A Museum of Museums
“Visit more museums.” That resolution is bound to be included on the 2012 lists of a lot of people. The experience of viewing art—especially in a culture of economic crisis and cultural change—can be engrossing, challenging, and even comforting. However, actually getting to some of the world’s best collections in Spain, Germany, or the Netherlands can be tricky.
Last year, Google developer Amid Soot introduced the Google Art Project, an 18-month undertaking that links a number of prestigious museums around the world in a central, web-based “museum of museums.” Work from institutions, including the Frick Collection in Manhattan, the National Gallery in London, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Palace of Versailles in France are featured at www.googleartproject.com.
Recently, Soot presented at a TED: Ideas Worth Spreading conference, to talk about the technology and logic behind the Google Art Project.
While online museums can never replace the visceral experience of viewing art inside a brick-and-mortar institution, visiting the Google Art Project offers a well-crafted, intimate opportunity to browse the collections of important museums. The image resolution and quality of the featured works is remarkable, and scrolling across the paint cracks and details of major paintings is downright fun. The accessibility visitors have to this “museum of museums” is what works best about the site. With just a click of the mouse, art is made available and museums are promoted as both educational and inclusive.
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