Perusing London’s wide array of art museums, a personal tour guide is the ultimate way to augment your experience; so when a charming British artist dandified in a variety of custom suits appears before you at each of London’s top museums offering commentary about its history and architecture as well as a list of exhibiting artists, you find his “presence” pleasant and helpful despite his disarming lack of flesh and bone. 

As you progress from museum to museum, however, you begin to question this “invisible artist’s” motives. 

Artist and Derby University professor John Goto came up with the concept for The Invisible Artist in a period of frustration after being dropped from a gallery’s books. Ruminating over the politics of the art world, where an artist’s visibility requires the approval of a small group of “gatekeepers,” Goto began sketching the headless figures that would eventually become the 3D models in his Invisible Artist layer.

The nature of Goto’s frustration fit perfectly with Augmented Reality’s open space platform because Goto could place his art at any location—or in this case, at any museum he desired, without permission, and anyone (with the Layar app, that is) could see it. The result was a subversive layer satirizing the bureaucracy and lack of diversity of London’s contemporary art scene (notice how the list of exhibiting artists contains the same few names at every museum).

While its derisive nature is clever, the “must-see” factor in this layer is its exquisite 3D modeling. Peering through your mobile phone at these life-sized figures, you can see the shadow behind every fold in the artist’s clothing, the texture of each material, and the soft glow of London’s cloudy sky gently reflected off of each garment.

The Invisible Artist is an excellent example of what can be achieved on the Layar platform with the right combination of skills in the artistic as well as the technical fields. In order to build this layer, Goto utilized his artistic talent to create the 3D models, then colleague Matthew Leach (from whom Goto first learned about Augmented Reality) used his development skills to set up a server, place the models, and program functionality to make for the best possible user experience.

The Invisible Artist is Goto and Leach’s second layer in their Augmented Reality repertoire; their first, West End Blues, explores the history and sounds of London’s jazz and blues musicians. The two have recently become Pioneers in the Layar Partner Network, and you can look forward to more groundbreaking AR content from them in the future.

Another great example of Layar being used by the art scene. Last week the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, USA, released the Warhol Layar.

The Warhol Layar enables you to view points of interest pivotal in Andy Warhol’s life and work. You’ll find locations in Pittsburgh and New York. The Warhol Layar also provides rare and premium content prepared by The Warhol’s education curators.

Layer: Warhol
Location: Pittsburgh & New York City
Required: iPhone or Android device
More info: warhol.org
Developer: Brunner Mobile

On Saturday October 9th, the physical space inside the MoMA building in New York will host a virtual exhibition, based on Augmented Reality technology. The show will not be visible to regular visitors of the MoMA, but those using the “Layar Augmented Reality browser” on their iPhone or Android smartphones, will see numerous additional works on each of the floors.

The experimental unofficial exhibition is part of the Conflux Festival, the annual New York festival dedicated to the psychogeography practice. With the exhibition, the organisers of the event aim to address a contemporary issue, caused by the rapid rise of Augmented Reality usage. What is the impact of AR on our public and private spaces? Is the distinction between the two fading, or are we approaching a situation with an increasing fragmentation of space and realities to be perceived individually?

The exhibition is organised by Sander Veenhof, augmented reality experimentalist from the Netherlands, and the New York based new media artist Mark Skwarek. Both artists share a common fascination for hybrid collaborations between virtual and physical entities.

Augmented reality artists worldwide were invited to showcase their work in the MoMA. Sander & Mark curated the exhibition. By the way, the MoMA is not involved in this yet. But that’s not a requirement anymore anno 2010, being independent and working in augmented reality.

Event: DIY Augmented Reality exhibition - MoMA, New York
Opening: 4PM October 9th 2010
Location: MoMA, NY - floors 1 to 6 + virtual floors 7 & 8 + garden
Required: iPhone or Android device
Developers:  Sander Veenhof & Mark Skwarek
More info about the festival: confluxfestival.org
About the exhibition: sndrv.nl/moma

A project at the MediaLAB for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam resulted in some amazing art work in Augmented Reality. We said it before and we’ll say it again: you can create ANYTHING in Augmented Reality. Augmented Reality is the biggest canvas you can work with. These artists know this already.

32 new layers have been launched recently. Amongst them a couple of “Art & Culture” layers, which makes you enjoy virtual art in Layar or helps you to find art around you.

We talked to Alex Young from MOB (Mobile Online Business Pty Ltd), who developed the Sculpture by the Sea layer in Australia in 2009 and with Russell JVM Gutierrez from flippingNORMALS (Hong Kong Art walk 2010 layer) and Christian Meinhardt from Superimpose (WTC and Virtual Public Art Project layers), who launched art layers recently.

