world from a different physical space. With AR and VR technologies, this concept could be even more tangibly implemented in our lives. Through mobile screens, anyone can become an “ARt Traveler,” breaking spatial limitations and embarking on imaginative art journeys.

Flight symbolizes the beginning of a journey. Artist Yi-Chieh Chen used her representative work “Wednesday of Hamaopao” as inspiration to create the vibrant concentric circles piece “Extreme Flight,” located at the center of Soochow University’s sports field. This work echoes the speed and vitality of students engaged in various athletic activities. Drawing inspiration from the Soochow campus environment, artist Meng-Yu Wen combined her student memories of the campus with its scenery in her works “Whispers of Green Leaves” and “Among the Shadows of Trees.” These pieces, with their vivid and saturated colors and lines, depict the changing natural environment, creating a flowing landscape. Artist Wei-Hsuan Huang extended his imagination of journey landscapes to the underground world using AR and VR technologies. The concept of “antipode” refers to the point on the Earth’s surface diametrically opposite another point. Huang created an “antipode” on the Soochow campus with his work “25°05’39.1″N 121°32’43.8″E,” shaping a path to an imagined underground world and responding to the city’s unique disturbances and growth, akin to a journey to the center of the Earth that prompts reflection and imagination of the other side. Each year, the Soochow Reality Art Festival includes a physical installation. Artist Lan-Ya Huang created a colorful imaginative life scene with the concept of regeneration. Her work “Little Garden,” installed in the square in front of the campus’s Ikari Coffee, features uniquely shaped plants, adding a touch of fantasy to this artistic reality journey.

The “Reality Art Workshop,” led by artists Lan-Ya Huang and Meng-Yu Wen, engaged Soochow University students in the ideation and creation of AR artworks, deepening their connection with the art pieces. Their co-created works are collected in the Inch by Inch+ app. The festival series also includes “Artist Talks” and “Reality Art Tours,” launched in December 2021, aiming to explore the integration of daily life, art, urban environments, and technology through diverse and enriching activities.

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