Carrie EA Scott, Art History

Contact ceascott@u.washington.edu

ArtTag

Contemporary art is no longer contained on the museum wall, nor is it
tied to the canvas. It is instead imbedded overtly as well as subtly into
our daily lives.

ArtTag proposes to be the first to embrace this transition, tagging Art in
the urban environment using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).  ArtTag
will make tags available so that anyone can identify art.  These tags will
then be activated so that when someone gets close to a tagged work of art,
they receive a signal in the personal device they carry with them. That
device -- whether it be a mobile phone, iPod, or Blackberry -- will notify
them that there is art nearby, giving them some sort of vague description,
or loose directions to the exact location of the art.  In so doing, ArtTag
will break down the boundaries between art and life and to some extent the
boundaries between technology and life.

This is, however, not supposed to be an art treasure hunt. ArtTag will
consciously strive to maintain the integrity of work that exists outside
of mediated boundaries.  ArtTag won't arbitrate the direct experience that
is such a key part to work that is situated in the world.

As such, ArtTag will, in and of itself, become an art project that serves
to highlight the many ways that people both conceive of and see art.  
ArtTag will paint a dynamic and truly universal picture of what can
actually be called, the art world.