<nettime> Dear Apple : Add Art

[Seth Carnes <lists@sic.ph>]

Hi all,  

I rarely post but figured this would be of interest for support and/or
criticism.  It???s a petition urging Apple to create an Art category on
the App Store, for all arts-centered apps worldwide.  I???ll just paste
the release and link, as it touches the core points:

http://www.artapp.org <http://www.artapp.org/>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

ARTISTS TO APPLE, ???ADD ART CATEGORY TO THE APP STORE???

November 9, 2015 (New York, NY) ??? +ArtApp, a petition and website
created by New York based artists Seth Carnes and Serkan Ozkaya and
gallerist Paulina Bebecka, launched today to draw attention to the fact
that despite the growth of app artworks and arts-centered apps by
artists, museums, galleries, and guides, Apple???s App Store remains
without an official Art category. The petition found at www.artapp.org
urges Apple to add an Art category for all arts- centered apps.

Since launching the App Store in 2008, Apple hosts 24 distinct app
categories, from Books and Music, to Sports and Travel, representing a
full spectrum of cultural activities, except for Art.

It has been widely acknowledged by a range of app developers that even
minor tweaks to the App Store can have far ranging ramifications in the
ability to sell and be discovered. App artworks by artists are often
independent and self-funded, requiring thousands of dollars and
prolonged time commitments, then forced into ill fitting categories like
Entertainment, Lifestyle, and Photo & Video. Within these vast
categories, app artworks are often buried under the marketing force of
commercially funded apps.

Meanwhile, some of the largest arts institutions in the world, such at
the The Louvre and MoMA, are relegated to the category of Education,
which, while surely a part of their mission, does not represent their
center within the arts.

The +ArtApp???s campaign decrees that Art is Art, there is no
substitute, and all arts-centered apps should be represented as such.

Representing +ArtApp, Seth Carnes summarized the need for such a
category, stating:

"We believe in the power of human culture, where art plays a central
role, and feel this should be reflected in how arts-centered apps are
perceived, defined, and discovered in the App Store."

The petition has already been embraced in the art and technology
community, including Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky; conceptual media artist
Ryder Ripps; Mark Tribe, founder of Rhizome; and Roddy Schrock,
Director, Eyebeam, who were all enthusiastic early signers.

Scott Snibbe, whose apps are in the Whitney and MoMA???s permanent
collection and who also signed the petition, elaborates:

"Steve Jobs sometimes called his computers works of art and he???s
inspired generations of digital creators with Apple???s elegant
hardware and software. It would honor his passion for expanding the
boundaries of art to add an Art category to the App Store."
  
The +ArtApp website and petition will remain in circulation until Apple
acknowledges this request from the art community and its supporters.

ABOUT

+ArtApp was created by Seth Indigo Carnes, Serkan Ozkaya and Paulina
Bebecka, New York City artists and a gallerist, to gather support urging
Apple to create an Art category for all arts- centered apps on the App
Store.

Paulina Bebecka is director at Postmasters Gallery in New York, a
pioneer in new media arts for more than 30 years.

Seth Carnes is a media artist who has shown at MoMA PS1, The Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, and collaborated with Shepard Fairey and The
Roots. His app based works include Poetics, a visual poetry app.

Serkan Ozkaya is a conceptual artist whose work typically operates
outside of traditional art spaces. He has shown in solo exhibitions
across the US and internationally, including a recent exhibition at
Postmasters Gallery. His app artwork, MyMoon, enables a view of the moon
and world in a new way, as a public art piece.

Visit http://www.artapp.org <http://www.artapp.org/> for more
information.


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