What inspired you to develop these layers? Christian: “It is all about the perception of reality, it is about adding layers of abstraction as well as visible information to our surroundings and thereby enhancing our understanding of the world. A great aspect of this is to show realities that have been or that could be, as in the WTC layer project that brings back a reality that does not exist anymore. But you can go even further and think about creating additional or parallel realities existing on top of our common reality. That is an aspect you will find in the VPAP [Virtual Publik Art Project] layer project, here we offer artists the possibility to create new kinds of realities, that allow us to see the world through the eyes of the artist, thereby redefining it.

Russel: “We have always been tuned in to AR in general and Layar in particular. In Hong Kong, there is a noticeable lack of local layers, which is odd since there are a variety of interesting sites and events always going on - from traditional shrines to places where you can watch football live in the early hours of the morning.”

Alex: “When we started working on the Layar platform we felt it was a perfect fit for the Bondi 2009 exhibition (outdoor and set along 2.5km of coastline around the iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney). The layer showed people where the Public Facilities such as toilets, bus stops and cafe’s were as well as providing detailed information on sculptures from a set of the exhibiting artists.”

What does the layer bring the user? And what is crucial for an optimal experience? Christian: “Layar, in particular using its new 3d functions offers us a fantastic tool to explore these ideas and make them accessible to a global audience.” Russel: “The Art Walk naturally springs to mind. There are several participating galleries this year, most of them clustered around the Central, SOHO and Sheung Wan areas. The whole concept of the Art Walk is to encourage users to visit these galleries in one night to see the art and meet other people over drinks. The layer makes it easier to find these galleries, specially those that are not on the main path.” Alex: “At first we only wanted to display information relating to a sub-set of the works, as the printed Catalog (sold on-site) is a revenue source for the Sculpture by the Sea organization. The launch of the Layar App Store will provide a great opportunity to extend the layer, as people could choose to purchase the layer (as a Catalog) as an alternative to the printed version. The layer brings the opportunity to literally have a “catalog in their pocket”.

Who made the art objects visible in the layer (and what does a such a layer mean for the artists)? Christian: “The Virtual Public Art Project (VPAP) was initiated by US-based artist Chris Manzione and realized in cooperation with Superimpose. Starting with an inaugural exhibition of works shown on 14 locations around the globe more artists and artworks will be added over the coming months.”

The artist [Chris Manzione]: “Different than most other AR applications that look out into the world for information, VPAP interests lie in looking inward, onto an object. Another key element of our layar is that the objects are site-specific. This is different than most other digital media that can be easily transfered and shared. This requires the users presence and interaction with the site itself. Also being site-specific and with non of the limitations that physical artworks carry gives these artworks a context never seen before.” Alex: “Independent artists from Australia and around the world created the sculptures. Ideally it would be great to work with some of the artists who create 3D models of their works prior to creating them so we could use these as the Points of Interest icons for their works.”

Any other thoughts, idea’s or things you’d like to share? Christian: “I am really exited to announce another layar project of this kind coming from us soon.. For now I can’t tell you more, it is still secret…” Russel: “AR has a big potential in Hong Kong (HK), though not a lot of developers and companies here are taking advantage of it yet. iPhone (and more recently, Android phones) have a high penetration rate of the mobile market in HK so a lot of people potentially have access to the Layar app. One of our main goals is to first increase the visibility of AR in HK, and the only way to do that is to build more interesting layers. One of the next exciting projects we are looking to do involve mapping the street and graffiti art in HK and building a layer on top of that.”

Alex: “Art & Culture” layers are a great way to provide information to people in an accessible way.  It opens up and enriches the cities and landscapes that we live in. We are currently working with the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to create a layer that uses historical photos of Sydney and overlays them onto the modern environment.  This will open up the history of Sydney to everyone wherever they are within the city.  We hope that it will lead to more interest by people to explore their culture and cities in more depth.”

All newest launched layers:

WTC- New York, US
Virtual Public Art Project - international
HK Art Walk 2010 - Hong Kong
Hotels Now! - international
UPCOMING - international
AroundTown R’dam (Game) - Rotterdam, Netherlands
AppAware for Layar - international
Explore South Africa - South Africa
House Detective - Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
SA Golf Courses - South Africa
Second Cup locator - Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Oman ,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
横浜観光案内 - Yokohama, Japan
Urban Walkabout - Sidney, Australia
『今から』泊まれる宿検索 - Japan
Stelling van Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bath Pub Guide - Bath, UK
Political Party Time - US
Project Noah - international
Dutch Highschools - Netherlands
Tilburg University - Tilburg, Netherlands
Se salgspriser for danske ejendomme - Denmark
NWS NEXRAD Level 3 Storm Attributes - Iowa, US
קניונים בישראל - Israel
בנקים בישראל - Israel
MyCosmik Supplies: WiFi hotspots and SIM cards - international
Find a Property - UK
不動産アーカイブ検索 - Next - Japan
Aviones LocalizaTodo - Portugal, Spain
YMCA Old Valletta -Malta
Hot Spots Katowice - Katowice, Poland
GipuzkoaMarket - Gipuzkoa (province in Basque country), Spain
Discover Shropshire - Shrewsbury, UK

Please open this post to see screenshots and descriptions of all layers.

