Globe Trotting
New York-based artist David Datuna’s 12-foot American flag, viewed with Google Glass, is part of a special Presidents Day weekend exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. The flag installation is a collage made of plywood, newspapers and images of George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Lady Gaga and other figures. The top layer is made of hundreds of eyeglass lenses that give the piece a different look from different vantage points.
Flag portrait uses Google Glass
Washington » A multimedia artist is bringing his 12-foot American flag that’s viewed with Google Glass to the National Portrait Gallery for a special Presidents Day weekend exhibition.
"Portrait of America," by New York-based artist David Datuna, is the first artwork to use Google’s Internet-connected eyeglasses, organizers said. It’s part of Datuna’s series of works titled "Viewpoint of Billions." Datuna’s "Portrait of America" will remain on view Sunday and Monday at the museum.
Datuna said he set out to tell a story that reflects American culture, its freedom of expression and the innovators who push the country forward.
"It’s about people who really created this country. It’s about people who wanted to change this country, build this country," Datuna said. "I want to show the American culture, the American journey."
Cameras embedded in the artwork and on Google Glass allow the viewer to become part of the artwork, and it evolves over time, exploring connections between art and technology. Visitors can have their portraits taken wearing Google Glass and share them on social media.
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Sick hotel guests turn to SKYdoc
MIAMI » Some Miami hotels are teaming up with a program to offer out-of-town guests who are feeling under the weather a convenient way to hook up with a doctor.
If travelers are suffering from anything from an earache to the flu, they can contact the hotel concierge or front desk to coordinate a new medical technology platform.
SKYdoc enables a doctor to receive vitals, such as blood pressure, pulse and EKG readings for illnesses that are not life-threatening. The technology allows a doctor to communicate in a way that’s similar to Skype one-on-one with their patients 24 hours a day.
The service will be available in all of the nearly 200 South Florida hotels of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association.
Creator Dr. Ramsey Saffouri is launching the program in South Florida ahead of a worldwide release. Saffouri demonstrated the broad, multilingual medical technology, which he said also has wide diagnostic capabilities, at a press conference at the iconic Delano Hotel on Wednesday.
SKYdoc was developed in South Florida with the cooperation of its tourism partners.
