In conjunction with the exhibition James Turrell, the Guggenheim Museum launched a new free mobile app. The interactive app presents an array of content, including rich multimedia guides to current and past exhibitions; interviews with artists, curators, and exhibition designers; access to more than 1,200 works in the permanent collection; and explorations of the iconic building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
For the exhibition James Turrell, the app offers video interviews with James Turrell as well as the show's curators, Carmen Gimenez and Nat Trotman, that address the artist's groundbreaking explorations of perception, light, and space. Exclusive interviews with the installation team reveal the complex apparatus constructed to support Aten Reign (2013), Turrell's dramatic transformation of the Guggenheim rotunda into an enormous volume of shifting artificial and natural light.
In addition to a full range of content in English, guides are available in French, German, Italian, and Spanish for the museum's building and collection, including the current collection exhibition, New Harmony: Abstraction between the Wars, 1919-1939, on view through September 8.
The Guggenheim app includes a variety of features that enhance the experience of art both on-site and beyond. App users can create their own virtual collection by selecting favorite works from the museum's holdings and special exhibitions. Additional features for select exhibitions include educational tours for families and children as well as verbal imaging descriptions, text enlargement options, and, for iOS devices, VoiceOver technology for visitors who are blind or have low vision. The app provides transcripts for audio and closed-captioning for videos (iOS only) for visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, and is t-coil compatible. Social media access is available throughout the app, encouraging user interaction and content sharing.