Digital Art Archives

All About Digital Canvases

Our articles on digital canvases and video walls provide a comprehensive guide to the emerging category of digital art in the home

ART

your home is your canvas

emerging technology is going beyond just making homes smart to making them expressive

“Everchanging sound and image installations are particularly appealing to those who collect interactive fine art. Modern collections are anything but static. Anyone with a serious NFT collection will attest that they need new ways of displaying artwork. And excitement is just beginning to build around burgeoning artists who work in emerging media, designing original pieces with generative audio and visual elements that constantly change and reflect the dynamic elements of the modern home.” read more

bringing the gallery home

museums and galleries have a lot to teach about the best ways to display digital canvases in home environments

“What is it about looking at fine art that creates a moment of pause instead of merely lulling you into a soporific state? We probably can’t answer that question in this brief piece of writing, but we can address how fine art is typically displayed in galleries. And we can examine how we might make sure these new digital works get the same treatment as the other “static” pieces of art in our homes.” read more

natural wonder

artist Akiko Yamashita discusses the process of translating her large-scale video works from public exhibition to satisfying display at home

“It wasn’t until I encountered Akiko Yamashita’s artwork that I sensed a new kind of intangible spark that leaps from a creation to the person experiencing it. Her large-scale interactive animations, 3D immersions, and light installations invite people to move and create something more entrancing together. The work is interactive in a way that goes beyond technical wizardry. It’s not just cool, it’s more human.” read more

enriching the artist’s digital palette

Barco’s Tim Sinnaeve says artist Akiko Yamashita’s recent comments show that the creative community is beginning to embrace the potential of digital canvases

“Knowing that there are specialized integrators who have established themselves as curators of digital canvases and that there is a mechanism to ensure that the artist’s intentions are honored is something everybody can feel good about. It’s very encouraging to see both artists and collectors starting to pick up on this and to see the increasing enthusiasm for digital canvases in the home.” read more

bringing the gallery home

destinations | artechouse

these tech-meets-art spaces are a must-see (and hear) for anyone eager to experience the leading edge of digital art

“Artechouse is the house that digital art and tech built. If you’ve heard a lot about digital art but have been so far unimpressed by jokey jpgs and trending crypto disasters, try the these New York, Washington, and Miami-based galleries for a really moving view of the newest fine art.” read more

a garden of immersive delights

Ed Gilmore’s midtown Manhattan showroom offers a both thrilling and soothing escape for the senses

“Certain spaces are more memorable because of what they make you forget. That’s how it feels to walk into one of Manhattan’s unforgettable high-end residential-technology hideaways, Gilmore’s Sound Advice. As I stepped into this sensorially refined environment, I forgot my crazy commute and instantly remembered why the showroom is the scene of so much great conversation and innovation.” read more

bringing the gallery home

VIDEO WALLS

video walls go boutique

video walls from the mainstream brands remain a big investment, but that doesn’t mean they’ve worked out all the bugs yet

“LED walls will inevitably shed their training wheels and continue to improve as time goes on—although perhaps not as quickly as other residential video-display technologies. In the meantime, companies like Quantum will attempt to bridge the performance and reliability gaps with highly customized premium offerings like the Cinematic XDR.” read more

great video wall sound is here

an opportunity to audition a center-channel solution in his own home theater showed the author you can have a micro LED wall without compromising the sound

“To have a speaker system that can be optimized without compromise, allowing you to place a pure, strong sonic image exactly where you want it, is going to be a game-changer for creating high-quality sound to go with LED video walls. Given the potential of what I experienced with this system in my own theater, I am looking forward to calibrating the system in the Florida installation next month, which will allow me to take the Movement System from an experimental situation into a real-world home theater environment.” read more

making video walls better

Quantum Media Systems’ Ken Hoffman on what he’s doing to create video walls that live up to the technology’s potential

