Tuesday, November 01, 2016
History Repeats Itself in a Found-Footage Augmented Reality Experience
The Creators Project: There's an aphorism, popular with history teachers, that goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But sometimes, taking a close look at history can be just as unsettling as it is illuminating. With their augmented reality project Future Past News, artists Andrea Wolf and Karolina Ziulkoski explore parallels between current events and news stories circa 1937, when the world was on the brink of massive, global conflict.
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3 comments:
I love this idea. It’s interesting, uses technology in a novel (to me) way, and prompts you to think about historical parallels in a very effective way. Its effectiveness is rooted in its use of images: we’ve all heard that history repeats itself and I think we all probably understand there is truth to that, but actually seeing the comparisons creates a visceral reaction. It also encourages us to look at contemporary events with a longer lens at time when it might be difficult to see the swing of a slow pendulum amidst the barrage of the 5-minute news cycle. What would the election of Donald Trump really mean for us in the long run? What is Vladimir Putin’s endgame?
I do think there are though-provoking parallels between the pre-WWII atmosphere and ours, particularly a worldwide rise in nationalism and xenophobia, an increase in fear rather than hope in politics, a protracted and brutal regional war and the resulting refugee crisis, and widespread cultural transition. Having said that, there are a lot of differences in between that time and this and I don’t think we are on the brink of a World War. We should keep a wary eye out, but remember to temper the temptation to make irrational, fear-based comparisons.
I am so intrigued and in admiration of this project and while I agree with the creators, it's still a stretch to say we're on the brink of another world war. It is true that observing history in the context of today's chaos is more necessary than ever. As mentioned in the article, today we have the news at our fingertips and there's an unfamiliar gap we need to fill; we are between being hit with hundreds of horrible facts when we check the news online each day and we are much more slowly struck the realization of these atrocities and our responsibility to acknowledge and amend them. This gap is so present yet I had not thought about it and considered what the timeline of digesting information was in the past. Also, the using your own cell phone as the medium makes the AR experience more approachable and personal. This project is relevant to everyone while maintaining its focus on a specific time period and connection.
This is such an amazing project! Taking a well known quote and making a piece of art on it is such a great idea. I definitely think that the makers of this project are onto something. Today has a lot of parallels with the world in 1937, which is pretty terrifying. Having video clip of the news then compared with the news now really emphasizes this. It shows that the people and problems then were very similar to people and problems now. Just because the video is grainy and in black and white make is no different to the clear and colorful images we have today. I don’t know if we are in the exact same position as in 1937, but it is a very intriguing idea anyway. Honestly, I feel like we are more in the position of the early thirties rather than the late ones. Despite this, this project is still incredible and would leave a deep, thoughtful impact on anyone who saw it.
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