Author: Efstratios Geronikolakis

In a small room at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center, visitors use technology to fill the room with information and transport themselves around the world. Art++, an augmented reality program on display at the museum until late September, uses a tablet and an app to better inform, entertain, and illuminate a few select pieces in the collection. From Jan Van Der Heyden’s 1660 painting, Houses on a Canal, to one of Warhol’s Mao paintings, the program presents a new move toward technology-focused museum curation.  Maricarmen Barrios, who heads up the Art++ program at Cantor, describes Art++ as an “interpretation tool” meant specifically for museums. “It was developed in collaboration between engineering graduate students here at Stanford interested in research into augmented reality, and with Cantor staff. The point of it is to have visitors understand the history, context, and art historical importance behind the artwork,” she tells The Creators Project. Visitors to the art center use a tablet-like device to view certain pieces of artwork, which do everything from providing additional written information, to digitally restoring faded paintings, and more. Barrios describes one augmented experience where visitors can see one of Andy Warhol’s Mao paintings, and by looking through the Art++ app, can use see all the other iterations in the series side-by-side. This is just one way the app helps the Cantor Center “create context for our visitors.” This collaboration with the engineering...

Wevr said that its virtual reality experience, The Blu, will be displayed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA). The immersive adventure makes you feel like you are underwater, exploring the majesty of the ocean and its different habitats. You come face-to-face with some of the most awe-inspiring species on the planet. The VR series was created by Wevr, a Venice, California-based VR studio. Highlights of the three environments in the 6-minute experience include: an encounter with an 80-foot blue whale as it swims past a sunken ship; a magnificent undersea migration on the edge of a shallow coral reef, with turtles and swarms of jellyfish gliding by, and colorful anemones that react to the guest’s touch; and a deep dive into the an iridescent abyss, where hidden creatures including angler fish and squid appear with the use of a virtual flashlight. “The museum has integrated technology and multimedia into our newer exhibits and is now exploring ways to enhance digital engagement with the natural world. This iconic deep dive VR experience from Wevr brings us to a new level of interactivity — and our visitors come along for the ride,” said Lori Bettison-Varga, NHMLA director and president, in a statement. “Engaging and inspiring visitors is what we do — and theBlu: An Underwater VR Experience is beautiful, powerful storytelling. It would not surprise me if the...