Snapchat and pop artist collaborate on augmented reality art project

Andrew

R. Chow

If you receive photos of the provocative artist Jeff

Koons’ sculptures looming under and over international landmarks, don’t be alarmed:

It’s just augmented reality.

Snapchat has partnered with

Koons to allow users to project his sculptures in specific sites around the world — including in Central Park in

New York, the Sydney Opera

House in Australia, and on ple of the way Snapchat is the Champ de Mars in Paris. trying to remove friction

The project, part of Snap- from the creative process,” chat’s Lens feature that is Evan Spiegel, founder and available starting Tuesday, chief executive of Snapchat, lets users animate photos and said at a news conference at videos — the app’s dancing Vanity Fair’s New Establish- hot dog, for instance, which ment Summit on Tuesday. used the technology, has “The fact we can bring these become a viral sensation. ginormous sculptures anyKoons’ sculptures will be where in the world is just Snapchat’s first site-specific the beginning of inspiring lenses, and will only be able young people all over the to be activated within about world to create with our 1,000 feet of a location. cameras.”

“The lenses are an exam- Users would be able to

Users would be able to take photos of themselves with famous Koons sculptures — like ‘Balloon Dog,’ ‘Rabbit’ and ‘Play-Doh.’

take photos of themselves with famous Koons sculptures — like “Balloon Dog” (in front of which Jay-Z performed on a recent tour), “Rabbit” and “Play-Doh.” Some of their locations also include Millennium Park in Chicago, the National Mall in Washington, the Venice Boardwalk in Los Angeles, Hyde Park in London and Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The sculptures would appear to be about three stories tall.

Over the last year, Koons has dabbled in designing handbags and snowboards; last year he created a special edition smartphone case for Google. He praised Snapchat in an interview with i-D this year: “I think it’s wonderful that people can, you know, pick up a phone and feel the freedom of — like Snapchat — making something that is aesthetically and emotionally pleasing, and fun, and to just feel that experience.”