For many connoisseurs, art is something alive in which one can lose oneself for hours in the artist’s stories and thoughts. But also for people with less artistic imagination it is now possible to dive into the paintings. London’s Tate Museum is opening its “virtual wing” this summer. In cooperation with Facebook’s Augmented Reality platform Spark AR, eight paintings from the famous gallery will be digitally brought to life using a smartphone or tablet. The project was created in cooperation with the developer studio “The Mill”.
It’s been two years since Facebooks presented Spark AR at the developer conference. Since then, the social media giant has been looking for applications for its new technology. The Tate Museum is therefore a good field test for the possibilities of Augmented Reality. There were few limits to creativity. Be it the simple one or a deeper story behind it.
An example, which went through the press here is the work of Joeseph Mallord William Turner. His painting “Fishing upon the Blythe-Sand, Tide Setting In” literally bursts when viewed through the camera lens. The story behind this is based on the legend that the artist had torn his painting so that his seven cats could walk through the canvas like through a cat flap. The Augmented Reality effect imitates this story, because after the painting has disassembled, the viewer jumps through the canvas.
Facebook wants to use the cooperation with the Tate Museum to break down the fear of contact with Augmented Reality and show the possibilities of Spark AR. The application and its underlying platform is not only suitable for the art world, but also offers many other potentials to get in touch with the audience in a more interactive way.
Post picture: Facebook
