So you love art and you have access to over 775,000 apps in the App Store. Where to start?
Every so often, Installation will help you traverse the rocky digital terrain by highlighting our favorite Apps: from breaking news in art and culture to Apps that are just plain gorgeous. This week, we started thinking about collecting: how can the contemporary collector use digital media? We bring you four apps that explore collection from different angles: Artfinder helps collectors track down and purchase the right work; Wondereur offers an intimate glimpse into artists’ studios; Samara features a digital collection of creative inspiration; (s)edition brings collecting to you, offering digital versions of blue chip, watermarked art to be cherished and passed down.
Artfinder
iPhone
Free
Online-based art auction and sale sites are blooming with incredible offerings. Featuring artists intimidated or ignored by the big guys, Artfinder is one of the first of its kind with an iPhone app. It focuses on curation and collection of specific styles, themes and mediums and maintains an eclectic aesthetic. The art is high quality and ranges from $100 and up.
Wondereur
iPad / Web
Free
Immediately attractive with clean design and a strong focus on singular imagery, Wondereur is a free weekly feature. The app offers the user a chance to wander alongside the artist in their studio and their neighborhood. Each artist is endorsed by another and photographed in a voyeuristic way. The app offers exclusive prints for sale.
Samara
iPad
Free
Samara is a one-of-a-kind, interactive collection of creative inspiration, games, challenges and collaboration with the likes of Maison Martin Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, Raf Simons and others. It offers insight into the creative process and brings the user a new kind of collecting experience. It may be a bit enigmatic, but the experience is mesmerizing.
(s)edition
iPhone / iPad / Web
Free
Owning the work of a world-renowned artist at the going market rate is a dream that only museums, their benefactors, and supporting collectors may realize. (s)edition for iPhone, iPad and web offers limited edition digital collection to people who want big names on a budget. This controversial app offers users the opportunity to collect still images and videos from artists like Tracy Emin, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono and Bill Viola. Digitally watermarked, numbered and delivered with a signed certificate of authenticity, these digital works can be resold or passed down to the next generation, (assuming our future technology is compatible, of course.)