“It might seem odd to single out one provider of video walls as a luxury-focused solution when the entire category operates in the stratosphere of the high-end entertainment market. But Quantum Media Systems is quickly establishing itself as the go-to provider of video walls that stand out not merely in terms of sheer size but also image quality, reliability, scalability, and—believe it or not—comfort.” read more

great video wall sound—another solution

famed acoustical designer Anthony Grimani offers his unique approach to solving the problem of where to put the center speaker in a video-wall home theater

“The problem of how to design sound systems to support massive LED video walls is one that continues to motivate audio professionals working in the luxury home entertainment space. The fact is this is such a custom domain that it’s hard to imagine a one-size-fits-all panacea that provides optimal sound for every wall in every installation.” read more

million-dollar wall—hundred-dollar sound

video walls have become a big status thing—and an even bigger investment—but getting them to sound good isn’t as easy as you might think

“Video walls can often take up an entire wall but you don’t have the option of putting speakers behind them like you do with a projection screen. SH Acoustics’ Steve Haas has checked out many of the existing audio solutions for LED walls and found them all wanting. But realizing that video walls are quickly becoming the likely future of viewing in premium home entertainment spaces, he’s been more than motivated to try to determine who has the best approach and how it can be optimized.” read more

Bringing the Gallery Home

video | Refik Anadol, Melting Memories

Museums and galleries have a lot to teach about the best ways to display digital canvases in home environments

by Kirsten Nelson
November 22, 2022

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a room and see a bouquet of flowers? There’s a brief moment of surprise. Those aren’t usually there! It’s a new element in your roomscape, and it brings a quiet thrill.

Maybe it’s not flowers. Maybe it’s a new book, or a new bottle of Scotch, or a new arrangement of throw pillows. Something that you added, that you love, that’s a delight to contemplate, and it wasn’t there just the day before.

Now imagine that feeling amplified spectacularly in the most refined way possible. I’m not talking about fireworks or a parade. I’m talking about something that awakens the senses while also magically blending into your home in a way that makes each moment better. It combines the novelty of seeing something new with the soothing harmony we try to cultivate in our home.

That is what it’s like to add one of these new attention-grabbing digital canvases to your home. It’s an ambiance changer. It’s a scene-setter. And it’s dynamic, capable of constantly changing, so it will always feel new.

The phrase “digital canvas” is being thrown around a bit haphazardly these days. Anything that can help display digital art or the exotic works in your NFT collection is called a canvas. But in what seems like a limited interpretation of the possibilities presented by these new speculative realms of art—some of the works being generative, constantly changing in response to data inputs, movement, and the environment surrounding them—we seem to be hung up on

Kirsten Nelson, “Your Home is Your Canvas“

(2/11/22)
a look at how emerging technology is going beyond just making homes smart to making them expressive

video | Refik Anadol, Melting Memories

Tim Sinnaeve, “Enriching the Artist’s Digital Palette“

(8/19/22)
Barco Residential’s Managing Director on how artist Akiko Yamashita’s comments in “Natural Wonder” show that the creative community is beginning to embrace the potential of digital canvases

photo | Refik Anadol, Quantum Memories (Bitforms Gallery)

Natural Wonder

Destinations | Artechouse

rectangles. As in, we’re still hanging up the same old 16:9 panels and wondering why it feels like we’re only watching TV when in fact we’re looking at expensive works of art.

What is it about looking at fine art, anyway? Why does it create a moment of pause instead of merely lulling you into a soporific state? We probably can’t answer that question in this brief piece of writing, but we can address how fine art is typically displayed in galleries. And we can examine how we might make sure these new digital works get the same treatment as the other “static” pieces of art in our homes.

The Shape of Art to Come

To do that, first we need to get beyond the rectangle. How many oil paintings actually adhere to a 16:9 aspect ratio? And what about sculptures? Many of these new digital works have more in common with sculptures. They might be rendered in 3D, or in many cases their interactive elements make them feel more like an art installation than a print on a wall. That being the case, do we really want to lock them into the same tight frame we wrap around commercials and sports?

