Art.com Introduces artCircles™ for iPad -- an Epic Journey Through the World's Largest Art Collection Curated by Creative Thinkers and Inspired by Words and Colors

EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Art.com, Inc., providing modern, easy access to the world's largest selection of hand-picked art images, today introduced artCircles^™, a new, free app for iPad. artCircles takes you on a journey of discovery through the world's most inspiring art collection seen through the eyes of various curators, including designer, Yves Behar; technology innovator, Michael Hawley; president of Rhode Island School of Design, John Maeda; community organizer, Yosi Sergant; Pianist, Eric Lewis (ELEW); National Geographic explorer, Elizabeth Lindsey; and children's book author, Leslie McGuirk, among others. You can also view art works inspired by 20 different words and colors from quirky to ethereal and cyan to coquelicot.  

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55161-art-com-new-ipad-app-art-collect-artcircles-itunes-image-inspire-color

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120313/MM69202 )

"From Van Gogh to Rothko, every spin of the wheel on artCircles reveals something unexpected. By presenting our collection of more than 1 million works of art in a truly new way--through the eyes of this eclectic and creative group of curators or inspired by a word or color--we want to help people find the art they love," said Geoffroy Martin, CEO of Art.com, Inc.     

To bring artCircles to life off the iPad, Art.com enlisted the help of award-winning creative agency Mekanism to produce the short film, "From Van Gogh to Rothko in 30 Seconds." A work of art in and of itself, the director, Michael Langan, essentially curated his own collection, creating a stunning visual thread of art images like you've never seen them before.

"I was floored when I realized we'd have access to the entire Art.com image collection of more than 1 million works of art to create the film," said director Langan. "The project became something more--possibly even culturally significant--because for the first time ever, people would see animation emerge from artworks they've known all their lives. Van Gogh's self-portraits morph into Audrey Hepburn; Hokusai's famous wave crashes over the bathing nudes of Degas, Renoir and Gauguin; the moon flies out of a bevy of definitive abstract paintings to explode in a shower of Jackson Pollocks and melt into Rothkos," Langan added. 

Because the art you love is a personal expression of you, artCircles lets you tag art images as favorites, create your own collection and share it with your social networks. You can also view images inspired by a word or color, frame selections and even view them in your own space by holding the iPad in front of your wall.  Once you've found the perfect piece of art for your space, you can purchase it directly from the iPad.

Created with San Francisco interactive agency, Hot Studio, artCircles leverages the iPad's incredible design and vivid screen resolution, showcasing classic, current and little-known art images in bold, beautiful colors as well as crisp black and white. artCircles is compatible with the iPad and iPad2.

Take a spin at www.art.com/artcircles or download now from the app store.

About Art.com, Inc.

Art.com, Inc. is the world's leading online specialty provider of wall art. The company was founded in 1998 with one goal - to make art accessible to all by transforming the way the world discovers, personalizes, shares and purchases art. From Basquiat to Van Gogh and every style in between, the site's sophisticated visual search tools make it fun and easy to explore Art.com's vast collection of more than one million works. Art.com, Inc. runs three sites in the USA-Art.com, AllPosters.com, and ArtistRising.com - and has a strong international presence with 25 local sites in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico, and South America.

Art.com, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Emeryville, CA, with other facilities in Ohio, North Carolina and the Netherlands. "Art.com" and "artCircles" are trademarks of Art.com, Inc. For more information, visit www.art.com.

About Mekanism

Mekanism is an award-winning, full service creative agency. We sprinkle our love of storytelling across integrated advertising, brand entertainment and social media development programs to inspire measurable brand loyalty and drive sales. Mekanism is an independent company headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York. For more information visit www.mekanism.com.

SOURCE Art.com, Inc.