The Seattle Weekly has an article this week about how displaying art on computer monitors — large and small (well, medium-size) — is making a comeback … or perhaps a grand debut. I’m particularly interested in the GalleryPlayer service provided by RGB Labs:
RGB Labs‘ business is to provide a subscription service of changing "galleries" to businesses—customers likely to have the interest in a high-end atmosphere and the money to pay for high-quality art. For a $3,000 setup fee (which includes a computer system) and $195 each month, a hotel, corporate office, or other location gets a set of monthly masterpieces, updated via CD-ROM or the Internet. Subscribers can display the rotating art on flat-panel TV screens they already have in their lobbies, boardrooms, or hallways. The galleries include fine art and photographs, and a new licensing agreement with Octavo adds rare and historical books, such as a Gutenberg Bible.
Several firms have signed on. The Claremont Hotel in Seattle and many of the King County Library System branches are early customers. And RGB Labs plans to have a home version of the service available for less than $20 a month before the end of this year.
It’s not much of a stretch to imagine how one of these systems could be augmented by sensors and profiles to make these proactive displays of art…