28 Nov Could High Tech TVs Revolutionise Art Consumption?

Source Credit:  Content and images from Ocula Magazine.  Read the original article - https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/could-high-tech-tvs-revolutionise-art-consumption/

The music industry was massively disrupted by Spotify, just as cinemas were shaken up by Netflix. Now television manufacturers such as Samsung and LG are offering new ways to view artworks. Will they catch on?

TV manufacturers have made some major overtures to the world of visual art recently.

Korean electronics brand LG has sponsored Frieze art fairs, providing transparent OLED screens to display works inspired by Korean abstract ink master Suh Se Ok at Frieze Seoul in September. At Frieze London last year, they presented high-tech works by Italian artist Quayola. They also offer a 65-inch 4K smart TV called the Easel, which leans against the wall like a stretched canvas, as well as a Gallery Mode for viewing artworks.

Samsung, whose Frame TVs are designed to resemble wall-mounted artworks, now offers over 2,500 artworks by more than 800 artists on the Samsung Art Store, which launched in 2017. For U.S. $4.99 per month, subscribers can display works by old masters such as Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci, modernists such Salvador Dalí and Claude Monet, and contemporary artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat thanks to partnerships with institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Musée d’Orsay. In October, they added dozens of artworks from the Museum of Modern Art’s collection.

Daria Greene is the Global Curator of the Samsung Art Store. She discussed the potential of TVs to change the way we share and view visual art.

Daria Greene, Global Curator of the Samsung Art Store. Courtesy Samsung.

For some in the art world, viewing paintings on screens is not yet appealing, and I can imagine artists and galleries pushing back, just as David Lynch pushed back at people watching his movies on their smartphones. What would you say to persuade people to give it a chance?

Art and technology are closely linked, and together they can create greater exposure, new opportunities and increased representation of diverse voices. Traditional viewpoints value the act of experiencing art in person—but what about those who appreciate great art, but lack the means to access it? Digital art platforms provide audiences with the chance to experience and learn about a variety of artworks from prestigious museums and influential artists they might not otherwise have the opportunity to see in person.

It’s also important to mention that new digital innovations and formats are creating profound avenues for artists, institutions, collectors and brands worldwide. We’re seeing artists like Shinique Smith, among others, creating and optimising art specifically for digital display. Artwork that is created on a screen to be viewed on a screen. The point being, digital platforms are being widely embraced by notable artists and galleries.

This is not to say digital platforms will replace museums or physical paintings. However, we do believe it adds something special to the conversation and allows people to view art in new ways.

Samsung’s Frame TVs do a great job disguising screens, helping people to view art as art, not photographs of art, and we know screens are making improvements in terms of reflectiveness and even transparency. What other developments in screen tech do you see helping improve the reproduction of art on screens?

The 2024 edition of The Frame is our latest innovative breakthrough, becoming the world’s first and only art TV to achieve the Validated ArtfulColor certification from Pantone, a globally renowned authority in colour standards. This is a meaningful recognition for what we’re trying to achieve, as it highlights The Frame’s advanced adaptive colour screen technology, which ensures an exceptional colour reproduction capability that meets Pantone’s rigorous standards for authentic colour that is nearly indistinguishable to the human eye under standard lighting conditions. All to say—we are delivering an even more complete artistic and aesthetic experience through our innovation.

I’m interested in the potential for TVs to revolutionise art consumption. Are there plans for people to be able to disseminate their own works via the Samsung Art Store? How are artists compensated?

This is a great question. We don’t have plans that we can share at this time. However, when it comes to the Art Store and how we compensate artists, it operates on a revenue share model. We are incredibly grateful for the incredible artists and institutions we’re able to work with to broaden access to art at a massive scale, and pride ourselves on finding ways to support them.

LG’s presentation of works inspired by Suh Se Ok at Frieze Seoul 2024.

For living and working contemporary artists currently showing at art fairs and with galleries, are there ambitions to make those works available when their exhibitions open to the public, leveraging the conversation?

We see a significant opportunity to collaborate with artists actively exhibiting their work at fairs and conferences. We’re actually seeing an explosive growth of the digital art market and monumental shift in ways art is being created, discovered and monetized. The biggest factor will be accessibility, creating a seamless bridge between the digital and physical art worlds and allowing people globally to enjoy iconic works they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. The Art Store is uniquely positioned to deliver on this and deliver artwork that may feel out of reach to people, allowing them to still be a part of the conversation.

Do you imagine a future where there are top charts for art (like Spotify) and conversations around the work of the winter as well as the song of the summer?

That is certainly an interesting idea, and you’re absolutely right about leaning into larger conversations or themes. As the Curator, I develop seasonal palettes, colour trends and culturally relevant collections. This is an element that makes the Art Store particularly unique and we’ve found that subscribers see value in being able to select and view thoughtfully curated art that matches the season, cultural moments, or their mood. In fact, these curations have grown to become our most popular. For instance, this summer shined especially bright with scenic beach landscapes, vibrant artworks from The Met and Marc Dennis, statement pieces with Mid-Century Shape and Form, classic Impressionist paintings by Camille Pissarro, and the celebration of Hispanic artists. With the holidays approaching, we’ll be delivering even more timely curations and collections. —[O]

Source Credit:  Content and images from Ocula Magazine.  Read the original article - https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/could-high-tech-tvs-revolutionise-art-consumption/