[Report] From AI Docents to Taste Analysis: LG Uplus Bridges Technology and Art

LG Uplus reopened the multifunctional art space 'U+ Everyday Ever-Changing Gap' near Gangnam Station in Seoul on the 16th. The reopening underscores LG Uplus's effort to connect technology and art. The photo was provided by reporter Seong Won-young.

The reopening also highlighted a shift in what technology is connecting: from person to person to person to art. Behind that trend is a change in cultural consumption among people in their 20s and 30s. In the past, Seongsu-dong in Seoul was the center of pop-up store visits for this age group, but recently the flow of cultural enjoyment has shifted toward more museum visits.

This change is also reflected in related statistics. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art drew about 2.03 million visitors last year, the highest ever. In a consumer survey on the art market by the Korea Arts Management Service, people aged 19 to 39 accounted for 60% of art fair visitors. In the same survey, non-art majors made up 68.2%. This shows that younger generations are increasingly seeing exhibition spaces not as difficult art objects, but as places for new cultural experiences.

As the number of young visitors has grown, LG Uplus remodeled the multifunctional art space 'U+ Everyday Ever-Changing Gap' on the 16th. The renovation introduced AI docents and other features, with the goal of making art viewing more accessible and engaging.

'U+ Everyday Ever-Changing Gap' is operated as a culture and arts platform. The platform helps customers discover their tastes and takes part in the growth process of emerging artists.

That operating direction is also reflected in the exhibition layout. LG Uplus collected 439 discarded mobile phones from its employees and turned them into an installation work, and at the entrance placed a large mirror-ball-shaped installation made from those discarded phones. The first floor was designed as an experiential space so visitors can enjoy art easily and in a fun way, and it also includes an artist studio where visitors can observe emerging artists at work and a constellation experience zone that responds to visitors' movements.

U+ Everyday Ever-Changing Gap opened in 2020. The space is a complex cultural venue built near Gangnam Station in Seoul based on LG Uplus's view that, even during the COVID-19 outbreak when non-face-to-face consumption was rising, customers needed a reason to visit an offline space in person. The venue spans the basement level 1 through the 6th floor, across 7 floors.

The first exhibition after reopening is titled 'CIRCLE OF GROWTH.' The show features Eric Oh, who is active on the international stage, and emerging artists Nam Min-oh, Sanghee, and Kim Do-eun.

After viewing the first floor, visitors can receive 'AI Art Mate' on the 2nd floor. After receiving AI Art Mate, they can continue through the exhibition and use personalized explanations for each work when entering the exhibition space.

The exhibition begins on the 6th floor. The viewing route moves downward from the 6th floor to the 5th, 4th, and 3rd floors. The photo was taken and captioned by reporter Seong Won-young.

The exhibition allows visitors to listen to web-based explanations of the works using QR codes. No app installation is required.

If visitors find a work they like, they can tag it with AI Art Mate. They can also receive 'Art Report,' a result that analyzes their art tastes based on their viewing history.

Artist Eric Oh presented works including 'OPERA,' 'METAMODERNITY,' and 'LIBRA' in this exhibition. On why he selected them, Eric Oh said he presented both signature works and recent works in line with the purpose of the exhibition. Eric Oh took a commemorative photo in front of 'METAMODERNITY II,' and the photo was taken by reporter Seong Won-young.

The exhibition consists of media art and interactive works using generative images, data, VR, and game technology. Throughout the exhibition, a range of media art and interactive works are presented.

At the exhibition hall, visitors can mark their preferred works with the AI Art Mate tagging function, and 'Art Report' is also provided to help confirm their tastes. The source of the photo caption is reporter Seong Won-young.

LG Uplus plans to develop the space beyond a one-off exhibition into a platform that discovers and nurtures emerging artists. To that end, it is currently running an 'AI + technology convergence open innovation' contest with the Korea Arts Management Service.

Through this contest, LG Uplus plans to unveil visitor-participation AI content developed through the program in a follow-up exhibition. It also intends to operate artist discovery, exhibitions, and mentoring programs in cooperation with culture and arts organizations, educational institutions, and companies, and to expand the culture and arts ecosystem.

Going forward, the company plans to connect the exhibition with the integrated app U+one and provide curation. It also plans to launch a service that lets customers purchase works they want, and next year it aims to introduce a spatial AI service that optimizes surroundings and lighting to broaden the exhibition's use cases.

Jang Jun-young, head of LG Uplus's Marketing Group and executive vice president, said U+ Everyday Ever-Changing Gap was designed as a space that uses AI technology to help anyone easily understand art and discover users' tastes and potential. He added that the space will provide emerging artists with opportunities to experiment with their works and meet customers, while offering customers an experience of participating in artists' growth, and that LG Uplus will develop it into a culture and arts platform connecting technology, art, and people.

Source: IT DAILY · Seong Won-young
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241656

References

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