This art museum will text you works of art

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is one of the largest museums in the world with 170,000 square feet of exhibition space. The museum’s collection is so massive that only 5 percent of the works can be displayed at one time. Even walking past the art currently on display would require a seven mile walk.

When taking into account that the average museum-goer spends less than 30 seconds in front of each piece of art, you’d have to camp out at the SFMOMA for three days to see everything. That means a lot of art goes unseen.

So, SFMOMA came up with a novel way to let art lovers experience the collection: via text message.

“In a world oversaturated with information,” Jay Mollica, SFMOMA’s creative technologist wrote in a blog post on the museum website, “we asked ourselves: how can we generate personal connections between a diverse cross section of people and the artworks in our collection?”

Personalized Art Selection Through Your Smartphone

The answer? An ingenious program is called “Send me SFMOMA,” which basically provides anyone, anywhere, with a personalized piece of art on demand.

Just text 572-51 with the words “send me,” along with a word, color, or emoji. Then you’ll receive a corresponding artwork from SFMOMA’s expansive collection in a text message a few seconds later.

Viewing art has been shown to have amazing benefits for your mind and body, including decreasing stress. “Send me SFMOMA” is a fun way to infuse your everyday life with amazing art, wherever you are. Give it a try and see what new masterpieces you discover.

And just in case you get hooked on high-tech art consumption, here are seven more museums that offer virtual tours. Access to world-class art without having to change out of your pajamas? Yes, please.