judy chicago's rainbow AR transforms personal space with virtual smoke

together with light art space (LAS), artist judy chicago presents her first virtual artwork ‘rainbow AR.’ the augmented reality work is a continuation of the artist’s long-running ‘atmospheres’ series, which began in the late 1960s and used pyrotechnics to transform and soften the landscape. viewers across the world are invited to interactively engage with an entirely new smoke sculpture performance through their phone.

judy chicago rainbow AR, 2020 | © judy chicago ®

with judy chicago rainbow AR, the artist brings her newest ‘smoke sculptures’ into the digital realm. the work has been produced in close collaboration with berlin-based non-profit art foundation light art space (LAS) and experience designers international magic. as the COVID-19 era has changed our relationship with personal and public space, judy chicago rainbow AR is accessible to audiences anywhere, lending a deeply personal site-specific experience — activating and ‘beautifying’ the viewer’s own surroundings.

judy chicago rainbow AR can be downloaded for free through google play and the app store.

screenshots from inside judy chicago rainbow AR
images © designboom

judy chicago rainbow AR unfolds as an interactive performance, releasing plumes of smoke and changing color. the work invites audiences to interact with the smoke, walking through or around it, as it curls and billows across their screens. chicago conceived the scenography for the piece and curated the colors and sequencing to offer a unique experience of her smoke performances, only possible in the virtual world. the experience is accompanied by a polyphonic soundtrack, realized in collaboration with sound designer colin bailey, which uses soundscapes made from recordings from judy chicago’s work with pyrotechnician chris souza of pyro spectaculars.

screenshots from inside judy chicago rainbow AR
images © designboom

judy chicago rainbow AR, 2020 | © judy chicago ®

orange atmosphere, 1969 (also main image)
fireworks performance | performed at brookside park, pasadena, CA
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives
courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

purple atmosphere, 1969
fireworks performance | performed at santa barbara beach, santa barbara, CA
performed at santa barbara beach, santa barbara, CA
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york

judy chicago with purple atmosphere, 1969
performed at santa barbara beach, santa barbara, CA
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives

dry ice environment #2, 1967
dry ice and flares | collaboration with lloyd hamrol and eric orr | performed in century city mall, los angeles, CA
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives

multi-color atmosphere, 1970
fireworks performance | performed at the pasadena art museum (norton simon museum), pasadena, CA
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives
courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

smoke bodies from women and smoke, 1972
fireworks performance | performed in the california desert
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives
courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

pink atmosphere, 1971
fireworks performance | performed at the cal-state fullerton campus, fullerton, CA
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives
courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

immolation from women and smoke, 1972
fireworks performance | performed in the california desert
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives
courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

desert atmosphere, 1969
fireworks performance | performed in the california desert
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo courtesy of through the flower archives
courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

purple poem for miami, 2019
fireworks performance commissioned by the institute of contemporary art, miami in conjunction with the exhibition, ‘judy chicago: a reckoning’, miami, FL
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo by apolo gomez, courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco

purple poem for miami, 2019
fireworks performance commissioned by the institute of contemporary art, miami in conjunction with the exhibition, ‘judy chicago: a reckoning’, miami, FL
© judy chicago/artists rights society (ARS), new york
photo © donald woodman/ARS, new york, courtesy of the artist; salon 94, new york; and jessica silverman gallery, san francisco