Art.sy: Algorithmic Taste
I mentioned Art.sy in class last week; it’s Pandora-meets-Amazon-recommends for fine art. From the site:
Art.sy’s Collections
Art.sy’s goal is to expose as many people as possible to art. Currently, our growing collection comprises 25,000+ artworks by 3,700+ artists from leading galleries, museums, private collections, foundations, and artist estates. Art.sy works with 400+ of the world’s leading galleries, museums, private collections, foundations, and artist estates from New York to London, Paris to Shanghai, Johannesburg to São Paulo.
We provide one of the largest collections of contemporary art available online. Thousands of works from all cultures and time periods are accessible for study and enjoyment, and select works from our gallery partners are available to collectors. By making all the world’s art freely accessible, Art.sy hopes to foster new generations of art lovers, museum goers, collectors, and patrons.
The Art Genome Project
Powered by The Art Genome Project—an ongoing study of the characteristics that distinguish and connect works of art—Art.sy creates new pathways for discovering art through 800+ characteristics (we call them “genes”). Users can discover works through connections between art-historical movements, subject matter, and formal qualities, creating infinite serendipitous opportunities for discovery and learning.
If you would like to read more about The Art Genome Project and how the Genome team collaborates to build it, you can visit The Art Genome Project blog.
And here’s a recent NYTimes article.
It’s interesting to note that one has to request and “invitation” to use the site, especially given their aim to “expose as many people as possible to art”. They let me in, and I–believe it or not–am not rubbing elbows with art stars and gallery owners with any regularity. It might just be a way to keep spammers out, but I think it’s representative of the exclusionary stigma that the contemporary art world has developed. Like, even in/on the internet, the humorless gaze of the gallerist keeps the philistines at a safe distance. That, and the fact that the site makes a big deal of showing the user what an artist has for sale, and how much it’ll cost (150-200k, in the case of a Russian Futurist I “follow”). I’m saving up.