Library Science Commission
Andy Deck and Carol Padberg
Augmented / Obstructed
Augmented/Obstructed playfully intertwines the physical with the digital, featuring abstract textiles enhanced through the medium of machine vision. Artists Andy Deck and Carol Padberg explore the nuances of augmented reality in their first ever collaboration. Incomprehensible to the human gaze, but perceptible with the assistance of software, the designs of commerce and culture combine in this colorful symbolic collage. Referencing key moments in the history of language and technology, the work invites viewers to consider the consequences of our cultural journey from Sumerian tablets and the printing press to digital tablets and the Internet. Using a poetic and yet industrialized visual language, the artists probe questions of intellectual property, authorship, the public domain, and access to knowledge. Augmented or obstructed? It's not all in the eye of the beholder.
