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Archive-2017

Masters Thesis – ArtSide Presented at a2ru Conference

by Kuo-Wei Lee, Shruthy Sreepathy
Students and faculty from the UT Dallas ArtSciLab presented their project, ArtSide, at the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) conference at Northeastern University in November.

 
Kuo-Wei Lee, a M.A. student in Arts and Technology, Shruthy Sreepathy, a M.S. student in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience, and Cassini Nazir, ArtSciLab director of design and research, presented ArtSide: Enhancing the Connection Between Cities and Communities. ArtSide—Lee’s master’s thesis, first prototyped in Nazir’s Creating Interactive Media course—aims to enhance the social experience of public art through social and technological and strengthen the relationship between city and its communities.
 

A mind map, executed early in the project, visually explores potential directions of the project.
A mind map, executed early in the project, visually explores potential directions of the project.

 
 
High Fidelity Prototypes, made as close to the real graphical representation of the products as we can allow thorough testing on all the detailed aspects.
High Fidelity Prototypes, made as close to the real graphical representation of the products as we can allow thorough testing on all the detailed aspects.

 
 
Usability Testing is a way of evaluating the application by testing it with potential users.
Usability Testing is a way of evaluating the application by testing it with potential users.

 
Public art—art located in public space for everyone to experience—celebrates communities, attracts individuals to focus on places or ideas, energizes the daily environment, and memorializes happenings. In addition, public art represents the public history of cities, enriches the culture, and reflects public thinking in society.
ArtSide is a mobile application prototype that utilizes Global Positioning System (GPS) information to indicate the location of public art and provides a social platform to interaction with others about the pieces. It not only enhances a healthy lifestyle but also raises the appreciation of public art in (downtown) Dallas. This interactivity engages members of various communities to provide input, opinions, experiences, and stories and build meaning and shared memories for their communities.
The best way to explore a city is with your own feet. People can find the Public Art in every corner of (downtown) Dallas. By using ArtSide, citizens are able to create their own “Double J” — Journey and Journal. By taking advantage of technologies and emerging communications, people can share their personal stories and narratives to become a part of city’s history and deepen the relationship between their city and their community.
Lee will complete ArtSide in spring 2018, completing his masters thesis in Arts and Technology.

Looking for feedbacks, suggestions and collaborations, contact us at artside.utdallas@gmail.com

About authors
Kuo-Wei Lee is a M.A. graduate student in Arts and Technology(ATEC) at The University of Texas at Dallas. He’s been involved in the ArtSciLab since Spring 2017. He works as a graphic designer for ARTECA project (a curated space for essential content linking the arts, sciences, and technologies.) in the ArtSciLab at University of Texas at Dallas.
Shruthy Sreepathy is a M.S neuroscience graduate student specializing in Human-Computer Interaction. She is involved with UT Dallas ArtSciLab since Fall 2016 as a designer and Drupal developer for ARTECA. Her focus is in UX design and development.