About a half hour ago I had no idea what Google Art Project was. I could have guessed, and perhaps been pretty close, but I didn't even know something as cool as this existed as a Google service. Google Art Project essentially gives you virtual access to thousands and thousands of woks of art from over 150 museums across the world. It allows the user, similar to Google Street View, the ability to virtually tour many museums and look at the art on display. The user can view the images in extremely high quality and take as long as they want looking at them. When the project first began about a year ago, Google claimed that they had about 1,000 images in 9 countries. Today, they claim over 30,000 images in 40 countries. This announcement was made today, Tuesday April 3, at the Art Institute of Chicago by Google's President and executives. The director of the Art Institute is very enthusiastic about the project, saying, "By sharing works of art in this way all it will do is increase the interest in visual works of art and the desire to come to institutions like the Art Institute."
This project is very interesting to me, as it brings a serious cultural aspect to the different services Google offers. It allows people who might not otherwise be able to visit these famous museums the ability to at least look at a high resolution image of them. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a website with a virtual camera on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was one large image where I could pan around and zoom in on any particular piece I wish. While I expect the actual in-person experience to be 10 times better than my online experience, I had an experience with it nonetheless. For people that don't need to spend thousands of dollars traveling overseas to see their favorite art, it seems like a reasonable replacement opportunity. Users can also save and organize their favorite images, just another accessory Google has added to help improve the experience.
Google Art Project Premieres Upgrades in Chicago
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