[Rather than a news story, today we have something a little different for an ISPR Presence News post: Two videos, both intended to illustrate the potential for generative artificial intelligence to evoke presence by mimicking recordings of actual people, objects and events. The first video (“The PSAi”) is part of a well-funded media literacy campaign from the Columbia Journalism Review, a music video about how members of the public can distinguish “real” and “fake” media. The second video (“This Film is Lying”) has been posted recently by many different entities on social media platforms and was apparently created by an…

“Train passengers take a virtual reality journey through the life of the British pop star David Bowie, which is exhibited in a ‘Virtual Bowie Coupe’ in the train from Zwolle to Groningen/Netherlands/.” The Getty Image is from The Telegraph on this sad day, 9 January 2016. After the virtual journey in the train compartment, the passengers can visit a new exhibition about David Bowie in the Groninger Museum, curated by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; details from the museum are here. RTV Oost [translated via Google] has more details, three other images, and a 1:32 minute video and…

During the opening monologue on his Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday December 18, the host ‘warmed’ his hands using the ‘heat’ from an on-set hearth and fire. Here’s wishing all members of the ISPR/Presence community a joyous holiday season… –Matthew Lombard [By the way, join our ISPR Members Facebook group for more unusual and interesting presence items; details are here. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using the appropriate ‘comments’ link (note: WordPress spam filters are said to be overly aggressive, so if you don’t…

Photographer Erik Johansson introduces himself on his web site with this: “I’m a photographer and retoucher from Sweden. I use photography as a way of collecting material to realize the ideas in my mind.” A larger version of this piece, titled “The Cover up,” is available here, and much more mind-bending presence-related work (including video material) is available on his site. By the way, join our ISPR Members Facebook group for more unusual and interesting presence items; details are here. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using…

Happy Halloween! This “monstrous and very unique sculpture” appeared in Budapest’s Széchenyi Square earlier this month. The polystyrene outdoor art work is titled “Feltépve” (“Ripped up”) and is by “polihysteric art designer” Ervin Loránth Hervé. It was created in affiliation with Art Market Budapest. More information and pictures are available from Earth Porn.   By the way, join our ISPR Members Facebook group for more unusual and interesting presence items; details are here. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using the appropriate ‘comments’ link (note: WordPress spam…

This is a drawing and photo of Rent-a-Dog, an arcade simulator attraction by artist, engineer and The Secret Life of Machines star Tim Hunkin for Under the Pier, his “mad arcade of home-made machines & simulator rides on Southwold Pier, Suffolk, UK.” You can read a detailed description of the origins and creation of Rent-a-Dog on his web site here. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using the appropriate ‘comments’ link (note: WordPress spam filters are said to be overly aggressive, so if you don’t receive confirmation…

A touching example of social presence after the loss of Nelson Mandela in a photo by Christopher Furlong from Getty Images. The caption: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – DECEMBER 09: A young South African girl named Malika is lifted by her mother to kiss a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela before a service conducted by Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Nelson Mandela Foundation on December 9, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mandela, also known as Madiba, passed away on the evening of December 5, 2013 at his home in Houghton at the age of 95. Mandela became South…

A self portrait by photographer Laura Williams. More information is available in the blog post here. Thanks to our colleague Alexander Voiskounsky for finding this. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using the appropriate ‘comments’ link (note: WordPress spam filters are said to be overly aggressive, so if you don’t receive confirmation of receipt after you post, please notify us at [email protected]). –Matthew Lombard

This is my friend and colleague Melissa Meade, interacting with a sculpture that recreates the painting Le déjeuner des canotiers (Luncheon of the Boating Party) by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The sculpture is at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, USA. Here is a picture of the original painting: For pictures of some of the other sculptures, see the Miss Buttercup blog, where the author writes, “There were moments when I forgot I was in a sculpture garden because it felt like I was in a painting.” For more on the painting, see the web site of the Fournaise…

Yuanyang II (also known as ‘Coffee Kiss”) by Hong Kong artist Johnson TSANG Cheung Shing Stoneware, porcelain, hollowing, modelling, slabbing and throwing L 118cm W 45cm H 24cm 2002 More information about and images of this sculpture and others by the artist is available here. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using the appropriate ‘comments’ link (note: WordPress spam filters are said to be overly aggressive, so if you don’t receive confirmation of receipt after you post, please notify us at [email protected]). –Matthew Lombard

From a colleague’s Facebook post. Obviously artificial and not at all to scale but they still seem to evoke social presence. If you have information or comments about this or future Presence Pictures, please share them with our community by using the appropriate ‘comments’ link (note: WordPress spam filters are said to be overly aggressive, so if you don’t receive confirmation of receipt after you post, please notify us at [email protected]). –Matthew Lombard