New York-based artist David Datuna chose Art Basel week to showcase his latest series, “Viewpoint of Billions,” an interactive piece that uses Google Glass to incorporate photos, videos and sounds in his art.
Datuna, who says he is the first in the world to mix art with Google Glass, spent several months working with developers to incorporate a technology that allows people to speak to the art, listen to explanations of the work and record their experience.
“Behind the glass is a complete narrative of the innovators of American history, technology and entertainment,” said Ilana Vardy, the art consultant representing Datuna. “What Glass does is it unlocks that narrative using video components, its speaking to the viewer and all of this is recorded and downloaded to an archive on the website.”
The piece, which is an American flag composed of more than 30,000 different parts, includes newspaper clippings, photos of iconic figures and small video cameras that record as people approach the artwork.
In return, the Google Glass records small videos of the art piece as the person moves around the work.
“This particular piece of art combines Google Glass with small computers to provide a symmetric experience where the piece can record your own actions and you record your actions looking at the piece,” said Det Ansinn, president of Brick Simple, the company that developed the software.
The recordings get uploaded to the artists’ website, Datuna.com, YouTube and Tumblr.
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As more people view the art piece, the archive is expected to grow and reach the “'Viewpoint of Billions.”
“The social media aspect is key in this piece because this is how the world, especially the young people connected to social media, will be able to be involved and connected to this piece,” Vardy said.
Demian Bellumio, who saw the artwork for the first time, said the Google Glass gave him “more depth” and a better understanding of the piece.
“It’s a new experience,” Bellumio said. “It definitely seems that in a couple of years we will all be doing this so it will be interesting to see how this experience would actually expand to the rest of what we do in the physical world.”
“'Viewpoint of Billions” will be on display in a free exhibition at the Miami Design District beginning Wednesday and runs until Dec. 8. Google Glasses will be available to view the work and shuttle services will be provided from Midtown and Miami Beach to the Miami Design District.
