App
New Museum, New York
A virtual exhibition showcases the work of digital artists today – and points to a possible future for galleries. By Nicola Sullivan
First Look: Artists VR, created by New York’s New Museum and its digital art affiliate Rhizome, is essentially an exhibition of immersive virtual reality artworks by six digital artists.
Best viewed through Google Cardboard – a virtual reality headset that attaches to a smartphone – these immersive art pieces are brave and original. The diverse collection comprises a moving memorial to victims of police violence, a deconstructed video game, a journey through an outlandish industrial nightclub, a mutating labyrinth full of writhing figures, a simulation of the afterlife and a dive into a world full of avatars. The user experience is made a little bit clunky by the requirement to download some of the experiences separately but that is a small price to pay for a free app.
An Elegy for Ancestors – Jayson Musson’s memorial to victims of police brutality – is particularly powerful. Stars in a night sky represent the victims (see picture), and each carries a description of the significance of one case. The constellation for Bettie Jones, who was accidentally shot dead by Chicago police in 2015, represents a “knot of reconciliation” – a “symbol of renewed connection between parties that were split apart in dispute”. Viewers can access stars by placing them in the centre of the frame.
Another artwork worth exploring is Rachel Rossin’s Man Mask, inspired by the war-torn landscapes of Call of Duty: Black Ops – a first-person shooter video game. Rossin’s artwork, however, drains the violence from these landscapes and creates an ethereal and slightly bizarre dreamscape, where the grass grows in mid-air, birds sing and a band of brightly coloured fighters march in illogical patterns.
Most of the artworks are complemented by a specially composed soundtrack, which adds to the sense of wonder. This amazing app, available on iOS and Android, illustrates how the way we view art is radically changing and provides a global platform for up-and-coming artists.
App
Tate
Tate’s new free app – created in conjunction with Bloomberg Philanthropies – allows visitors to create their own tours around Tates Modern, Britain and Liverpool. But it is at the newly extended Tate Modern where it comes into its own.
The app offers three options for planning a tour – Art, Activity, Eat and Shop. Art is a quick way to find out what is on display in each of the galleries’ spaces; visitors with more focused interests can also search by artist. Concise information is provided on artist and work; and the app features more than 350 audio clips from Tate’s digital archives.
The Eat and Shop option points visitors towards the timeline of modern art, the Clore Learning centre, the Turbine Hall shop and the drawing bar.
The Activity option gives information on guided tours, workshops and films. Once you’ve decided what to do, a “Take me there” icon shows where the exhibition, shop or activity is on the floorplan. The app connects to several iBeacons in Tate’s buildings, so visitors can tell where they are. It also gives opening hours and dates for exhibitions and events.
The app’s design isn’t knock out, and it lacks extras such as immersive 360-degree video or the ability to comment on what you have seen. But it will ensure visitors don’t miss the best of what Tate has to offer. NS
Website
Knox Museum, Maine, US
The Knox Museum, inside the former home of Henry Knox, who became America’s first secretary of war in 1789, has breathed new life into his story via its newly revamped website.
Unsurprisingly, one of the website’s focal points is the museum building – a recreation of the original, built in 1794, and named Montpelier to recognise France’s support in the American war for independence.
Visitors to the website can take a virtual tour, which is just a simple string of images and text, but effective nevertheless. However, the 360-degree view of one of the upstairs rooms is buried in a different area of the website. This is one of many examples of how this website fails to link relevant material together under the same roof. Also, the repetition of themed content makes the site hard to navigate.
Fortunately, visitors’ basic needs are met effectively with succinct and visible information on directions, admission, tours and disabled access. However, the events and exhibitions section is underwhelming, and when compared with other areas of the site it seems sparse and dull. This is a somewhat surprising treatment of what are presumably the museum’s core activities.
However, for the most part this website is content-rich, and engaging to read and look at.
