What is the connection between a work of art and the place where it is exhibited? Olivier Asselin, a researcher in the Department of Art History, Cinema and Audiovisual Media at the Université de Montréal, encourages reflection on this question through three augmented reality experience prototypes.
In the first of these, he and his team made a complete 3D digitization of the famous Jerusalem Cyclorama. This monumental work of art, which has been on display in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré since the late 19th century, was first installed in Montréal on what is now the site of the Place des Arts. Digitizing the painting has made it possible to virtually relocate it, at full scale, to its original location. Using a mobile phone or tablet, visitors can now explore the impressive work at their leisure. The project has travelled as far as Venice, where it was presented at a conference.
The researcher also collaborated with the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal on the MuseumAR project. This project featured an interactive scene developed around Benjamin-Constant’s painting Evening on the Terrace and displayed alongside the painting in the museum.
Finally, the Necropolis project offers seven interactive scenes inspired by Jules Verne’s Le château des Carpathes in the Notre-Dame-de-la-Présentation church in Shawinigan. The scenes unfold like a video game in which people can participate.
These projects are the result of fruitful interdisciplinary collaborations between art, heritage, and digital technology. The three prototypes show that augmented reality offers exciting opportunities to create immersive and interactive experiences both outdoors – in a public space or historic site, for example – and inside cultural institutions.
More than just entertainment, these new artistic approaches can showcase cultural heritage and facilitate the transmission of knowledge to both amateurs and specialists alike.