Art Authority for iPad
By Open Door Networks, Inc.
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Description
"Best iPad Reference App of 2011" - App Store editorial team. Art Authority for iPad transports you to an enthralling, real-world art museum filled with works by over 1,000 of the western world's greatest artists, from ancient times to today. 55,000 paintings and sculptures, organized into eight period-specific rooms, each room a gateway to a whole museum's worth of art. Choose an artist by movement or name, and become instantly immersed in an exhibition devoted just to that artist. Search for and compare different artists' works by title, subject or location, or just wander at random and get lost in the art.
"An experience unlike any other" -- The NY Times. Art Authority's works are beautifully framed and hung on textured walls, accompanied by title, date and other details. Works are displayed chronologically, with previews of related items providing added context. You can learn about an artist's life and works, or travel beyond the bounds of a traditional museum and view and compare works in a full-screen slideshow or scrolling thumbnail display. You can even view exhibits of works similar to any work you like.
"Visually dazzling" -- MacObserver. There are also period overviews, timelines and histories. From the earliest creative pieces to the latest modern and contemporary works, Art Authority provides a stunningly displayed, carefully selected, well organized view of the western art world. It's part world-class art museum, part academic reference library and part digital coffee-table book. It's also part magic. An art musem like no other!
Art Authority features include:
- Access to 10GB worth of art optimized for quality and download speed through our servers (works still under copyright come from authorized servers)
- Early, Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, Modern, Contemporary and American rooms
- Dozens of artists per room, listed by movement or nationality
- Period overviews, timelines and histories
- A searchable index of all 1000+ artists, as well as for each room
- Searchable indexes of major titles, subjects and locations
- Art Like This: view works similar to the one you're looking at
- Art Near Me: search for art based on your location
- Continuous shuffle through all art or by period
- Captions with work title, date, location and other details
- Hyperlinks provide access to in-depth information on artists, major works and locations
- Full-screen slideshow display, with user-settable transitions, Ken Burns motion effect, music
- Gallery-like, scrolling thumbnail view shows how works have evolved over time, aids in comparisons and exploration
- Offline access to works previously viewed
- Save works to Favorites or the Photos app; use them in the digital picture frame and home screen wallpaper; tweet them
- VGA output for large-screen display
Also available for iPhone and Macintosh.
What's New in Version 4.5
- View works similar to the one you're looking at through "Art Like This"
- Tweet any work (iOS 5)
- Search the thumbnail grid to display only certain works, for instance by title
- Improved popovers that display artist, work and location information and maps
iPad Screenshots
Customer Reviews
Decent
Since its art, and everyone's a critic, I'm sure opinions will be all over the map about this app. "Why didn't they include this or that?" etc.
I went to art school in the late 1980s and had to suffer through the tedium of slides of paintings in a lecture hall. I'm now a designer, an art enthusiast and still go to life drawing sessions. So I've been around the block on this subject.
I'd say this app is worth the money. It uses Wikipedia a lot by accessing the Internet for various things. So it's not all inclusive, but it seems that is a good solution for what they are doing.
No it doesn't have every painting ever made, but it is a decent collection presented in a friendly, easy to browse manner. If you like art, you'll probably enjoy this app.
References from Wikipedia?...
Ok this is supposed to be an educational virtual museum and all "details" they provide for paintings are from the not-so-trusty source of good old Wikipedia. I was expecting at least an expertly written and verified sentence or two explaining context and giving insight into the paintings. Worse some paintings ( I'm assuming those too obscure for a wiki reference?) don't even have any info at all. This is slightly useful in that it organizes art into user friendly categories and has introduced me to new paintings, but when I go to a museum (and spend $5) I expect to actually gain some deeper insight into the works. Especially since aside from say modern art, it is extremely common for cultural and historical context to come into play. It is super unfortunate because this app has huge potential, just sad to see they took short cuts and the easy way out instead of creating something truly extraordinary.
Good Pictures but BAD References
I love how I can view so many pieces of art by period in one place. The problem I have with this app is that when you click to find out about something it directs you to Wikipedia. I could have gone to this reference (which is not the most reliable source) myself and not paid the $5. Even the timeline is a screen shot from somewhere else. They need to reference a more reliable source or come up with their own researched content. Had they done that I would have given this app 5 stars.
- $9.99
- Category: Reference
- Updated: Dec 07, 2011
- Version: 4.5
- Size: 61.6 MB
- Language: English
- Seller: Open Door Networks, Inc.
- © 2008-11 Open Door Networks, Inc. and Project A, Inc.
Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 3.2 or later
