For the new San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), which is at the heart of the technology industry, an old-school audio tour simply would not do. The museum reopened last month with one of the most advanced apps in the business; developed with help from Apple and the location-aware audio tour specialist Detour, it was described in Wired magazine as “a cross between This American Life and the movie Her”. Tours include This Is Not an Artwork, in which the stars of HBO’s programme Silicon Valley debate whether objects are really works of art. There are also insights from the French tightrope walker Philippe Petit. Every option has one smart feature in common: the app knows exactly where you are, so you never have to tear your eyes away from the work to press play.
