Jeff Koons and Snapchat Partner in Augmented Reality Project

 

Thanks to the magic of augmented reality, American contemporary artist Jeff Koons has artwork simultaneously on show in Central Park, on the Champs de Mars in Paris and along L.A.’s own Venice Boardwalk. The new augmented reality art installation invites Snapchat app users to discover Koon’s most iconic works, like “Rabbit” and “Balloon Dog,” at beloved landmarks in nine cities across the globe: New York; Paris; London; Toronto; Sydney; Chicago; Rio de Janeiro; Washington, D.C.; and Venice, California. 

Artwork All Around You

The collaboration, aptly titled Artwork All Around You, allows Snapchat users to simply hold up their phone and instantly conjure digital images of Koons’ brilliantly colored steel works through the AR world lens, as long as they’re within 300 yards of the location. The much-anticipated rollout of art installations is reminiscent of Snapchat’s game-changing launch of Spectacles last year, with vending machines magically popping up all over the world and trackable via a website. The world will have to wait and watch to see how the artwork will materialize in the real world. Some articles have theorized that digital works designed by Koons appear in real-life locations, geo-locked to the user's location, similar to the AR mobile game craze Pokémon Go.

The Artist's Muse

Koons, known for working with pop objects, is a self-proclaimed Snapchat fan. When his balloon animal-inspired "Balloon Dog" earned a record-breaking $58.4 million four years ago, the artist posted a celebratory selfie on Snapchat. “I think technology has informed us so much, it’s let us appreciate other works of art,” he told I-D this year. I think it’s wonderful that people can, you know, pick up a phone and feel the freedom of—like Snapchat—making something that is aesthetically and emotionally pleasing, and fun, and to just feel that experience." This season, discover Koons’ innovative digital installations sprinkled across the globe and experience them for yourself, and anticipate more artistic collaborations on the horizon for Snapchat.