I’ve been thinking about writing about this very cool app for a couple of weeks… Until I learnt recently that it has been BANNED in App store!!
And now I want to tell you about it even more :)
This time it’s the app that I have been using myself for several months - Magnus.
As you might have guessed from the heading, the idea is that you can search the artworks with their image pretty much like you are searching for the songs in Shazam.
But what’s that special about this app, that the whole market got so upset about it??
It might not even be clear from the first sight as to why you may need this app at all - the information about the artwork is usually available in the place where you are seeing it. Being it the museum or the private gallery, they are always willing to provide you with the artist’s name and some background behind the painting.
The fun comes here - the app creator Magnus Resch introduced the prices of the artworks into the app.
Let me include his picture here, as apart from creating this cool app, he is also very handsome:)
“We believe that transparency is good for the art world. Magnus will help it to grow, both by attracting new collectors and by giving existing buyers a tool at their fingertips to enjoy art even more.”
And here where comes the trouble - the art world is VERY non-transparent by its nature. I can’t name any other legal market where you can hardly get any data about the pricing and parties involved in the transactions.
Obviously, the galleries, who are keen about keeping the prices secret, are mad about it…
So here’s how the app works - you scan the artwork and it gives you the data about its latest auction prices.
Let me show you an example. I am a fan of Alex Katz’s paintings, I spot them at every art fair or exhibition. I am dreaming to purchase one for myself one day, but with the help of the Magnus app I know this will not happen too soon:)
And I believe it’s very curious even if you are just slightly interested in art!
Imagine looking at some two-colors geometric canvas in a museum and knowing in a second that it was auctioned couple of years ago for a 7-digit number (like this Barnett Newman for $43.8m in 2013)?
Wouldn’t it be more fun for you to explore arts that way?
I am sure it will, but probably not very soon (unless you already have Magnus installed). Three galleries have filed suits against Magnus for unauthorized usage of their images… And the app is removed from the App Store.
Here is the tweet of the app’s founder
I hope it comes back.
Have a great day, Steemers! And love art :)