Hey art girl, we’re sure you’re missing the gallery right now. While it seems like years since we were able to enjoy (and complain about) museums, art fairs and galleries, we are all yearning to get back to normal. In the meantime, many great initiatives have brought the gallery space online. And while we commend the art world’s jump from IRL to digital, we cannot bear to enter yet another online viewing room. But, we hear you cry, how else are we supposed to enjoy art during these strange times? Well my friends, we have a few ideas…
In Your Car
Yep, that’s right, your car just entered the exhibition! If you’re lucky enough to own a car, and are able to drive to Toronto, you can cruise through an immersive Van Gogh experience. Gogh By Car is taking place between June 18 and 28 at 1 Yonge Street and comprises 600,000 cubic feet of animated projections. We’re hoping this thing rolls out worldwide…
By Playing Video Games
It seems that 2020 is the year that the art world fully embraced gaming, Animal Crossing to be precise. Artist Shing Yin Khor used the game to recreate works by Marina Abramovic and Christo. While other users are creating their own art galleries with works by the likes of Van Gogh, Manet and Cezanne all appearing online. Museums took note and hopped on board, with LA’s Getty Museum creating an Animal Crossing Art Generator tool where you can transform museum collections into patterns for the game. There is even a hashtag you can follow too: #acartgenerator. And taking it one step even further, Nichole Shinn curated her own Animal Crossing exhibition, with over 20 artists taking part.
And get this, the Animal Crossing game itself also has an arty dimension. The latest edition of the game – New Horizons – requires gamers to sniff out art world forgeries. A fox called Redd presents players with very real-looking (but mostly fake) works of art by everyone from Michelangelo to Leonardo da Vinci. It’s the user’s job to decipher real from fake, with the genuine artworks going to an owl (what else?!), who will curate them into a museum. Examples of fakes include a figure in Las Meninas with an arm that is lifted slightly too high, and a Mona Lisa with raised eyebrows. This is basically a video game that is good for your art history knowledge!
By Listening To It
No matter how you choose to get your arty fix during this time, nothing is ever going to compare to seeing it in person. So how about listening to it instead? No, we don’t mean putting your ear to an artwork! But how about listening to a podcast? It seems like a new art-inspired podcast is dropping everyday, and there are many that focus on women in the art world like The Great Women Artists, Gallery Girl and Bow Down.
By Downloading An AR Artwork
The art world has been trying to make augmented and virtual reality a thing for a while with varying success. But with everyone stuck indoors, we’ve been open to trying new things. As an extra added bonus, downloading an artwork is MUCH cheaper than purchasing the real thing. Artists including Olafur Eliasson, KAWS and Damien Hirst have all embraced technology recently, so we think you should too!
By Making It Yourself!
Sure, looking at art is one way to get your fill of culture, but have you ever stopped for a moment to get your own creative juices flowing? Now that we’re all being advised to stay indoors, you have the perfect opportunity to start experimenting with paints and colours. Who knows, you might be the next Frida Kahlo!
Text Lizzy Vartanian