I particularly liked the interesting timeline of Henry Knox’s life, littered with striking historical images and energetic text. In many ways this is a successful website – just a bit inconsistent and complex to navigate. NS
knoxmuseum.org
New Museum, New York
A virtual exhibition showcases the work of digital artists today – and points to a possible future for galleries. By Nicola Sullivan
First Look: Artists VR, created by New York’s New Museum and its digital art affiliate Rhizome, is essentially an exhibition of immersive virtual reality artworks by six digital artists.
Best viewed through Google Cardboard – a virtual reality headset that attaches to a smartphone – these immersive art pieces are brave and original. The diverse collection comprises a moving memorial to victims of police violence, a deconstructed video game, a journey through an outlandish industrial nightclub, a mutating labyrinth full of writhing figures, a simulation of the afterlife and a dive into a world full of avatars. The user experience is made a little bit clunky by the requirement to download some of the experiences separately but that is a small price to pay for a free app.
An Elegy for Ancestors – Jayson Musson’s memorial to victims of police brutality – is particularly powerful. Stars in a night sky represent the victims (see picture), and each carries a description of the significance of one case. The constellation for Bettie Jones, who was accidentally shot dead by Chicago police in 2015, represents a “knot of reconciliation” – a “symbol of renewed connection between parties that were split apart in dispute”. Viewers can access stars by placing them in the centre of the frame.
Another artwork worth exploring is Rachel Rossin’s Man Mask, inspired by the war-torn landscapes of Call of Duty: Black Ops – a first-person shooter video game. Rossin’s artwork, however, drains the violence from these landscapes and creates an ethereal and slightly bizarre dreamscape, where the grass grows in mid-air, birds sing and a band of brightly coloured fighters march in illogical patterns.
Most of the artworks are complemented by a specially composed soundtrack, which adds to the sense of wonder. This amazing app, available on iOS and Android, illustrates how the way we view art is radically changing and provides a global platform for up-and-coming artists.
App
Tate
Tate’s new free app – created in conjunction with Bloomberg Philanthropies – allows visitors to create their own tours around Tates Modern, Britain and Liverpool. But it is at the newly extended Tate Modern where it comes into its own.
The app offers three options for planning a tour – Art, Activity, Eat and Shop. Art is a quick way to find out what is on display in each of the galleries’ spaces; visitors with more focused interests can also search by artist. Concise information is provided on artist and work; and the app features more than 350 audio clips from Tate’s digital archives.
The Eat and Shop option points visitors towards the timeline of modern art, the Clore Learning centre, the Turbine Hall shop and the drawing bar.
The Activity option gives information on guided tours, workshops and films. Once you’ve decided what to do, a “Take me there” icon shows where the exhibition, shop or activity is on the floorplan. The app connects to several iBeacons in Tate’s buildings, so visitors can tell where they are. It also gives opening hours and dates for exhibitions and events.
The app’s design isn’t knock out, and it lacks extras such as immersive 360-degree video or the ability to comment on what you have seen. But it will ensure visitors don’t miss the best of what Tate has to offer. NS
Website
Knox Museum, Maine, US
The Knox Museum, inside the former home of Henry Knox, who became America’s first secretary of war in 1789, has breathed new life into his story via its newly revamped website.
Unsurprisingly, one of the website’s focal points is the museum building – a recreation of the original, built in 1794, and named Montpelier to recognise France’s support in the American war for independence.
Visitors to the website can take a virtual tour, which is just a simple string of images and text, but effective nevertheless. However, the 360-degree view of one of the upstairs rooms is buried in a different area of the website. This is one of many examples of how this website fails to link relevant material together under the same roof. Also, the repetition of themed content makes the site hard to navigate.
Fortunately, visitors’ basic needs are met effectively with succinct and visible information on directions, admission, tours and disabled access. However, the events and exhibitions section is underwhelming, and when compared with other areas of the site it seems sparse and dull. This is a somewhat surprising treatment of what are presumably the museum’s core activities.
However, for the most part this website is content-rich, and engaging to read and look at.
I particularly liked the interesting timeline of Henry Knox’s life, littered with striking historical images and energetic text. In many ways this is a successful website – just a bit inconsistent and complex to navigate. NS
knoxmuseum.org
