Residents and visitors of New Hope, PA enjoy a variety of restaurants and boutiques, as well as a vibrant arts scene. The local gem is not only home to the Bucks County Playhouse, but also 40 unique sculptures.
This past semester, Professor Chris Ault’s IMM 470 – Special Topic: Interactive Exhibit Design course collaborated with New Hope Arts Public Arts Program by designing an augmented reality (AR) experience to bring awareness to those sculptures.
“We wanted to bring attention to this diverse and large collection of public arts. The idea was to create a phone-based augmented reality, using what people are carrying around in their pockets and transforming the existing sculptures,” Ault explained. “AR is a big trend and is an open question in the world of museums and exhibits. Museums and galleries are trying to figure out a way to distribute their work beyond the walls of the museum and AR is a good way to do that.”
In February, the class took a field trip to New Hope to scout out sculptures and identified five sculptures in the same vicinity for the pilot project. The pilot focused on The Listening Bench by the Bucks County Children’s Museum, Engine #2 (Little Toot) near Triumph Brewery in Union Square, Windy Ribbon in Lenape Park, More Jellyfish in Ferry Landing Park, and Flat Curves at Gallery Piquel on North Main St.
As part of their research, the students visited the artists’ websites and read their statements and inspirations. They used the app Hoverlay to develop an engaging AR experience, which included animation and sound for each sculpture. Inspired by Boomer, a sculpture made by local artist Dana Stewart, the class created a mascot dinodog character that appears throughout the AR experience.
On April 27, the students had the opportunity to introduce and test their project in New Hope when the public was invited to experience their work. Visitors were able to scan QR codes to view, listen and interact with the digital art related to each selected sculpture.
Olivia Stark, a rising senior interactive multimedia major and her team chose Jennifer Rubin Garey’s sculpture Flat Curves, a corset made from fabricated steel that was an exploration of the female figure and how external standards of the body and appearance are self-imposed by societal expectations.
“Our project wanted to align with the artist’s vision by depicting animals wearing the corset, struggling uncomfortably to fit into it, symbolizing societal pressures,” Stark explained. “For the goals of New Hope, it offered a unique take on the sculpture and the artist’s vision while making it engaging for kids by having colorful animals, and for adults, a deeper message about society’s view on the body.”
The project featured 3D models and 2D animations. Stark’s role involved animating several animals within the 3D corset models, using Illustrator and After Effects. The assets were arranged in Hoverlay, allowing visitors to view the experience by scanning the sculpture’s designated QR code.
“It was truly a real collaboration between clients and designers, from mocking up ideas, presenting them to the client, developing visitor user personas and scenarios, designing and creating the experience, receiving client feedback through testing, and delivering the final product,” Stark said. “This collaboration felt worthwhile and rewarding, especially knowing that our client might expand on our projects for future sculptures.”
– Meaghan Resta