It’s OK to Photograph This Art

Whenever you're in a traditional art gallery, reaching for your camera can result in serious pangs of guilt. You know it's wrong, but you just want to take a little memento home with you. Next thing you know, the security guard is hauling you out the door by the collar and your photograph appears in the gallery blacklist.

Well, it's not always that bad. But Canadian artists Brad Blucher and Kyle Clements aren't fans of the taboo against taking photos of artworks. Their project Take a Picture seeks to change the way audiences interact with art. Blank canvases on the surface, the artworks use a series of LED lights to create simple images invisible to the human eye. The paintings can only be unlocked for the viewer when photographed by a digital camera device.

The artists explain that the series "explores the relationship between the ubiquity of digital cameras and social media, which encourages all aspects of daily life to be documented and shared, and the culture of art museums and galleries, which strictly prohibits photographing works of art."

https://youtube.com/watch?v=810DLIu0uBg

[Via PSFK]