Thursday, August 07, 2014

Samsung Electronics Philippines and Yuchengco Museum Launch Unique Digital Art Experience Through Relative Realities Exhibit



What if -- a portrait on the wall suddenly winks? Or the glass inside a painting starts shattering complete with realistic sounds? How about still figure drawings that suddenly begin walking? Many people reading this would probably think "Yeah, that's possible … in the movies!" 


Let me share that I've seen those things with my own eyes when I visited the Yuchengco Museum yesterday! There, subjective art has finally been influenced by technology such that art became borderless and guests were gifted with a new level of understanding! 


In its continuous support for the arts, Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO)  partnered with the 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. 


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.

Ambie, Ernest, Jason
Relative Realities, a collaboration between one of the world’s most recognized technology brands and one of the country’s most trailblazing museums, is a month-long exhibit and the first of its kind in the Philippines. Supplemented by a mobile app and Samsung Digital Gallery at the museum, the exhibit was where artists and non-artists collaborated and where technology provided artists with new tools for expression thus becoming a fundamental force in the development and evolution of art.  

Leeroy, Arturo, Josephine
This out-of-the-box experience will definitely excite today's young generation who are very attached to their mobile gadgets. The museum hopes to further attract them by supporting youth programs and having tours on digital art. Watch this!

In the Hour of Darkness, There is Always Light by Arturo Sanchez, Jr.

Visitors will experience going beyond the traditional museum tour where guides simply present art on a pedestal or wall. By scanning an artwork using an Android smartphone or tablet that has the mobile app called FACETS, they can already experience art in a whole new light. Don't worry if you don't have an Android device because there are gadgets in front of selected artworks that you can use. FACETS will let you see a different side to what you're looking at -- whether it’s information about the work and the artist or even 3D graphics, video, animation, or sound. 

Digital Soul by Arturo Sanchez, Jr.
The Futuristic Art Creations Enabled by TVs and Smart devices (FACETS) app is especially developed by Samsung to feature not only the artworks in Relative Realities, but also select paintings on view at the Yuchengco Museum's Masters Gallery. Through this app, guests can learn more about the museum's master works, their styles, the meaning of each work, and their place in the development of Philippine art. Download FACETS through the Google Play Store: http://bit.ly/FACETS.

Commercial District by Ernest Concepcion
Jeannie Javelosa, curator of Yuchengco Museum, shared, “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?” Watch this one: 

Number 44 by Jason Montinola

Relative Realities is powered by Samsung’s Ultra High Definition Smart TVs and tablets along with FACETS which uses augmented reality technology to create new museum experiences. Relative Realities is now on view at Yuchengco Museum from August 7 to September 8, 2014. See all the other cool artworks there by scheduling a visit soon!

Autoretrato by Ambie Abano
After this month-long exhibit, the artworks highlighted in Relative Realities as well as select pieces from the Yuchengco Museum Collection will be incorporated into the new Samsung Digital Gallery at the museum’s third floor. This space will offer visitors an opportunity to create new human experiences where they can interact and learn more about the artworks displayed there. The Samsung Digital Gallery is due to open to the public in September 2014.


The Yuchengco Museum is located at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (632) 889-1234 or visit www.yuchengcomuseum.org.


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