New York –
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
to discuss participation in setting up the Samsung SM’ART
electronic galleries.
