Metagraphs: Augmented Reality Art

Metagraphs: Augmented Reality Art is a unique journey into the art of the 21st century. As the reader views the artworks of this book with a free mobile AR app, the artworks come to life, animating directly on the book’s pages. This synthesis of the physical and digital realms creates a truly interactive experience, redefining the concept of a book in the digital era. On its surface, this book represents a remarkable collection of abstract digital drawings composed by Techspressionist artist Colin Goldberg during the frenzied era of the late 1990s dot-com boom. Created in the artist’s studio in Manhattan’s East Village, the digital drawings in this book encapsulate a pivotal moment when technology, culture, and art converged. At the heart of these artworks lies the enigmatic technique of automatic drawing, a practice first championed in the 1920s by Surrealist luminaries such as Andre Masson and Joan Miro. Automatic drawing, or automatism, is a method in which the artist suppresses conscious control, allowing the unconscious mind to take over. Goldberg reinterprets automatism within today’s digital culture, imbuing each piece with the spontaneity and raw creativity that characterized Surrealist automatic drawing a century ago. In 1999, at the cusp of the new millennium, Goldberg presciently dubbed this body of work Metagraphs. The title is based on the idea that the actual artwork is thevector-based code that describes each image, not its physical manifestation; a meta-representation, or Metagraph. Twenty years after their original composition, these Metagraphs were animated and reborn on the blockchain as audiovisual NFTs. When viewed with the AR app, the still images transform into the NFTs right on the pages of this book, animating before the reader’s eyes through the magic of augmented reality. Kneeling Icon, the work on this book’s cover, was the artist’s first augmented reality work. The 6×8 foot piece was purchased by the Hearst Corporation in 2023 and is now permanently installed in Manhattan’s Hearst Tower. The accompanying NFT is the first in Hearst’s corporate collection. Each Metagraph is prefaced with a haiku written by the artist. Haiku is a concise form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. These haiku offer a profound glimpse into the artist’s life and psyche, offering viewers a unique lens through which to interpret the art. The poems contextualize each piece, inviting readers to explore the intricate relationship between the artist’s inner world and the external expressions captured on the pages. Metagraphs: Augmented Reality Art contains a thought-provoking foreword by composer, multimedia artist, and writer Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky. Miller draws connections between Goldberg’s Techspressionist work and the artists and art movements that preceded him, illuminating the evolution of Techspressionism and its place within the broader tapestry of artistic innovation. Metagraphs: Augmented Reality Art explores the dynamic relationship between art and technology. This work beckons us to explore the profound connection between an artist’s soul and today’s emerging technologies in an ever-evolving world where art redefines itself. This book is an homage to the past, a celebration of the present, and a glimpse into the limitless possibilities of the future, where art transcends its traditional boundaries.