Acute Art announces the worldwide launch of a new type of artwork by KAWS, one of today’s most celebrated artists. His augmented reality (AR) works create new ways to own, trade, and live with art via the Acute Art app.
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In collaboration with Acute Art, KAWS has produced EXPANDED HOLIDAY, which will demonstrate the enormous potential of AR and convey a sense of mischievous humor through the juxtaposition of physical and virtual worlds.
This global launch consists of three components: a public exhibition and two editions.
COMPANION (EXPANDED), 12 monumental AR sculptures, forms a global public exhibition that will be made available for audiences in major cities and locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South America. Using cutting-edge technology, this project represents a new exhibition model that reduces transportation and travel for a global artworld. The exhibition will run for two weeks, from the 12th March until the 26th March.
COMPANION (EXPANDED), an edition of 25 AR sculptures (1.8 m), is available to acquire via the Acute Art website. Owners will be able to place, capture, and document these AR works at different locations using the Acute Art app. Owners can keep the AR sculptures private or make them publicly available for anyone who has downloaded the app.
AT THIS TIME (EXPANDED), an open edition, consists of AR sculptures (45 cm) in three colorways for time- based acquisition, available via the Acute Art app. Audiences can keep the sculptures for a limited time period and share their experiences through social media.
KAWS, artist, comments: “When I realized the quality that could be achieved and experienced in AR, I was immediately drawn to its potential. I have been creating objects and exhibiting works in public spaces throughout my career, and this allows me to expand on that in a whole new arena. The possibilities of locations and scale are endless, and I’m excited to start a new dialogue in this medium.”
Jacob De Geer, CEO, Acute Art comments: “Acute Art will revolutionize the way AR art can be experienced. KAWS, an artist with an unparalleled global fan base, is the perfect artist to launch the Acute Art app. His editions will demonstrate that works of art in virtual space can be just as precious and sought-after as those in our physical surroundings. In fact, they are even more exciting when shared with audiences across the globe on social media. For collectors, this means their art can travel with them in their pocket wherever they go. These prized artworks can be enjoyed and traded globally with the push of a button.”
Daniel Birnbaum, Artistic Director, Acute Art comments: “The emergence of a new medium always gives rise to new possibilities for art. Each epoch seems to have its key
artists in whose work a novel encounter between technology and artistic creativity crystalizes. Today’s immersive media create entirely new possibilities for the production and distribution of art and the arrival of AR can even be said to give rise to a new immaterial art form. With this project KAWS breaks new ground but also returns to his beginnings. With roots in public interventions as well as late emanations of Pop Art, KAWS has created new global audiences. There is no artist more talked about today than KAWS.”
Global public exhibition – COMPANION (EXPANDED)
12 monumental AR sculptures placed by KAWS in major cities and locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South America viewable through the Acute Art App for two weeks, from the 12th March to the 26th March 2020.
Location details of public sculptures:
Doha, (MIA Park – Museum of Islamic Art)
Hong Kong (Observation Wheel)
London (Millennium Bridge)
Melbourne (National Gallery of Victoria)
New York (Brooklyn Museum)
New York (Times Square)
Paris (The Louvre Pyramid)
Sao Paulo (Ibirapuera Park)
Seoul (Dongdaemun Design Plaza)
Taipei (National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall)
Tanzania (Serengeti National Park)
Tokyo (Shibuya Crossing)
Edition of 25 – COMPANION (EXPANDED)
A unique edition of 25 AR sculptures, placed in various locations by KAWS, are available for $10,000 via the Acute Art website. The buyer can resell the edition. The resale price will be determined by the seller. A commission 30% will be charged on the resale of work, split equally between the seller and buyer. The seller will pay a 15% commission on their determined sale price and the buyer will pay 15% commission on the price paid.
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Open Edition – AT THIS TIME (EXPANDED)
An open edition consisting of three different AR sculptures for time-based acquisition will be available.