The Northport Artwalk, was organized through the cooperation of the local business community (Northport Chamber of Commerce) and the organization of local artists (Northport Arts Coalition), with the aim to support both the local business and the local artist community.

Ela’s exhibit included 8 mixed media paintings that together presented a short story about a village and its struggle to revive local economy. Each painting had a storyboard text associated with it, that was placed on a mobile site. Each painting has a QR code embedded into the painting itself, integrated with the scene depicted. Thus, a visitor could interact with the painting not only in a usual way, by enjoying the art, but also by using a mobile phone to scan the code and read the associated text of the story. To further underscore this business and art coalition, the mobile pages also included offers from local businesses, encouraging the “buy local” message promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce.

To explain all this and offer the text to users without mobile phones and scanners, the story is also captured in the brochure. The short documentary can be previewed here.

THE STATEMENT: THE INTERACTIVE ART EXPERIMENT

This project is an exploration of the connection between art and technology. Art is defined as a physical manifestation of human reason – a vessel through which we convey truth to each other, which has the added benefit of permanence in a changing world. We honor and respect artists for what they do, because they are able to overcome the constant fluctuations of life. Art is therefore an important component of human culture and exchange, a method through which we build community and relationships with each other. Art in communities is always the most important gathering place, and the way in which we honor places of importance. We put statues in important parks, paintings in churches, decoration and ornament on buildings. This is how we say to one another, “this place matters”.

In today’s world, this ability to communicate the distinction of place has become increasingly difficult – there is so much information, and so many things which scream for attention, that we have trouble communicating clearly. Technology has revolutionized our lives in so many ways; it has made life more efficient and much wider than our small towns. But art is still a vehicle for truth, and though we must accept the changes that technology has brought, we cannot forget the importance of communicating real Truth to each other, and not just the facts of our daily life.

This project examines the way in which art today can intersect with both technology and community. We increasingly rely on our near constant connection to the internet which implies a connection to each other. The Experiment integrates mobile codes with artwork that was specifically made for Northport Artwalk. The viewer interacts with the art not only by viewing, but also by scanning the code with a mobile phone, which when scanned will send the user to a website with a storyboard behind each painting. To engage the viewer further, the website is also connected to a local business or merchant offer. Each illustration is unique and the codes are fully integrated. To appreciate the experiment, the viewer must fully engage the illustration and find the code in order to scan it. At the close of Northport Artwalk, the websites will all revert to displaying the portion of the story which they illustrate. In this way, the illustrations are forever connected to their text and to each other, but are also individual pieces that stand alone. Much like we are.

The project illustrates the story of a town by a harbor, not necessarily this one (Northport), but close enough for us to feel its truths as our own. It tells of businesses which flourish, decay and are reborn and how a community comes together to recreate its relationships and save its identity. It is an experiment in human dynamics and community building and a continuation of the endless human struggle to communicate.