Electric Objects Lets You Display Digital Art in Analog Ways
Here’s one thing we suppose could be said about the Internet: There’s a lot of crap on it, and we’re always working to filter that from our digital lives with apps and inbox cleaners and extensions on our many browser windows. But if you’re like us, you know that there’s a lot of beauty out there on the web that we would rather look at for longer than the 20 seconds it pops up on our screens. And if you’re Electric Objects, you have found a way to bring all that good stuff beyond the screen and into our real lives. And we’re not talking about printing out Instagrams on pillows.
Their product is simple, but we bet it’ll make you “oo” and “ahh” anyway. Electric Objects is the NYC-based startup that will change the way we collect and display art (online and IRL) with a new device that will soon be the favorite screen you look at all day. As they put it, there’s more art on the web than there is hanging in museums and galleries and college dorm rooms, so they designed a computer that will frame your favorite pieces and mount them on your wall.
Celebrating the wave of art-meets-tech that has washed across the web in the last couple decades, Electric Objects will feature artists in residence and an open API and community to inspire developers and designers alike to make original collections for your EO1.
Even with 1,000+ reposts and a few hundred favorites, that gorgeous specimen of graphic design, your latest masterpiece or a favorite work of old school art is still trapped behind your screen on Tumblr and Twitter. Electric Objects’ EO1 will let you actually share your favorites on the walls, mantels and shelves in your home or workspace, all while using up about the same amount of energy as a light bulb.
They will curate collections from artists, creatives, photographers, museums, libraries and media organizations. You will even be able to upload anything you want — from your own art on down to a goofy GIF. You know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, art is subjective and all…
This means it’s time to dust off the design skills that have taken a backburner to your busy life. Don’t wait for the gallery showing that may or may not be on the schedule, EO could inspire you to approach your art in a new way or give your work a techy twist and a new life. Their native apps (available on web, Android and iOS at launch) will give the EO community options to “collect,” “display” and “follow” different organizations, art and artists. One of those could be you.
Electric Objects is currently campaigning on Kickstarter, and it’s safe to say the future of art is sometime next year, when their first EO1s are delivered to backers’ doorsteps. With over $300,000 raised, they have totally surpassed their original $25,000 goal with 27 days still left to go as I type. You can dib your own EO1 for $299 — retail will be $499 so get on that — or encourage your creative office to buy up a five pack. We’re already crafting our first Electric Objects collection in our head, and can’t wait to see what something like this inspires all those budding artists in our B + COmmunity to create.
What would you display in your EO1? Are you an artist, a collector or a little bit of both? Share below!