The makers of video technology see a future beyond the rectangle. Tim Sinnaeve, Managing Director of Barco Residential, is a passionate advocate of discovering new forms and means for displaying digital art in the home. “The whole idea of a 16:9 aspect ratio is very limiting when you’re talking about art,” he said. “And it’s a limitation that actually also negatively impacts the art world, and most importantly artistic freedom, because you get this self-fulfilling prophecy where the artist feels like they have to create their work in 16:9 because that will fit the screen it ends up on. Then on the other side, the thinking goes, ‘All the art that’s available is 16:9, so that’s why I’m using a 16:9 display or a TV.’”

If we want to get to a near future where we see more creative additions of these multi-faceted, multi-sensory works into our living spaces, we need to consider the experience you have in an art gallery. What elements help to elevate artwork? How can we ensure that a piece is displayed in a manner equivalent to its value?

The answer may vary, with options that include direct-view LED video walls or projection setups, but ultimately what we’re talking about is that suddenly ubiquitous “digital canvas.” It’s the surface that will determine whether an artwork looks like it was worth the investment.

“The canvas actually becomes part of the value, because it determines how the art looks, and how you experience it,” Sinnaeve said. “If you’re a serious collector, you need to work with professionals to make sure that the right digital canvas is selected.”

Once you’ve seen a major digital work on a proper LED screen or lighting up a wall with high-end video projection, there’s no going back. “Going from that level of depth and quality to seeing it on an 84-inch OLED TV is just night and day,” Sinnaeve said. “It’s between something that moves you and that you really would like to be a part of your life, compared to something that just doesn’t do it. And technically the work is the same.”

More than just a video technology decision, “it’s really about looking at it from an architectural and design perspective and considering where and how you want your digital canvas to create an experience,” Sinnaeve said. “The way you approach that shouldn’t be that different for digital art

Steve Haas, “Million-Dollar Wall, Hundred-Dollar Sound

(6/24/22)
Video walls have become a big status thing—and an even bigger investment—but getting them to sound good isn’t as easy as you might think

Touch displays like the ones already being used in museums will up open an unexplored world of educational and entertainment experiences for domestic settings

versus ‘traditional’ art, at least from a philosophical perspective. There are the fundamentals of displaying the work and then there are factors related to how the artist intended it to be seen as well.”

That’s where we get to the curator role that many custom residential technology integrators may soon be adding to their skillsets. Savvy installers will be able to work with artists to realize the artist’s vision while also presenting clients with a beautiful experience of digital fine art at home.

Setting the Scene

We need to also think about the environment surrounding these works. Start with the lighting. Just as you would think about properly lighting a physical work of art, work with a professional integrator who knows how to ensure your digital art is depicted in a manner befitting its merits rather than receding into the background because it just looks like a TV.

Many digital artworks also have a sonic element, and some of them are actually entirely audio-based. But even for visual-only pieces, it’s important to consider acoustics and sound as part of the experience. To get some insight into these invisible-but-essential factors, I spoke with Steve Haas, CEO and Principal Consultant with SH Acoustics.

Especially because digital art might be installed in large open spaces in homes, you should be sure there’s not a lot of cacophony created by reverberant reflections. Think about the enveloping hush of a gallery and how that adds a luxuriously contemplative level to the viewing experience. The addition of some properly designed acoustic control can help to deliver that effect at home. Also, if there is a sound component, you might want to acoustically isolate the room to prevent the creation of—or distractions from—disturbances elsewhere in the home.

You might consider using some of the high-tech directional speakers that can precisely aim where sound is traveling—the kind they’re using at compelling new immersive-experience emporiums like the Illuminarium in Atlanta and Las Vegas. These spaces go beyond the usual multi-surface video projection into full-scale aural choreography, which together will make you forget all about the outside world.

“Having rooms like that, filled with unique content that updates regularly, I could really see that happening,” Haas said. His work in museum experience design and in high-end residential media and acoustic design have combined to give Haas a unique vision for how we might reimagine our homes.

