Samsung and Yuchengco Museum present the ‘Relative Realities’ digital art experience
MANILA, Philippines - What happens when subjective art comes together with constantly evolving technology? These distinct disciplines are interlinked more than ever as technology provides artists with new tools for expression, thus becoming the fundamental force in the development and evolution of art. Art becomes borderless; artists and non-artists collaborate. Art is given a new level of understanding.
Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO) continues its support for the arts by partnering with Yuchengco Museum to present “Relative Realities: Creating New Dimensions of Art through Technology,” a digital art exhibit and immersive experience featuring the works of six contemporary Filipino artists. “Relative Realities” is powered by Samsung’s Ultra High Definition Smart TVs and tablets, and is supplemented by a mobile app called FACETS, which uses augmented reality technology to create new museum experiences. “Relative Realities” is on view at Yuchengco Museum until Sept. 8.
The exhibition is a collaboration between one of the world’s most recognized technology brands and one of the country’s most trailblazing museums. The exhibit showcases the artworks of six especially invited Filipino artists from a wide range of creative practices: printmaker Ambie Abaño, painter Ernest Concepcion, painter Jason Montinola, sculptor Leeroy New, visual artist Arturo Sanchez Jr., and multimedia and performance artist Josephine Turalba.
The exhibit promises to be exciting and novel for today’s young generation, which the museum hopes to further attract through supporting youth programs and tours on digital art. “Relative Realities” goes beyond the traditional museum experience of simply presenting art on a pedestal or wall. By scanning an artwork with an Android smartphone or tablet, museumgoers can experience the works they see in a whole new light. The exhibit is supported by a mobile app called FACETS, which presents to visitors a different side to the artwork, whether it’s information about the work and the artist or even 3D graphics, video, animation, or sound.
“We want to break the practice where the museum’s curatorial direction of an exhibition collection sets the pace for the appreciation and understanding of art. Would not art be best understood in the pureness of subjectivity — where the artist presents and the viewers formulate their own understanding and experience of the artwork?” shares Jeannie Javelosa, curator of Yuchengco Museum.
Facets mobile app
The exhibit is supplemented by the Futuristic Art Creations Enabled by TVs and Smart devices (FACETS) app, which is especially developed by Samsung Electronics Philippines. The mobile application features not only the artworks in “Relative Realities,” but also select paintings on view at the Yuchengco Museum’s Masters Gallery. Through the app, guests can learn about the museum’s master works, their styles, the meaning of their works, and their place in the development of Philippine art. (FACETS is available on Android smartphones and tablets through the Google Play Store: http://bit.ly/FACETS.)
Samsung digital gallery
After the month-long exhibit, the artworks highlighted in “Relative Realities” and select pieces from the Yuchengco Museum Collection will be incorporated into the new Samsung Digital Gallery at the museum’s third floor. The space will offer visitors an opportunity to create new human experiences where they can interact and learn more about the artworks they see at the museum. The Samsung Digital Gallery is due to open to the public in September 2014.
“Relative Realities: Creating New Dimensions of Art through Technology” is on view at Yuchengco Museum until Sept. 8. The museum is at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For information, call 889-1234 or visit www.yuchengcomuseum.org.
