The Sol LeWitt app. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.
The Sol LeWitt app. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

Understanding the work of a conceptual artist like the late Sol LeWitt can take some study. Fortunately, Microsoft is now giving users an inside look into LeWitt’s life and career with a new app that plots important moments and places in the artist’s history on a world map, and sharing never-before-released drawings, personal photos, and archival audio and video.

The tech giant teamed up with the LeWitt estate on the project, enlisting Lindsay Aveilhé, editor of the catalogue raisonné Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings, to write and curated the free app, which also includes a 360-degree annotated view of the late artist’s home studio in in Chester, Connecticut.

“I haven’t seen anything quite like it. To have so much unique documentation of Sol’s own voice, to have video, and a studio tour—it’s super in-depth and personal,” Aveilhé said in a statement, calling the virtual experience “really special.”

And if you’re lucky enough to be standing in front of one of LeWitt’s large-scale geometric wall works—such as his Whirls and twirls (MTA), the ceramic mural installed posthumously at New York City’s Columbus Circle subway stop in 2009—the app can help you learn more about how it was made.

The Sol LeWitt app will teach you about some of his major works, like Whirls and twirls (MTA), 2009, at New York City’s Columbus Circle subway stop. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

The app is able to analyze a user’s photograph of LeWitt works at select institutions and public sites via artificial intelligence trained by Microsoft. Once the work is identified, the app reveals a variety of photos and other media related to the piece.

“We’re honored that our technologies have played such a meaningful role in helping to preserve and celebrate the indelible legacy of Sol LeWitt,” said Ryan Gaspar, director of strategic brand partnerships at Microsoft, in a statement. “It’s through experiences like these that we hope to truly inspire and empower future generations of creators.”

See more photos from the app and from LeWitt’s personal archive below.

The Sol LeWitt app will give you a tour of his studio in Chester, Connecticut. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

Sol LeWitt at Documenta with his work Seriality. Photo by Maria Netter Basel, courtesy of the Sol LeWitt estate.

The Sol LeWitt app offer a map with milestones from his life and locations of some of his key works. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

Sol LeWitt installing a wall drawing. Photo courtesy of the Sol LeWitt estate.