“I see having these elements that are interspersed throughout the house in a very purposeful, creative way that introduce video and soundscapes and all the other elements that make that experience fully immersive,” Haas said. “And sometimes, if it makes sense, potentially adding informative or educational content, which can also change, of course.”

Going beyond home theaters or media rooms, you might add dynamic digital artworks to corridors, atriums (direct-view LED walls are bright enough to handle high-brightness areas), foyers, great rooms, or anywhere you want to experience additional levels of engagement. In recreational spaces, there’s even more possibility, with full-scale video, sound, and lighting activations in personal nightclubs, bowling alleys, patios, pools, and more.

From there, Haas takes it one step further, returning to the idea of immersive exhibits found in museums. “Think about having custom-produced media from any of the top museum content producers,” he suggested.

“How can you create this hybrid, totally unique world in somebody’s home that might even have didactic meaning, historical content, or educational content for their kids or anyone else?” Haas asked. “Each of these thematic experiences can represent something important to the family’s lives, the same way a museum presents media or physical content that’s important to the institution’s mission.”

That might also address the “these kids today and their phones” challenge—though it’s hardly just the kids. Every generation is now compulsively interacting with screens and content on a regular basis. What if the home was similarly compelling with ever-changing atmospheric elements? Maybe then we could get more people to look up from their screens and enjoy living together.

Steve Haas’s firm, SH Acoustics, did the acoustic and audio design work for the Statue of Liberty Museum, which features the kinds of video displays and interactive technologies that could be creatively deployed in a home environment

Kirsten Nelson is a Brooklyn-based writer, speaker, event content producer, and podcast host who writes frequently for technology brands, integration firms, and experience design agencies. She was the editor of SCN magazine, and before that, co-launched Residential Systems. Kirsten is also a co-founder, editor, and writerly salon host of CreativeStack, a newsletter for the experience design community.

Enriching the Artist’s Digital Palette

Barco’s Tim Sinnaeve says artist Akiko Yamashita’s recent comments show that the creative community is beginning to embrace the potential of digital canvases

by Tim Sinnaeve
August 19, 2022

I was very happy to read Akiko Yamashita’s comments on digital art in Kirsten Nelson’s piece “Natural Wonder” since much of what she had to say reflects the vision I have been working to share over the past few years with clients, artists, architects, designers, and integrators to excite them about the possibilities for displaying new-media art on digital canvases in the home. Her comments are especially encouraging because they show that artists are beginning to embrace not just the vision but the more practical aspects of having their work properly presented. So, in the hope of furthering this important conversation, I welcome the opportunity to share my thoughts on some of Akiko’s observations.

an excerpt from Davide Quayola’s 28-minute video loop Pleasant Places (2015)

video | Davide Quayola, Bitforms Gallery

displaying new-media art on digital canvases in the home. Her comments are especially encouraging because they show that artists are beginning to embrace not just the vision but the more practical aspects of having their work properly presented. So, in the hope of furthering this important conversation, I welcome the opportunity to share my thoughts on some of Akiko’s observations.

above | in this interview from 2019, Tim discusses the opportunities and pitfalls of properly presenting digital art in a residential environment—an effort that is just now beginning to bear significant fruit

Natural Wonder

Destinations | Artechouse

Your Home is Your Canvas

A Garden of Immersive Delights

“I prefer as high resolution as possible, and smaller pixel pitch would be great. . . . But there are also artists that make great low-res installations. If I were to create artwork that was about seeing the pixels, I would be totally down to do super-low-pitch. It just has to be used intentionally.”

I have often said that artists shouldn’t feel compelled to use the highest-possible resolution but should be free to experiment, using things like lower resolution to help create texture in a work. The technology shouldn’t dictate the form of the artwork but instead needs to become a tool for the artist. This has always been the case in the creation of more traditional media like painting, but it’s even more relevant with new-media art since so much hinges on how the work is displayed, and there are so many more mistakes that can be made on the installation side.

