Wandering through Portland’s public spaces, it's clear that art is all around us. It covers the walls of our favorite coffee shops, graces the entrance of libraries and hotels and pops up unexpectedly in the sculptures and murals that enliven our streets and neighborhoods.

But unlike the artwork featured in museums and galleries, the art you find out in the wild rarely comes with a viewers guide. How often have you stumbled across a piece of artwork and wanted to learn more about it or the artist who created it? Enter the mobile art app.

Two new Portland-based smart phone apps can help you discover and learn about the art around you: The Public Art PDX App and the Heathman iPhone App.

Public Art PDX App

The Public Art PDX App for the iPhone is a fantastic and easy way to find public art you otherwise might not know about. Developed by programmer Matt Blair in collaboration with the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the app is mash-up of a Google map with RACC's database of over 450 public art works.

It's like having a museum guide for the entire city. Users can browse through the map to discover pieces ranging from sculptures and murals to paintings and architectural elements. Some can be discovered while walking down the street, others are tucked away in libraries, firehouses or other public buildings. Photos and information about the piece accompany each entry and many include an artist's statement.

According to Blair, one of the goals of the project was to bring parts of our environment to the surface and help people discover pieces that might be right under their noses. "We didn't want this to be a coffee table app where you just look at the art on the app when you're sitting on your couch at home," says Blair.  "We wanted it to be a reason to get out into the community and get off the bus at a different location, or go around a corner, or take a road that you've never been down before."

"Orangutan," a limited edition print from Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species series. The piece hangs opposite the third floor elevators in The Heathman. Photo courtesy The Heathman Hotel.

Heathman iPhone App

The Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland has also found a way to use the mobile phone to help people discover and appreciate art. The new Heathman iPhone App includes an audio art tour of the hotel's eclectic collection of works, which features pieces by artists such as Hap Tivey, Henk Pender and Andy Warhol. With iPhones in hand and earbuds in place, guests can wander the hotel's guest rooms and public spaces, learning about the background and cultural relevance of the collection through the professionally curated tour.

Chris Erickson, the general manager of the Heathman, began working on the project several years ago with Alina Manu Agland, a PSU graduate student in art history and the Elizabeth Leach Gallery, which is the hotel's curator of art. Originally conceived as a traditional museum-style audio walking tour, it took several years to complete the research and gather the materials. By that time, Erickson was also working on an iPhone app for the hotel so the two projects were put together.

Erickson says the tour has been popular with guests and has been a good way to share the hotel's art with the community. "The experience is unique and I think it's what makes the hotel different as well," he says. "I think it bridges the gap and makes the art more approachable. It's fun to understand a tidbit or two and to hear someone's perspective about the pieces. I think that's why guests enjoy it."