Hartwick Prof Strives To Make Art More Inclusive through AR

By TERESA WINCHESTER
ONEONTA

At age 8, Joe Von Stengel, professor of art and design at Hartwick College, was a self-described “Atari kid.” Now 52, he is pushing the boundaries of electronics and computer graphics with his pursuit and promotion of augmented reality, or AR.

Defined formally, AR is “an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device, such as a smartphone camera.”

Von Stengel defines it more succinctly.

“AR is the integration of virtual objects within the physical world, in real time,” he said.

Von Stengel, who holds a Master’s of Fine Arts in design from the University of Oregon, sees augmented reality as an inclusive art and has taken on projects which introduce AR to the community. One such effort was participation in CANO’s (Community Arts Network of Oneonta) City of the Hills Festival, held in September 2023, for which he created the Augmented Reality Community Arts Gallery, a virtual art gallery providing a public space for community members to present their visual creativity.

The gallery utilizes a free augmented reality app, Artivive, and is mapped to local artist Carol Mandigo’s murals, “Windows in Time,” painted on the Dietz Street wall of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society building. To activate the virtual artwork, viewers should open the Artivive app and point a smartphone camera at the mural to see the virtual artwork come alive.

“You need to fit the image into the frame of the camera, so viewers at the Dietz Street location may have to stand out in the street a bit,” Von Stengel cautioned.

Many people from all walks of life came by the gallery at the CANO festival, he said.

“The app is free and there was nothing to set up. Once we got people going, you could see them really light up,” he said, elaborating, “Artworks presented in AR cannot be seen until they load, so the viewer is always surprised. AR can contain moving images, sound, and can jump off the screen into 3D space. It can be a very different experience.”

The gallery’s images are rotated out each month, and any-one creating visual art can submit one digital image per month for free, “as long as images fit the parameters,” Von Stengel said.

The parameters are succinctly laid out in Von Stengel’s “Don’t Be a Jerk” policy on the ARCAG website. They prohibit personal attacks, bullying or slandering another person or group, hateful imagery, and X-rated content.

The submission process is simple. It involves taking a digital photo of a creative work on a smartphone, and e-mailing it through the arcag.org website. The artist’s name, website or social media information are optional. Without that information, works will be displayed without credit. The artist’s zip code is required.

“Most of the art project through the Dietz Street site has been student work, but I want to involve all blocks of life. I’d like to have art from the local schools and the LGBTQ and Black communities. Besides painting, movies, songs and 3D objects can be launched. Parents can put their kids’ work up there if they’d like to,” Von Stengel said.

At Hartwick, Von Stengel teaches introductory and intermediate level “Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality” courses.

“AR also shows up in my foundation art course, “Creative Technology,” as well as my “Introduction to Digital Media” course. I teach an online “Introduction to Augmented Reality” course in the summer. Unfortunately, my summer AR course is already filled up for 2024. I do have some ‘how to’ help on my personal website, jvonstengel.com, and am willing to teach people one-on-one,” he said.

ARCAG is the first virtual gallery of its kind, with regular art shows, that is solely augmented-reality based. and was made possible through funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a New York State Council on the Arts initiative that also carries the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The grant program is administered by the Earlville Opera House.