The creative opportunities go well beyond using resolution to create texture, though. I think back to a discussion with the artist Davide Quayola. We were looking at some of his work when the LED canvas suddenly went into eco mode, reducing its light output, and we were both struck by how the image took on a very analog appearance. So not only can you use resolution to create texture; you can also use brightness to help create the right look and feel for a work of art.

I of course have no issue with someone using high resolution as long as it’s done deliberately and not just because it is what we have come to expect from decades of marketing that equates “higher resolution” with “better.” Whether we’re talking about higher or lower resolution, the artist, as Akiko says, should employ it intentionally.

“Where we should be heading is framing, placement, and curation that is handled the same as with fine art. Or it becomes just TVs or a screensaver.”

This is my favorite quote. Digital art needs to be curated no differently from traditional art, and just as much attention needs to be paid to the framing, mounting, and lighting for one of Akiko’s works as it would for something like a Rothko. A digital work should be created and presented with the same freedom we already give to painting and other traditional media. For instance, artists shouldn’t feel constrained to work within the 16:9 aspect ratio we have all come to associate with TVs and computer screens but should be able to create in whatever ratio best suits their work.

a digital canvas built into a wall unit (left) and Refik Anadol’s Quantum Memories shown in a gallery setting (right) provide examples of breaking free of the traditional association of video displays with 16:9 computer monitors and TVs

One significant difference from traditional art, though, is that far more of the onus for properly presenting digital art falls on the exhibition side. Because Picasso wanted his work to be properly displayed and preserved, he never would have painted it on something like toilet paper. Showing a high-value digital work of art on a poorly positioned and lit generic TV, however, would be the equivalent of that. And the screensaver connotation is anathema to the presentation of serious art. As a collector was quoted as saying in a Wall Street Journal article on digital art, “I don’t want my house to look like I live at Best Buy.”

To create that same effect at home, Akiko speculated that digital artists might want to start packaging their artwork with customized display kits. Especially for collectors who are considering investing in full-scale media walls at home, it might make sense to conform to these tech-savvy artists’ visions.

I absolutely agree with the intent here, which is that the artist should have a say in how their work should be displayed in the home. But the technology can make packaging difficult, and packaging can be limiting in itself. This is where I see value for a custom integrator as someone who can take the vision of the artist and accurately represent it in a domestic environment, essentially becoming the curator of the digital canvas.

At this level of art and this level of representation, someone is not going to just order artwork off Amazon and plunk it down in a room. If you pay $100,000 for a work and then skimp on however much it costs to display it properly, you haven’t saved yourself whatever you think you have saved on the technology. You have actually devalued your investment and your experience.

This is an opportunity for the custom integrator to become a trusted partner of the art world, and that’s not something every integrator is going to have the interest or the ability to do. So this, by its nature, is an opportunity for only a limited number of integrators, ones who have close relationships with architects and designers and are willing to become part of the digital-art eco system.

To facilitate this, I can imagine a form of metadata where the artist basically determines what the digital canvas has to conform to in order to maintain the artistic integrity of their work. This would, in a sense, give them the ability to disown a work if it’s not properly presented.

A specialized custom integrator who has established himself as a curator of digital canvases would be armed with this metadata from the artist as to how the installation should be done. Knowing that there are integrators who specialize in this and that there is a mechanism to ensure that the artist’s intentions are honored is something everybody can feel good about. It’s very encouraging to see both artists and collectors starting to pick up on this and to see the increasing enthusiasm for digital canvases in the home.

Tim Sinnaeve is responsible for Barco’s Residential Group, where he oversees Barco’s global strategy in fulfilling its mission of creating Architectural Digital Canvases that enable the most immersive entertainment and cultural experiences for customers to share with loved ones in the comfort of their homes. He is especially interested is raising awareness of new-media art and has frequently written and spoken on the subject.

Quantum Memories |
Refik Anadol, Bitforms Gallery