Art for Aggregators’ Sake
On November 11, 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that some of the biggest names in technology, media and fine art are coming together to support Art.sy, a Pandora Radio-type aggregator which will recommend art to users based on their “tastes.” Among the supporters and advisors to Art.sy are art collector Wendy Murdoch (wife of Rupert), art dealer Larry Gagosian, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In an interview with Motherboard.tv, Art.sy founder Carter Cleveland stated, “We want to get people… wean them off the teat of mass production and mass consumption, back to a point where we used to be, which is appreciating original real fine art. And if you’re buying this art, you’re actually supporting a real person, you know like, a starving artist, someone who’s struggling to have a successful career.”
Wean them off the teat of mass producton? I have an intense aversion to Art.sy before it even goes live, and to existing art aggregators like www.artfacts.net, a site which ranks artists on a point system by their exhibitions and sales. This post continues on my Glasstire blog, We Have The Technology.
A precursor to Art.sy, the art aggregator Artfacts reads like NASDAQ
[...] Grover is turned off by Art.sy and ArtFacts, which will suggests art to people based on prior favorite artworks. Sounds odd to me, [...]