Snapchat is about to launch an augmented reality art project with Jeff Koons
Snapchat has a surprise planned, and per typical Snap fashion, it was shrouded in mystery.
The company launched a countdown clock on the site art.snapchat.com Monday afternoon. The only piece of art on the site is a photo of Central Park in New York City with people sitting about in an open lawn.
However, dogged software engineer and Twitter user Jonah Grant uncovered the secret by setting his clock ahead. It appears to be versions of Jeff Koons statues available in augmented reality at locations throughout the world:
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Grant also uncovered a video unveiling the launch which has since been taken down from YouTube:
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Grant took a screenshot showing AR versions in Champ de Mars in Paris, Central Park in New York, and Hyde Park in London.
Here's the video in full:
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Moshe Isaacian also got his hand on the video before it was removed and sent over some screenshots:
According to the screenshots, Snapchat is calling on artists to submit their portfolios to the company. Snap previously embraced artists for in-app geofilters, but its AR community has remained closed until now. That's quite unlike both Apple and Facebook, which have released developer platforms for AR.
Snap did not immediately respond to comment.
The clock reach 0:00 at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. That timing aligns perfectly with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel taking the stage at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles.
While Spiegel taking an onstage interview is quite rare, its unveiling of something with a countdown clock mimics the launch of its hardware product Spectacles.
The development comes almost a year after the release of Spectacles. Snap debuted the video-camera glasses on Nov. 10 with its vending machine Snapbots nearby its headquarters in Venice, California. The company teased the product in an exclusive with The Wall Street Journal on Sept 24, where it also announced its name change to Snap Inc. and released a YouTube video of Spectacles.
The countdown clock is reminiscent of the individual drops of each of the Snapbots at locations in the United States and later overseas. In fact, Snap accompanied a countdown prior to it unveiling its first-ever storefront for Spectacles in New York City on Nov. 21.
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
