5,000 Free Limited Edition Artworks To Celebrate Trafalgar Square Sculpture Unveiling

LONDON, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The tradition of viewing art is set to be transformed with today's launch of radical interactive content to accompany the new commission by Elmgreen and Dragset for the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square.  In collaboration with s[edition], the leading digital platform for collecting contemporary art, the Scandinavian artistic duo invites visitors to experience the sculpture in the virtual world using augmented reality.

For the first time, visitors can further engage with the Fourth Plinth commission, which is funded by the Mayor of London with support from Arts Council England. They will be able to access exclusive content via the s[edition] iPhone app, powered by Aurasma, the world's leading augmented reality platform, and using the Aurasma app for smartphones. When devices are pointed at the sculpture's plaque, users will receive a three-dimensional rendering of the sculpture, along with unique footage of Elmgreen & Dragset presenting their work.

The artists have also collaborated with s[edition] to create a digital limited edition artwork celebrating the commissioned sculpture. Designed to be viewed on digital devices from iPhones to televisions, the limited edition features a unique digital rendition of the bronze sculpture on the plinth. To commemorate the unveiling, s[edition] will offer members of the public the chance to own one of 5,000 limited editions, worth pounds Sterling 35 each, for free before 5pm GMT on Friday 24 February 2012.  The editions are limited to one per person and can be accessed via the s[edition] website: www.seditionart.com/elmgreen_and_dragset/powerless_structures

Michael Elmgreen said: "The internet has created possibilities for experiencing artworks in a totally different way. You do not need to be there in a physical sense at the location to actually get an impression of the work. So it broadens the possibilities to reach other audiences apart from the people in Trafalgar Square."

Ingar Dragset stated: "When we developed the sculpture itself in a 3D format, we used the computer as well as a tool. It is a big part of most artists' working process. What you see with our s[edition] limited edition is the computer manipulated sculpture turning around, with the blue sky in the background, and it loops endlessly."

Robert Norton, co-founder and CEO of s[edition], said: "It is thrilling to be partnered with Elmgreen & Dragset and Aurasma on such a groundbreaking initiative.  This is the first time we have seen major artists  bring the physical and virtual worlds together using augmented reality powered by Aurasma, and we believe it will pave the way for the future."

Martina King, Managing Director of Aurasma, said: "This ground breaking collaboration with s[edition] brings digital art to 3D life, augmented into the real world.  People will be able to use the simple tools in the app to add a 3D model of the artwork to their homes, offices gardens – even the street.  We're delighted to see Aurasma's unique technology being used to change the way people see and interact with art using their mobile devices."   

Commissioned by the Mayor of London and supported by the Arts Council England, Elmgreen & Dragset's new sculpture for the Fourth Plinth was unveiled on 23 February 2012 in Trafalgar Square, London. Entitled Powerless Structures, Fig 101, the artwork features a 4.1m high golden bronze sculpture portraying a boy on a rocking horse with his right arm thrust high in the air. Powerless Structures, Fig.101 is supported by AlixPartners with Louis Vuitton.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "The year that we host the greatest show on earth is an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate London's status as a globally renowned cultural capital. Elmgreen & Dragset have created a gleaming sculpture for the Fourth Plinth, which will be a high profile attraction during a summer like no other - with its nod to equestrianism I hope it augers well for medal glory at the 2012 Games!"

Available for iPhone and Android smartphones, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition technology to seamlessly blend the real world with interactive digital content called "Auras".  Auras can be created for images, objects and physical places. Users can even use the simple tools in the app to create and add their own Auras to the world. A 3D version of Powerless Structures, Fig 101 will be available on the Aurasma platform for users to place into the real world, view and share.

www.seditionart.com

www.fourthplinth.co.uk

PRESS ENQUIRIES

s[edition]: Grace MacRae, s[edition], +44 203 468 9773 / [email protected]

Aurasma: For further information of visuals, please contact the Aurasma team at Mischief PR on 0203 128 6600 or [email protected]

Fourth Plinth: Phoebe Moore, Bolton & Quinn +44 207 221 5000 / [email protected]

