Shannon Novak’s work focuses on the idea that everything is music whether a chair, a building, or your next cup of tea, and interprets this musicality using his own language of animated geometric forms and instrumental sounds. In Novak’s work “Transcription 29.591371,106.55365”, he interprets the musicality of a specific location within Chongqing by referring to its musical history, a virtual art work the audience can reveal using a mobile device with a free app.
“We are continually bombarded with information from multiple channels, and as a result often overlook the wonder of everyday objects surrounding us. My work attempts to reengage the audience with this wonder using the very technology that tries to draw this attention away”. Shannon Novak.
The technology used to develop this work is called augmented reality (AR), which in this case means when the audience holds a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet over an object or location, an animation with sound will overlay that object or location in real time. The real world is ‘augmented’ with virtual objects. This technology has been traditionally used in architecture to visualise buildings, the military to overlay important information on soldier’s eyewear, and navigation to provide real time street information. Novak uses the technology to go places that were difficult or impossible to work with when using physical materials such as paint, tape, and vinyl. He can now develop work with ease over entire buildings, natural features in the landscape, and places well out of physical reach.