WTC
Description: World Trade Center New York virtual memorial. This is a virtual memorial to the WTC World Trade
Center on location in New York as it was present from 1971 to
September 11, 2001.
Geographical spread: WTC, New York, US
Developer: Christian Meinhardt
Developer Company: Superimpose

Virtual Public Art Project
Description: An Augmented Reality platform for the public display of digital works of art.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Christian Meinhardt
Developer Company: Superimpose

HK Art Walk 2010
Description: List of participating galleries for the Hong Kong Art Walk 2010 - Hong Kong’s premier charity art event - will be held on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 between 5pm to 12midnight. For more information, see http://www.hongkongartwalk.com
Geographical spread: Hong Kong
Developer: Russell Gutierrez
Developer Company: flippingNORMALS

Hotels Now! (English & Deutsch)
Description: Displays the available hotels in your area. See and book: By map, list or with the camera of your mobile phone. Easy and fast: Check price, location and amenities. Book the hotel of your choice for the best price directly with your mobile phone.
Your benefits:
# Direct availability, even at the last minute
# Free booking - even without a credit card
# Payment at the hotel
# Free to cancel until 6pm on day of arrival
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Andreas Nöthen
Developer Company: HRS Hotel Reservation ServiceDeveloper

UPCOMING
Description: Upcoming events & things to do.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Pablo Garcia
Developer Company: ELIPSE AD

AroundTown R’dam - Game
Description: Op zoek naar de ultieme stadsbelevenis? CityTour & CityGame. Deze AroundTown Layar biedt je een unieke belevenis van Rotterdam centrum. Speel ook de CityGame en maak kans op een orginele chopperbike van Nirve twv € 850,00 !
Geographical spread: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Developer: Victor van Rijn
Developer Company: MediaMedics

AppAware for Layar
Description: What are people around you installing on Android phones? AppAware shares online your installations, updates and removals of Android applications. In this way you become aware (App-Aware) of what other users are installing on their Android phones right now and around you! Please visit: http://appaware.org
Keywords: appaware, application, android, phone, mobile, eth, zurich
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Andrea Girardello
Developer Company: Information Management

Explore South Africa
Description: Comprehensive augmented reality guide to South Africa.
Geographical spread: South Africa
Developer: Feroz Osman-Latib
Developer Company: WebFive Media

House Detective
Description: Investigate houses for sale or rent nearby. The House Detective will find details of any houses for sale or rent around you, showing the price, number of bedrooms and other distinguishing features. The search results are powered by www.nestoria.co.uk
Geographical spread: Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
Developer: Alex Tucker
Developer Company: Alex Tucker

SA Golf Courses
Description: 500+ golf courses throughout South Africa with course detail. This layer gives you the location of golf courses throughout South Africa. Premium listings include a detailed description of the course as well as a AR view of the course that shows distance and direction to the green, water hazards and sand bunkers.
Geographical spread: South Africa
Developer: Feroz Osman-Latib
Developer Company: WebFive Media

Second Cup locator
Description: Second Cup is Canada’s largest specialty coffee café franchisor. Since its inception, Second Cup has grown to more than 340 cafés across Canada and over 50 cafés internationally.
Geographical spread: Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Oman ,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
Developer: Mathijs Gajentaan
Developer Company: Winvolve

横浜観光案内 - yokohama
Description: 横浜近郊の観光スポットをご案内いたします。
Detail Description: Yokohama Station, and tourist facilities in the heart of Yokohama Minato Mirai area, tourist attractions, you can find information such as the cruise ship. Provides a link to the homepage of each facility.
Geographical spread: Yokohama, Japan
Developer: Shinichi Wakasugi
Developer Company: atWare, Inc

Urban Walkabout
Description: Fashion, design & lifestyle in Sydney. In addition to this layer, Urban Walkabout publishes http://ubranwalkabout.com and the Urban Walkabout Sydney Shopping Guides, a series of carefully designed
Geographical spread: Sidney, Australia
Developer: Rob Manson
Developer Company: MOB (Mobile Online Business Pty Ltd)

『今から』泊まれる宿検索
Description: 現在、空室がある宿泊施設が検索できます。; accommodation search (hotels, lodging and tourist resorts)
Geographical spread: Japan
Developer: Shinichi Wakasugi
Developer Company: atWare, Inc

