Send a Text, Get a Piece of Art
This isn't strictly Web 2.0/social media related, but this article features a fascinating merge between art and technology in a really incredible way and is too cool not to share.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has more than 34,000 works in its collection, of which it can only display 5% of at any given time. (Viewing the entire collection would involve walking 121 miles.) In order to reach as many people as possible with its collection, the museum has set up an on-demand art gallery via text message.
To receive a piece of art via text, send a message reading "send me" followed by a word, a color, or an emoji to 57251. All works of the collection have been archived digitally with keywords/colors and the text with your unique keyword will trigger a piece of art be sent to you matching your keyword.
I tried it with the word "potatoes" (I was eating a potato at the time) and within 20 seconds received a portrait of potatoes and a piece of bacon done by a post-modern artist. My roommate sent a camel emoji and received a black and white photograph of men riding camels through the desert in 1870.
The museum encouraged people to choose keywords that represent their moods, like joy, sadness, anger, etc in order to connect emotionally with a work of art. One of the coolest parts of this service to me is that if you ever visit the museum, you may eventually get to see the piece in person, or you may send a very unique keyword and be one of only a few people to view a certain work of art for years to come.
As far as engagement goes, this is one of the most innovative things I've seen in a long time. I think it utilizes Web 2.0's culture of engagement and community in a really neat way. It's also an interesting glimpse into the future with algorithms 'reading' your mood or translating your emoji and sending back a piece of art/content that it deems appropriate. I also think it smartly engages millennials' instant gratification complex and puts art into the hands of the future, a smart practice for brick and mortar museums that have been known to struggle with attendance as the internet continues to offer up free and instantaneous content.
Give it a go! Send in your mood or a fun emoji! Let me know if you get some good results!
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has more than 34,000 works in its collection, of which it can only display 5% of at any given time. (Viewing the entire collection would involve walking 121 miles.) In order to reach as many people as possible with its collection, the museum has set up an on-demand art gallery via text message.
To receive a piece of art via text, send a message reading "send me" followed by a word, a color, or an emoji to 57251. All works of the collection have been archived digitally with keywords/colors and the text with your unique keyword will trigger a piece of art be sent to you matching your keyword.
I tried it with the word "potatoes" (I was eating a potato at the time) and within 20 seconds received a portrait of potatoes and a piece of bacon done by a post-modern artist. My roommate sent a camel emoji and received a black and white photograph of men riding camels through the desert in 1870.
The museum encouraged people to choose keywords that represent their moods, like joy, sadness, anger, etc in order to connect emotionally with a work of art. One of the coolest parts of this service to me is that if you ever visit the museum, you may eventually get to see the piece in person, or you may send a very unique keyword and be one of only a few people to view a certain work of art for years to come.
As far as engagement goes, this is one of the most innovative things I've seen in a long time. I think it utilizes Web 2.0's culture of engagement and community in a really neat way. It's also an interesting glimpse into the future with algorithms 'reading' your mood or translating your emoji and sending back a piece of art/content that it deems appropriate. I also think it smartly engages millennials' instant gratification complex and puts art into the hands of the future, a smart practice for brick and mortar museums that have been known to struggle with attendance as the internet continues to offer up free and instantaneous content.
Give it a go! Send in your mood or a fun emoji! Let me know if you get some good results!
Ummmm..... This is AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing, Alexis! Will try this out later today! What a neat way to meld the two fields together in a fun and engaging way! I think they will capture new art lovers (especially YOUNG new art lovers) this way.
ReplyDeleteSounds so cool! Even though I currently is not in U.S, I cannot wait to try as I go back !
ReplyDelete