Art pieces housed in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, runs the gamut of wildly creative pieces, from an artist sleeping inside a glass box to a device that broadcasts mindless dinner party chatter. Now, MoMA makes room for a new kind of installation: a downloadable app created by Bjork.
Icelandic pop star Bjork developed "Biophilia" back in 2011, just one year after the iPad was introduced. Available for $12.99 on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, "Biophilia" is a combination of a music album and an interactive app that allows users to take part in the music creation process by manipulating the various mini-apps that are included in the main app.
When users open the app, they enter what is called the "mother app," or the galaxy, which was created by Bjork and her design collaborators Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag. The galaxy has 10 colorful stars that represent 10 songs set in various themes. Tapping each of the stars allows users to listen to the songs and modify them to create their own Bjork musical piece.
For example, the song "Virus" showcases a view of cells being attacked by a virus. App designer Scott Snibe describes the song as "a kind of love story between a virus and a cell." Users can play a game to stop the virus from destroying the cell, but that would stop the song from playing too. Only by letting the virus eat up the entire cell could users listen to the entire song. Another song titled "Solstice" features planets that are used as the song's musical instruments. Users can play with the planets' speeds, orbits and positions within the solar system to control the string music used in the song.
"Bjork has never ceased to experiment and surprise," writes Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the department of architecture and design at MoMA in a blog post. "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."
"Biophilia" is not the first app to be included in MoMA's collection. The first app acquired by the museum was "Reactive Books," a series of apps stored in floppy disks and inserted into real books that react to a variety of input.
Meanwhile, several European schools are slated to adopt Bjork's Biophilia curriculum, an educational program developed alongside the app in cooperation with the University of Iceland and tested in a variety of Reykjavik city schools. The program, which is suitable for kids aged 8 to 15 years old, has gathered highly positive reviews from teachers and students alike.
"The nature of the Biophilia Educational Program is particularly well suited for children with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities," says the Biophilia program website.
