Looking around you, there is hardly any field that Technology has not touched. Additionally Technology adds another dimension to various artwork forms. This is affirmed by The Indian Art Fair
Augmented Reality or otherwise referred to as AR is not a strange concept anymore. Latest Technology innovation has penetrated in every area. Thus, it does not come as a surprise when the India Art Fair 2023 showcases some of India’s most important contemporary art galleries presenting established names and promising young talents. Some of the modern and contemporary art from India and South Asia are on display at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi from February 9-12, 2023. Extravaganza event is organized with a collaborated effort of BMW India and places the voices of artists at its core. It features 85 exhibitors, including 71 galleries and 14 organizations. Here is a beautiful example of family portrait ‘Ascension’, coming to life with a layer of augmented reality with different emotions and personalities visible.
Digital Artforms overtaking manual mediums with Technology’s backing, Indian Artform showcases them
With Digital platforms gaining popularity, artforms too have fallen back on the Technology. A canvas or paper can be replaced by a display. The brush or pencil can be replaced by a stylus. The point an artwork tries to put across remains the same, just that an artist now has digital tools, that is hardware and software algorithms, adding dimensions to work with. Indian Art Fair 2023 showcases the artwork of three artists, Varun Desai, who wears many hats, including those of a coder and music producer; Mira Felicia Malhotra, who is a visual artist and illustrator; and Gaurav Ogale is an artist, poet and writer.
Take for instance, ‘Ascension’, an illustrated family portrait by Mumbai based Mira Felicia Malhotra, which utilises augmented reality to add an otherwise hidden layer of emotions, sentiments and feelings, to what otherwise looks like a single dimensional artwork. That is just one example.
“India has such a vibrant creative community, and we love seeing the ways these talented artists are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on iPad Pro to take their innovative ideas to the next level.”
Bob Borchers, vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing at Apple.
Primary Importance of AR lies in visualization of the final product
Kolkata based Varun Desai’s showcase at the 2023 India Art Fair in New Delhi, called ‘Dimorphism’, is essentially emerging in the final form because of the use of 3D scanning through a LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, sensor on an Apple iPad Pro and animation work on a Mac Studio and Studio Display setup. Stand within the installation, and there is a sense you are static and out of place, amidst fluid motion.
“When I model my final installation on Studio Display, I can see all the different screens together, so I can visualise what it’s going to look like while I’m working on it rather than having to wait until installation day.”
Desai explains about the advantage of using AR
He explains how the different elements have come together using different apps. The 3D scanning is done of real human beings, but they are largely a suggestion – the inclusions in the art installation aren’t exact replicas of the humans scanned, but an inspiration. The perspective grids are coded and interspersed with hand drawn elements; the streets of Kolkata inspired Desai.
There is also the aspect of visualising what the final structure and detailing would be, without having to wait for the unpredictability of the last moment checks. If need be, changes and corrections can be made well in advance. “The entire pipeline, from concept to final animation, is very much in the box with these devices. It’s very efficient,” he adds.
A layer of augmented reality bubbling to the top
Mira Felicia Malhotra, who is showcasing the title ‘Log Kya Kahenge’, also utilises the powers of a tech ecosystem for art creation. The uniqueness of her artwork is that it isn’t a single layer, but instead, there is a secondary animated layer which tries to convey dynamics of a human relationship – a family portrait that we simply see as a portrait, but now with the attempt to add emotions, sentiments and aspirations.
How does a viewer see this otherwise hidden layer? The app for that is an augmented reality app called Artivive, which is available for the Mac, iPad and iPhone.
What apps did Malhotra use for creating the artwork? She uses an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil for sketching, while using the Procreate app. She also uses her iPhone 14 to capture images of the subjects, which are then added to, with layers of illustrations. She uses the Procreate which can export files in PSD format, which is Adobe’s native file format, for further editing on the Adobe Photoshop suite.
“I want a feel that is similar to drawing on paper, as opposed to looking at the screen and drawing with another mouse-like device,” says Malhotra. “With iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, it’s the pen and paper, the brush and canvas, all in one,” she adds.
Bestsellers: When books and sounds come together
Gaurav Ogale faces a rather unique challenge, on a daily basis. He doesn’t have a fixed studio space and must take what he describes as a “nomadic approach”. It is something he seems to prefer, being a regular traveller from a very young age with curiosity to document memories along the way and the people he meets. Hence, the animated, nostalgic short films.
Ogale talks about the interest in someone else’s curiosities as one of the core tenets of capturing the smallest, but lasting moments, in artwork. “What is it that would stand out for you, if you are to design the biography for that person,” he tells us. “It talks about delving into their aesthetics and where they come from,” he adds.
His work on showcase at the India Art Fair 2023 is called ‘Best Sellers’, which wants to reconnect us with the lost art of browsing books in a bookstore. When viewed on the iPad Pro, in this case the device itself blends in seamlessly as a part of the art, there are layers of stories which aren’t otherwise visible on a two-dimensional work of art.
There is a very distinct sense of personal space as one experiences Ogale’s Best Sellers, complete with audio layers that attempt to add a sense of space to what you are reading on the page.
If you ever needed proof of how an ecosystem can help seamlessly hand over tasks to different devices, Ogale’s workflow gives us a better idea than most. The frame-by-frame drawings were down using the Procreate app, while the editing of the video file was done using the Adobe Premiere software on the MacBook Pro, with the layering in audio recordings taken on the iPhone 14.
The adoption of technology didn’t come easily, however. “I usually take a lot of time to get used to technology, but with iPad Pro, somehow, it’s been quick. And it has become an alternate to my journal now,” says Ogale.
Melding of art and digital tools
The apps these digital artists use, are tools that are easily available on the Apple App Store, for anyone who wishes to dabble with the idea of serious artwork with a digital inspiration.
The common app for Desai, Malhotra and Ogale’s artistic journey is Procreate. This app has a legacy and isn’t exactly a newcomer or temporary fascination. Procreate won the Apple Design Award for outstanding design and innovation in 2013, and then again in 2022. The sketching, illustration and annotation prowess comes from functionality that includes more than 200 carefully curated brush types, control over colour dynamics, convenience of multi-touch gestures as well as 3D model painting, to name a few.
This app costs around $12.99 to download and use.
The other apps which artists are using extensively include Adobe Premiere and Adobe Photoshop, both part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription. The former app is a multi-platform (available for iPhone, iPad and Mac too) for editing video files while Photoshop (as popular as it is) is also available across device platforms is a photo editing app with extensive feature set including retouch, colour correction and AI-powered filters.
The subscription prices start around ₹639 per month, depending on which apps you wish to use.
Nomad Sculpt is an app which Desai pointed us to. For Dimorphism, he utilises the LiDAR Scanner on the iPad Pro for 3D capture of objects, architecture, and human subjects. These are then shaped into 3D models in Nomad Sculpt, an app that is used to create, sculpt, and paint in 3D. He exports these 3D models to the Procreate app for colouring, texturing, and air brushing. The Nomad Sculpt costs around $14.99 to download.
