The idea

A prism doesn’t add color to light. It reveals the colors already there. The artists in Full Spectrum use augmented and virtual reality the same way, as a lens on human feeling and connection. Prints and sculptures come alive in the room around you, and paintings made in virtual reality step into physical space.

Artists have always pushed the newest tools of their time to their edges, from the stereoscope of the 1800s to the video art of Nam June Paik. Today that edge is augmented and virtual reality, and much of the art made with it is rarely seen by the public. It lives on hardware that isn’t sold in stores, at industry conferences most people never attend, or on platforms that shut down and take the work with them. Full Spectrum gathers that work in one neighborhood room.

The show celebrates technology as a way to amplify human expression, and it helps grow Portland’s immersive community. Everything is free, and the work is up whenever Daydreamer is open.

What you’ll find

  • AR prints and illustration

    framed pieces that animate when you point your phone at them.

  • Paintings made in VR

    brushstrokes painted inside virtual reality, placed back into the room as AR.

  • Printmaking meets AR

    linocuts, cyanotypes and collage with digital layers.

  • Sculpture and story worlds

    a found-object sculpture and film-poster imagery from an imagined universe.

  • An animated portrait gallery

    12 postcards by digital animators from around the world.

  • AR glasses and headsets

    pieces made for Snap Specs and VR, demoed at the opening.

  • Plants making art

    live plant biosensors that shape sound and image.

The platform

An artist-built platform, free for the community

Part of the show runs on Spatial Design Club, a free webAR platform that curator Kami Karras maintains for the creative community. Artists use it to place their work in physical space, and visitors open it from a QR code in the browser, with no app to download.

Visit Spatial Design Club

A laptop at a picnic table shows a scene being built in Spatial Design Club while a phone held up beside it shows the same scene placed in the grass in AR
Spatial Design Club · built on a laptop, viewed in AR on a phone

By artists, for artists

Full Spectrum is bringing the humanity into art and tech with exhibitions, meetups and workshops, made by artists for artists. This show is a first step toward more XR art events in Portland.

Thank you

Sponsored by
Specs · University of Oregon Reality Lab · Gango Custom Printing · Daydreamer Coffee & Public House
Special thanks
volunteers