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LACMA X SNAPCHAT: CREATING DIGITIZED HISTORY

Written by Emily Pink

The third and final collection from LACMA X Snapchat has been released, documenting a creative and digitized response to historical monuments across Los Angeles. Work from five LA artists depicts a collection of augmented reality landscapes, framed by the monuments that encapsulate the heritage and culture of the city.


The question of “What should we monumentalize?”, posed by Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of LACMA, is at the crux of the “Monumental Perspectives” project, with the collection aiming to explore how art and geography intertwine.


Yassi Mazandi, Victoria Fu, Rashaad Newsome, Alison Saar, and Ruben Ortiz Torres comprise the final five artists to gift their artistic prowess to the project. Each artist, alongside a dedicated lens creator, has composed a piece of work which welcomes viewers to participate in the development and immortalization of their work.


“Monuments are such representations of power. And so how can you re-imagine what that could look like?” said interdisciplinary artist Rashaad Newsome, “The idea of making a monument with the imaginative possibilities that Snap offers was really exciting.” His work, “Self-Inventions” seeks to blend historical culture and modernity with his inclusion of fractal geometry, a feature of both computing and African textiles.


LACMA, Lincoln Park, Los Angeles State Historic Park, Santa Monica, and Exposition Park are all featured in these augmented reality pieces, with the artists and lens creators joining forces to create accessible and interactive forms of art.


“The fact that my imagination can now be seen by somebody else, it’s literally opening up a different world,” said artist Yassi Mazandi, creator of “The Thirty Birds”.


Speaking of the future, Govan explained, “I imagine LACMA will begin to acquire more works in augmented reality. Watching the technology change and the artists take advantage of that makes you feel emotionally motivated to see a different future.”


Across the city, visitors can explore these digital works by attending the monuments of inspiration, or globally via Snapchat’s Lens Explorer. The concept of allowing the art to be viewed digitally advocates for inclusivity and honors the interconnectedness between location and people, ultimately evoking a collaborative artistic response.




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