Stelling van Amsterdam
Description: De Stelling van Amsterdam is een 135 km lange verdedigingskring op 15-20 km rond de hoofdstad Amsterdam
Geographical spread: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Developer: Mike van Drongelen
Developer Company: yellowpond

Bath Pub Guide
Description: Find your way around the pubs of Bath
Geographical spread: Bath, UK
Developer: Paul Lewis
Developer Company: Media Grand UK Ltd

Political Party Time
Description: Discover nearby political fundraisers. Layar showing all venues hosting political fundraisers as gathered by PoliticalPartyTime.org. Find out where your legislators are mingling with lobbyists. Clicking on a venue will show the latest party there as well as a link to the site to see all parties that have been held at the venue.
Geographical spread: US
Developer: James Turk
Developer Company: Sunlight Labs

Project Noah
Description: Wildlife sightings from Project Noah
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Martin Ceperley
Developer Company: Emergence Studios

Dutch Highschools
Description: Alle locaties van 15 grote hogescholen in Nederland
Geographical spread: Netherlands
Developer: Yori Hak
Developer Company: Yworks

Tilburg University
Description: Tilburg University layar with Points of Interests for students. This layar contains al buildings at the campus, lunch rooms, bars and other interesting locations.
Geographical spread: Tilburg, Netherlands
Developer: Koen Driessen
Developer Company: Tilburg University

Se salgspriser for danske ejendomme
Description: Se salgspriser for ejendomme i Danmark indenfor kategorierne Ejerlejlighed, Villa, Rækkehus, Fritid og Erhverv. See selling prices of properties in Denmark in the categories Apartment, Villa, Townhouse, Leisure and Business. You can see what a property is sold, commenced sales, and much more.
Geographical spread: Denmark
Developer: Pimin Konstantin Balic Kefaloukos
Developer Company: Grontmij | Carl Bro

NWS NEXRAD Level 3 Storm Attributes
Description: IEM (Iowa Environmental Mesonet of Iowa State University) provided summary of National Weather Service NEXRAD level 3 storm attributetable. Processes a feed of National Weather Service NEXRAD information in near realtime. The storm attribute tables from the NEXRAD are processed and served via this service. Data is provided as-is and without warranty.
Geographical spread: Iowa, US
Developer: Daryl Herzmann
Developer Company: Iowa State University

קניונים בישראל
Description: השכבה מציגה את הקניונים הנמצאים בישראל, ומאפשרת מידע לגביהם. [This layers finds shopping malls]
Geographical spread: Israel
Developer: Dubi Finger
Developer Company: Tapuz Mobile

בנקים בישראל
Description: השכבה מציגה בנקים בכל רחבי הארץ; shows banks across the country
Geographical spread: Israel
Developer: Dubi Finger
Developer Company: Tapuz Mobile

MyCosmik Supplies: WiFi hotspots and SIM cards
Description: Over 12,000 WiFi hotspots and SIM card resellers that can be used with MyCosmik. MyCosmik’s Value-Roaming is a free piece of software that you download to your mobile phone. It saves you over 75% on mobile calls while abroad and on international calls while at home.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: William Hill
Developer Company: Devicom AB

Find a Property
Description: Search property for sale, find houses and flats to rent. Powered by Nestoria.
Geographical spread: UK
Developer: Howard Ogden
Developer Company: AugmentReality.co.uk

不動産アーカイブ検索 - Next
Description: HOME’S不動産アーカイブ - ‘Next’ is one of the largest real estate companies in Japan.
Geographical spread: Japan

Aviones LocalizaTodo
Description: Muestra los aviones de LocalizaTodo
Geographical spread: Portugal, Spain
Developer: Tomas Escartin
Developer Company: LocalizaTodo

YMCA Old Valletta
Description: See buildings of old Valetta as they used to look like
Geographical spread: Malta
Developer: Jeroen Meijer
Developer Company: Muzar.org

Hot Spots Katowice
Short Description: Search for Hot Spots in Katowice center.
Geographical spread: Katowice, Poland
Developer: Tomasz Kacała
Developer Company: MBT Media

GipuzkoaMarket
Description: Gipuzkoa Market, el escaparate donde encontrarás todos los productos y servicios de Gipuzkoa
Geographical spread: Gipuzkoa (province in Basque country), Spain
Developer: karlos g liberal
Developer Company: investic s.l

Discover Shropshire
Description: Discover the history and environment of Shropshire. This Layar is part of the 1630 Panorama exhibition at Rowleys House, Shrewsbury
Geographical spread: Shropshire, Shrewsbury, UK
Developer: James Grimster
Developer Company: Orangeleaf Systems Ltd