Award winning movie director and technological mastermind James Cameron was an early adopter. By giving Arnold Schwartzenegger his so-called ‘Terminator vision’ in the 1984 SF movie, he was way ahead of the people, who were still relying on MS-DOS to get their information. Nowadays, with a smartphone, we can all take on the Terminator-point of view.

Written by Laura Graat and Renee Schmeetz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MeaaCwBW28

Want to know how much a house costs? Look at it through the screen of your Iphone using the Layar Funda app and you’ll know within seconds. Looking for the nearest cash machine? You’re phone will literally show you where to find one.

Sander Veenhof, Dutch media artist extraordinaire, experiments with mobile Augmented Reality (an additional virtual layer to reality). His creations allowed him to have a guerrilla-exhibit at the MoMA in New York, where he created a one dimensional artwork that exploring a new way to open up the virtual public space for anyone to contribute to. Critics were raving and recently he was nominated for the Young Designer Award in the Dutch Design Awards.

Sure, this new form of art is an innovation, but is it an addition when you could also be looking at the brushstrokes of a real Picasso or Monet? As cultural philosopher Walter Benjamin said: “A work of art has an aura that can only be experienced by being close to the real artefact.” A reproduction will never give you the same feeling. Augmented reality makes us question the unconscious interpretation of technological ‘improvement’.

Veenhof’s newest AR figment goes by the name of Tibb and is so cute you want to cuddle it. But since it is an AR rabbit, you won’t be able to. You can let Tibb freely hop around the virtual world by bringing him to life on your smartphone.

The benefits of a digital pet? Not having to worry about it when going on holiday or being allergic to rabbits. Forget about paying for food or vet bills, this is animal care taking 5.0. The cons? Don’t let your battery run low or drop you’re phone: you’ll lose Tibb. The benefits of AR can’t always beat the ‘real thing’. So don’t just focus on the rabbit itself, or a dog or digital painting for that matter. In the bigger picture this may tell us something about the structural changes in our offline lives: the edges between real and fake are blurring quickly and permanently.

Tibb is visiting Eindhoven just before and during the STRP Festival, 18 – 27 November, pay him a visit and bring him to life on your smartphone, but don’t just play with Tibb. Take your time to watch other people summon him and watch how they respond. You never know, he might even prove to be more timeless than the Terminator. Hasta la vista web 1.0, the new reality is augmented.

Laura Graat en Renee Schmeetz write under the name of Department of Doing -a marketing & communication office for the cultural sector- providing blogs for the STRP Festival 2011.

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