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Sunday, August 8, 2010

New gallery idea

So, I've been thinking a lot about new ways to push (or at least test) the limits of art and technology.

One idea I've come up with is using semacodes within an art series or within a gallery exhibit.

For those of you lost with by my lingo, semacodes are these barcodes that have been increasingly popular with mobile phones.

They look like checkerboards or crossword puzzles on acid, and most smart phones now can read them. Actually, most of these codes when read by such phones will direct the phone to open up a web page. Essentially its a click-less shortcut, and more and more companies are using them everyday.


This particular semacode (or QR code) when read by mobile phone should send you to my other blog, Seattle Blurbs.
It was created on kaywa.com and if you have a capable mobile phone, you can get the reader here.


My idea is to print semacodes to be used within a gallery exhibit, next to the normal text panels. The codes would then direct people's phones to YouTube videos or Blogger pages containing extra info about that particular art piece.

I think it would be very interesting to design a show with this in mind, and have artists giving a "behind-the-scenes" look at their work and process in videos and blogs, and having this information available in the gallery via mobile phones. It would add a whole new level to viewing and interacting with art.

I'm excited to see if any gallery around here (like in Seattle or Bellingham) would take on such an idea.

Also, I was thinking of "secretly" releasing prints of my art into the public, with semacodes on the back that would direct tech-savvy, curious-kats to this blog.


Have any ideas you'd like to share along these lines? Comment below!

2 comments:

  1. You could post the codes as a sticker in random places, those in the know would then "select" it and then be taken to the art. Cool way to introduce.an audience that might not otherwise go look at art. Maybe the art could also lead them somewhere or have another maybe hidden semacode, or gps coordinates (like geotagging) that gets them to a semacode that takes them to more art and another gps ... Maybe this time the gps is encrypted. Etc ... First one to the end gets to keep an original.

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  2. That would be a really awesome idea, Ryan!

    I'd have to plan it so that the tagging would be around campus or something. It'd be fun to get a lot of artists in on it or something.

    Thanks!

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