Add-Art

Firefox Browser Extension

Add-Art progress

Interested in helping? Go to the development site.

Want an email when there's a beta release?

Name: E-mail:

Would you like to donate to help make Add-Art possible? Make a tax deductible donations through Eyebeam. Any amount helps. Contact Joanna Raczkiewicz joanna@eyebeam.org for eyebeam donation info. Thanks!

Project Description

Add-Art is a Firefox extension which replaces advertising images on web pages with art images from a curated database.

Of the 100+ add-ons available for Firefox, "adblockers" are the most popular. The most current, Adblock Plus , has over 4 million downloads since Jan 2006 (currently around 150,000/week). It's predecessor, Adblock, has been downloaded over 8 million times. These extensions work by preventing advertising images from downloading and replacing the ads with blank space. Their popularity has risen as pop-up ads, banner ads, and ads incorporating sound and animation have permeated the internet.

For many, replacing ads with blank space would be enough. Add-Art attempts to do something more interesting than just blocking ads - it turns your browser into an art gallery. Every time you visit the New York Times online or check the weather you'll also see a spattering of images by a young contemporary artist.

The project will be supported by an small website providing information on the current artists and curator, along with a schedule of past and upcoming Add-Art shows. Each 2 weeks will include 5-8 artists selected by emerging and established curators. Images will have to be cropped to standard banner sizes or can be custom made for the project. Artists can target sites (such as every ad on FoxNews.com) and/or default to any page on the internet with ads. One artist will be shown per page. The curatorial duty will be passed among curators through recommendations, word of mouth, and solicitations to the Add-Art site.

With the overwhelming popularity of adblockers, if Add-Art were to attract 5% of existing users, the numbers would be in the hundreds of thousands. Add-Art can bring contemporary art to the desktops of all types of people at home and in their workplace - all over the world.

What we need:

A working prototype of Add-Art has been developed at the Eyebeam OpenLab. The current version blocks most ads, but we would like to make it's features on par with AdBlock Plus. Ideally Add-Art should have the same features as current adblockers in addition to the primary Add-Art functionality. Funding would allow us to add important features enabling the extension to update its art database and advertising filters, some customization, and an on/off switch. Additional resources will allow us to hire a software developer to finish this specialized work as well as fund initial promotion, curatorial stipends, and hosting charges.

Want to help?

Are you interested in contributing to Add-Art as a developer? Would you like to make a tax deductible financial contribution? Please contact Steve Lambert - slambert -at- eyebeam -dot- org.

Prototype versions:

These versions show how add-art can work. They are prototypes which use placeholder images. Later versions will use curated art images. In the meantime...

Steve Lambert - Bio - Resume

Work Samples

1. Light Criticism (with GRL)
2. WhyTheyHate.Us
3. Simmer Down Sprinter

Press

• NY Times

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