Samsung, Planar Get SM'ART

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 9/28/2011

New York - Samsung Electronics said this week that it is exploring alternatives for artists to display their work electronically in homes and executive offices. 

In that spirit, the company is teaming up with commercial display resource Planar, which also owns high-end home theater resource Runco, to develop two prototype displays using Samsung's SM'ART Gallery Panels, to gauge potential demand.

"The Samsung SM'ART Gallery Panels will enable art buyers to transform a room of virtually any size into an easy-to-customize electronic gallery with any number of art pieces," said Scott Birnbaum, Samsung Semiconductor new business development VP. 

The concept will make practical conveying new or well-recognized art electronically through framed LCD art screens in millions of locations, Birnbaum said. New digital canvases would be initially targeted to fine art connoisseurs, both institutional and individual collectors, he added. 

Through a cloud-based art selection, buyers could customize and refine their personalized art collection to cater to individual tastes and aspect ratio requirements, Samsung said.

Buyers could initially view the works of art through a handheld device, such as a Samsung Galaxy Tab or iPad, for quicker browsing.

Samsung said the technology would be helpful in bringing virtually unknown artists to public attention and for established artists to expand their base of appreciators.

The Samsung/Planar displays could be used in home or commercial applications to electronically change a piece of art to better suit the mood of special events, important occasions or guests, at the owner's discretion, Samsung said.

The aspect ratio and orientation of the display can vary - from portrait to landscape.

For the prototypes, two sizes were developed: 21.9 inches by 33.9 inches offering a 1:1.5 aspect ratio (portrait), and 48 by 27 inches tall offering a 16:9 aspect ratio (landscape).

 "The possibilities for high-resolution LCD art displays are endless, providing an unrivaled medium for artistic appreciation," said Jennifer Davis, Planar marketing VP. She added, "Planar and Samsung Electronics share a vision of a new era in art distribution that could eventually give every collector a chance to display beautiful and changing fine art on a digital canvas designed expressly for this purpose. Our technology demonstration illustrates principles that will make our offering the artist's choice for digital canvases."

Although the concept electronic art presentation has been tried before as a feature in some high-end TVs, Samsung believes inadequate art selection and displays primarily designed for television programming limited its appeal.

The focus of this partnership with Planar develops a technology platform that puts the art first, providing the best possible showcase for licensed fine art.

Referring to the new display concept as a Samsung SM'ART electronic gallery, Birnbaum said the digital approach could expand the creative boundaries of artistic expression on a grand scale.

Samsung suggested that display technology could also lead to a new genre of art that moves, that changes based on the viewer's mood or the time of day, and interactive art that reacts to movement.

Birnbaum is asking interested art organizations to contact him at SMART@ssi.samsung.com to discuss participation in setting up the Samsung SM'ART electronic galleries.