It’s all too easy to blame the internet for the cultural demise of well, everything. “Kids these days can’t even spell!” decry the haters. “It’s all that texting and twittering!”
Here at KillerStartups, we like to bull on that one. Sure, the internet is changing how art is produced and shared, but that doesn’t mean that art, in all forms, is “dying.” In addition to creating whole new ways to create art, the internet is also giving us new ways to discover art.
For example, there’s a new app called Muse that wants to turn the lock screen of your phone into a museum. While it obviously can’t imitate the grandiose feeling an art lover gets when she visits the Met or the Louvre, Muse promises to deliver both classics and new artists directly to your dormant cell phone.
Great for galleries.
The Muse app currently has over 100,000 masters’ paintings in their library – and they’re still growing. In fact, galleries that are interested in getting their work out to a larger audience can publish work with Muse.
The point of entry is one great piece and the app gives “Woman with a Hat” by Matisse as an example. If a Muse user sees that work of art and likes it, they can get more information about the art, including where it’s currently being exhibited. If they want even more information, they’ll be directed to the gallery profile, which includes other art currently being exhibited and more info about the gallery itself.
Finally, users who aren’t content to view the work on their phones can get directions on how to get to the museum or gallery where it’s being exhibited.
But perfect for art lovers.
For the average art-loving public who wants exposure to stuff they’ve never seen before (or just wants to look smart to all of their friends) Muse provides a great window into the wide world of available art work.
The app also lets users build private galleries of the work that they love, which can then be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Google +, and a bunch of other social networks. This feature takes the act of loving art social, adding one more way to the many ways that the internet is spreading culture rather than killing it.
Think about how many time you open your phone every single day. If you’re like most people, it’s at least dozens and if you’re like most tech-savvy people, it’s probably in the hundreds. Why not expose yourself to the world’s masterpieces while you’re texting and snapchatting and tweeting? Sounds like a win all around to me.