Augmented Reality Art

MHTH II

THRIVAL INTERACTIVE  |  PITTSBURGH, PA |  2019

In the early 21st Century, the “self” has become increasingly defined by the accumulation, aggregation, and interpretation of massive amounts of personal data. With the rise of ever-present high-powered mobile devices, social media, and artificial intelligence, our own personal data has become a digital avatar that is potentially “more human than human” [MHTH] and often carries a higher degree of (perceived) value than our physical presence. Heavy’s work critically investigates this dilemma by using cultural datasets from the City of Pittsburgh’s Open Data Portal to construct a new version of the self. Specifically, the latitude and longitude of all of the public playgrounds in Pittsburgh were digitally interconnected with a 3D lattice and laid over a wireframe skull mesh. These datasets were chosen because they are representative of a child’s outdoor activity and social engagement. However, these traditional physical, social sites have been increasingly supplanted by impersonalized online activities. As a result, our “selves” are constructed by our accumulated data in social media and virtual playgrounds, rather than real ones.

More Human Than Human II - Carnegie Museum of Art