To download press images, including images that trigger interactive content, please visit: https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1384680400/9b4892e8d362ffca1bf14892021de3f1

To embed an internet-ready video clip of Elmgreen & Dragset please visit: http://vimeo.com/37142494

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Artists Biography

Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, based in Berlin and London, have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. They have held numerous solo exhibitions in art institutions worldwide, including Serpentine Gallery and Tate Modern in London, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, ZKM Museum of Modern Art in Karlsruhe, The Power Plant in Toronto, MUSAC in Leon, and Kunsthalle Zurich. Their work has been included in the Berlin, Sao Paulo, Gwangju, Moscow, Singapore and Istanbul biennials, and in 2009 they received a special mention for their exhibition "The Collectors" in The Nordic and Danish Pavilions at the 53rd Venice Biennale. Amongst their most well known works are "Prada Marfa" – a full scale replica of a Prada boutique in the middle of the Texan desert, and "Short Cut" – a car and a caravan breaking through the ground which was first shown in Milan and now resides in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. A major exhibition is planned at the Victoria and Albert Museum for Autumn 2013.

s[edition]

s[edition] is the leading digital platform for collecting contemporary art, bringing digital limited edition artworks by the world's leading artists to mobile phones, iPads, computers and television screens. s[edition] offers everyone an immediate, fun and social way to experience collecting, at affordable prices from $8 to $800 (pounds Sterling 5 to pounds Sterling 500). The platform allows users to follow artists, browse and acquire works, download them to digital devices and screens, send editions as gifts to friends, and start their own collections. Artists featured include Mat Collishaw, Michael Craig-Martin, Elmgreen & Dragset, Tracey Emin, Shepard Fairey, Damien Hirst, Isaac Julien, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Bill Viola and Wim Wenders. 

www.seditionart.com

Aurasma

Aurasma is the world's first visual browser – a new platform technology that merges the physical world with the virtual. Available as a free app for iPhone3G, 4 and 4S, iPad2 and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for app developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to recognise and understand real-world images and objects in much in way the human brain does. It then seamlessly blends the real-world with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called "Auras". Auras can be created for printed images, product packaging, clothing, physical places and users can even use the app to create and share their own.

Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has had more than three million downloads. Over 2,500 partners in more than 70 countries worldwide are using the free technology in their campaigns or embedding the technology in their own applications, including global brands such as Panasonic, Mazda, Virgin Atlantic, Sky, BMW, Procter & Gamble, NET-A-PORTER, BBC Worldwide, Hyundai, UniCredit and Universal Pictures. Aurasma was developed by software company Autonomy – an HP Company.

www.aurasma.com

The Fourth Plinth Programme

The Fourth Plinth Programme is funded by the Mayor of London with support from Arts Council England and sees new artworks being selected for the vacant plinth in a rolling programme of new commissions. The scheme was initiated in 1998 by the RSA with the support of the Cass Sculpture Foundation. In 1999 responsibility for Trafalgar Square was transferred to the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority. The scheme is led by the Mayor's Culture Team, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group (FPCG). The FPCG recommends contemporary works for the Fourth Plinth. The first commission under the FPCG was Marc Quinn's sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant, unveiled in a public ceremony in September 2005. It was followed by Thomas Schütte's Model for a Hotel in 2007 and by Antony Gormley's One & Other in 2009.  Yinka Shonibare's sculpture Nelson's Ship in a Bottle is currently on the plinth and will remain there until the end of January. In November 2011 The Art Fund and the National Maritime Museum launched a public appeal to give Yinka Shonibare MBE's commission a permanent home at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Katharina Fritsch's commission Hahn / Cock, will follow that by Elmgreen & Dragset and will be unveiled in 2013. Previous commissions have been Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger (1999), Regardless of History by Bill Woodrow (2000) and Monument by Rachel Whiteread (2001). Arts Council England has been a funding partner supporting the programme since 2003. A key element of the Fourth Plinth Programme is to involve the public in debate about contemporary art in our public spaces. This includes: exhibitions, conferences and talks including a community & education programme.

www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth

SOURCE Aurasma