New Bookz

Independent art and painting space

Google Art Project
On 1st February 2011, Google launched Google Art Project. (www.googleartproject.com)

Using Street View technology, Google Art Project allows users to wander around 17 of the worlds top galleries and museums and view 1,061 artworks.

Over the past 18 months, a Google team has been zipping around the likes of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Palace of Versailles in Franceusing trolley mounted cameras to photograph corridors and galleries. Users can explore each gallery from room to room, or create their own collections of masterpieces. Google Art Project promises to bring museums and art galleries to your desktop, and its creators have said that they plan to add more museums to the original line-up going forward.

So from a museum or galleryspoint of view, is Google Art Project a good thing or a bad thing?

Theres no doubt that it will allow people who wouldnt otherwise have the chance to visit the museum or gallery (due to location or other factors) the chance to experience it. Increasing access to beautiful art has to be considered a great thing.

It could also help to raise the profile of the museums and art galleries which feature in the project, inspiring people to go and visit them for real.

However, a question that some museums and galleries who are perhaps considering participating in the projectmay ask themselves; if someone views the museum or gallery on Google Art Project, does this mean that they are less likely to go and see the real thing? If they ever happened upon the opportunity, would they pass it up because they have already seen it, albeit on a computer screen? There is a risk that the emergence of Google Art Project will reduce the desire to visit it in person.

We are constantly being presented with new ways to live our lives virtually. So much can be done now simply by sitting behind a computerand logging on to the internet. But is Google Art Project taking virtual reality one step too far?

As someone who has been privileged enough to have experienced some of the worlds most amazing museums and art galleries, I can categorically say that there is definitely no substitute for the real thing. Some things just have to be seen (in real life!) to be believed.

Check it out yourself and make up your own mind.

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ClickNetherfield have been delivering successful showcase projects for over thirty years, and we’re here to share that experience with you.

Please never feel shy about involving us at any stage of your project.

Our innovative design and development team can help you refine your vision.

Our experienced project managers can help you map out your project, identifying risks and dependencies.

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Our support teams can help you manage your new showcases, before, during and long after installation.

Wherever you are in your decision-making process, ClickNetherfield is here to help you.

Tel: +44 (0) 1506 835200

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Satire And Online Art

Everyone likes to have a laugh – and its a good job too because it laughter, as tey say, is the best medicine which not only makes life more enjoyable but is also very good for your health as well! Because of this it is unsuprising that one of the main uses that the internet has been put to has been making and sharing funny things.

Often there is a fad or craze for a particular kind of thing – and these are often called internet memes. In many cases these internet memes involve funny pictures along with some kind of writing such as a slogan or caption, and often there is a heavy dose of satire involved in them. This generally means that they are mocking something, or being very ironic.

A good example that has been incredibly popular has been de-movational posters. These began as mockeries of the kind of motivational posters that you get put up by bosses in the work place, and include a picture, a single word that they represent in some way, and then a slogan underneath that which reveals the satire.

Other examples have been mock election posters for political parties which use satire to make a serious political point, or just to make the other side look silly.

In fact there are so many of these things that you would have to say that the internet has created huge new source of top quality satire which combines both imagery and art – either photos, photoshopped images, or often cartoons and drawings too, and writing as well in the form of the slogans, captions, speech bubbles and so on.

If you haven’t been keeping up with these internet memes in the past then I would definitely recommend that you start doing so, and perhaps even creating your own and sharing them with friends or on websites.

it is great fun and that really is the best thing about this – that it is an artform and an outlet for satirical expression which is deliberately set up so that anyone can participate – so get involved, have some fun, and express your creative side!