Art and technology do not currently have the most cordial of relationships. With AI stealing from artists living and dead, while decimating jobs in the creative industries, you’d be forgiven for wanting newfangled technology to stay out of historic museums. But a new ‘interactive initiative’ at the Louvre in Paris demonstrates that there can be a better way: technology can add to the experience of great art, rather than detract from it.
The Incredible Unknowns of the Louvre is a trail of six masterpieces where visitors can scan a QR code to unlock a Snapchat filter that uses augmented reality (AR) to layer visual animations live on camera. All you need is a smartphone and the free Snapchat app (and entry to the museum, of course).
