November 6, 2012

Online Art Project

Did it ever occur to you that when you see or find something new suddenly all the similar stuff starts popping up in front your eyes? It feels like you open a door leading to unknown and the whole world presents itself to you.

I just had this experience. Last week while I was surfing on the web, I rediscovered Google Art Project. What the project did was basically collecting for its users arts of all kinds from museums all over the world. It aims to provide an environment for art lovers to enjoy the art without going to the museums with your internet-connected devices. Somehow the project surely surpasses my expectation on what I'm going to get out of it. It gives the users to zoom and have a closer and comprehensive view on the original paintings. To see the details of the strokes painters laid on their brushes and painted was mind-blowing! The "creating your gallery" function lets you gather the works you like in a place and the mechanism is like curating your own exhibition. There's no wrong or right, just follow your instinct. Who needs a course to teach you how to curate a show when you can do it spontaneously with Google Art Project?     

The project is still expanding scope wise; nevertheless many masterpieces were included for discovery already, such as Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and famed The Starry Night of Van Gogh. I wish to see the collection grow and more works can be included for the benefits of us! Here's a video of how to navigate the site for those who are interested. 


Unlike Google Art Project which features works from various museums, the newly launched Rijks Studio, a groundbreaking invention of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, generously presents its collection of 125,000 artworks online. The functions are basically the same as Google Art Project, what makes it even more special and appealing is that the users can design and order products out of the artworks! Can you imagine to have an iphone case or a car with those wonderful paintings as decoration? Here are some fantastic examples.I bet you can't wait to create your own like I do right?


Overall, these two sites and the technology advancement give us art lovers another way (angle) to see the arts and appreciate the masterpieces. The best of all is, it doesn't cost a dime, no transportation is involved, no time limit and certainly no crowd. The artworks are all yours, waiting to be discovered and explored.


No comments:

Post a Comment