Flowers of fire, captions in AR, and invisible inequities in art (SBLTN Lab Notes 031)
Illustrations from Japanese Fireworks catalogues, real-time captions in augmented reality, and building DEI into contemporary artistic communities
IN THE MARGINS
I touched a bit before on how those “Top 30 Under 30” type lists contributed to my “I’m behind in life” complex. Indigo Willing reminded me of how foolish and unhealthy that mindset can be. Indigo is a 50-year old skateboarder with a PhD - one that she got later in life than what society says you should get one at. I’ve wanted my PhD in Philosophy for yearssss but eventually stopped considering it because I thought I was too old. Maybe it’s time to revisit that dream 💭
❓ QUESTION: Is there something you think the time has passed for? What if you could still do it now?
ACCESSIBILITY
Captions in AR
It’s dope when assistive technology can give people access to information, media, and connection to others in new ways that didn’t exist before.
Live captioning in augmented reality (AR) is in development. Using directional microphones, speech is recorded and converted to live text and attached to the person speaking via body tracking.
The intent is to use real-time captioning to facilitate communication, regardless of environment or facial restrictions such as masks.
But as someone wary of how humans use tech, usually after I cheer for something like this, my brain immediately starts to wonder about the implications and potential less-than-awesome outcomes. A few things that popped into my head:
Did they consult the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing community during development and testing?
What are the security risks? (facial recognition and data collection)
What environments would this be most helpful? (hospitals vs entertainment like tourist excursions)
Who would have access to these glasses? Would they be affordable and available outside of Global North? Is there support infrastructure in place for things like repair or customization? Will they work for any language or will it be English-centric? Can they be worn on top of prescription glasses or do they have their own prescription?
I’ll be poking around a bit more to get some more context and learn about the creators behind this. In the meantime, I’ll be Sceptical Sally haha
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Invisible inequities in art
“Casting Light” is a 10-part series that explores the often invisible inequities in contemporary arts spaces. The goal of the series is to highlight the conversations that we need to be having more openly and transparently in order to build diverse, inclusive, and equitable artistic communities.
Some topics include:
…and more!
ART & DESIGN
Flowers of Fire
I looooove when things are catalogued: artwork, the shape of seashells, the history of food packaging design… almost anything! So when the Public Domain Review released the illustrations of Japanese fireworks, my design brain lit up! (like dynamite 🎵)
Spinning saxons, flying pigeons, polka batteries, Aztec Fountains, Bengal Lights — the variety of fireworks is as rich as the names that describe them. However, if you ever tried to take photos of a firework show, you know that it can be quite hard to capture this richness. That’s exactly what makes a nineteenth-century series of catalog advertisements for Japanese fireworks so fascinating: without any expectations of photorealism, the illustrations in the catalogs evoke a unique sense of wonder.
Digitized by the Yokohama City Library, the catalogs date back to the 1880s and show not only fireworks as we know them today but also so-called “daylight fireworks”. Daylight fireworks had their origins in Japan and didn’t use pyrotechnic effects but a projectile that contained a balloon in the shape of an animal, person, or other forms that opened up and inflated as it returned to the ground.
Signing off from the Starship SBLTN,
Laneen (Pronouns: she/they)
🎧 Listening: "Stay Alive" by Jungkook and SUGA of BTS
💬 Quote: The sonic horizon is made up of songs, scenes, scripts, scores, soundscapes, and choruses that remember, but don’t rely on, he or she, on language, on antiquated versions of the divine, or the groups we’ve allowed to control us from time immemorial. The possibilities for innovation and inclusion are thrilling and endless. Limitless new sounds and new ways to create those sounds are ready to be embraced. Unheard voices long to fall in love, break each other’s hearts, and hurt and heal the world. Are you ready to listen? ("The Establishment of Genderqueer Sound Culture" by Kymani Queen and Aaron Gabriel)