The last time we checked in with 2016 Curbed Young Gun Electric Objects, the NYC-based maker of seamless digital art displays for the home was getting ready to unveil a partnership with major museums and cultural institutions, one that would instantly bring classic works like Vemeer’s The Milkmaid into the humblest of abodes.
Now, that initiative is alive and six collection deep, kicking right along with Electric Objects’ catalog of more than 25,000 community generated artworks and over 1,000 exclusively commissioned pieces (many of which are animated, decidedly digital creations.) And today, the company is unveiling EO2, an upgraded device that offers greater customization and more ways to consume art in the Electric Objects universe.
EO2 makes a number of aesthetic improvements over the the first-generation device, which will no longer be produced. For one, EO2 cuts the depth of the device by half to three-quarters of an inch. The 23-inch matte-finish, 1080p HD LCD screen was designed to minimize glare and adds ambient light sensors and a sleep timer that help blend it into the home.
And to further distinguish the screen as more of a piece of decor than another connected screen, the company is introducing four optional frames: maple, walnut, black wood, and white wood. There’s also a new no-tip stand that lets you prop up the device on a surface rather than hang it on the wall.
Software-wise, the updated EO2 app incorporates playlists, a new feature that lets you make your own or subscribe to other people’s collections of art, much like what you’d do with music on Spotify. Since April, Electric Object users have created around 5,000 distinct playlists.
That’s not the only Spotify-like thing about the new EO app. The company is also introducing a monthly subscription to Art Club, which provides access to art commissioned exclusively for EO and will add two new collections per week to the current roster of some 200 artists.
EO2 is now available for $299 (the same price as the previous model) and the subscription service will go for, you guessed it, a kind-of-harmless $10 a month.