Björk's Biophilia App has now been made the first downloadable App added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. "Björk has never ceased to experiment and surprise," says MoMA Senior Curator Paola Antonelli. "The multidimensional nature of her art ... is a testament to her curiosity and desire to learn and team up with diverse experts and creators." Antonelli concludes: "True innovation ... supported by great art is a mesmerizing gift to the world." The Biophilia Education Program, which teaches about the relationships between music, science and technology, will be adopted for the curriculum in a number of Scandinavian countries, Björk tells the Observer.
Björk released Biophilia, her most interdisciplinary project to date, in 2011 as a 10-track album and with each of the 10 songs on the album as a special feature of the Biophilia App for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The Biophilia App, which was named one of the year's Best Apps by Apple, has now been made the first downloadable App added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
"Björk has never ceased to experiment and surprise," writes Paola Antonelli, MoMA Senior Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, in announcing acquisition on MoMA's Inside/Out blog. "The multidimensional nature of her art—in which sound and music are the spine, but never the confines, for multimedia performances that also encompass graphic and digital design, art, cinema, science, illustration, philosophy, fashion, and more—is a testament to her curiosity and desire to learn and team up with diverse experts and creators. It was just a matter of time before she would invade and conquer the territory of design."
After citing the highly collaborative nature of Björk's Biophilia App, including with designers like Scott Snibbe, Max Weisel, and M/M Paris, and with users of the App themselves, in their interaction with the piece, Antonelli concludes: "Collaboration, creativity, open-mindedness, curiosity, and endless talent are the basic ingredients of most great examples of art and design. True innovation—technological, social, performative—supported by great art is a mesmerizing gift to the world."
Read more about the acquisition at moma.org.
To download the Biophilia App, head to the App Store on iTunes. To pick up a copy of the Biophilia album in North America, head to iTunes or the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the album at checkout.
Björk's Biophilia project also included a world tour and the accompanying Biophilia Education Program, a series of interactive workshops designed to teach students about the relationships between music, science and technology. It has been held in Manchester, Reykjavík, Oslo, Buenos Aires, New York, Paris, San Franciso, and Los Angeles and, Björk tells the Observer, will now be adopted for the curriculum in a number of Scandinavian countries including Iceland. For more, visit theguardian.com.
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