Google Art Project Brings Fine Art to Your Web Browser
Between the never-ending stream of cat photos and Florida Man stories, it can seem that Internet culture, is, well, devoid of culture.
But from the mélange of trolls and recycled memes comes a beacon of hope for the Web: a simple extension for Google Chrome that brings gorgeous works of art to the browser everyday.
The free Google Art Project extension lets you view a new piece of art in place of the stark emptiness of a blank new browser page. The art changes every day. Want more? You can change the extension’s settings to display a new piece of art every time you open a new tab.
The artworks for Google Art Project come from the Google Cultural Institute, an online portal through which Google displays art from around the world. Google has partnered with a variety of museums and other institutions to develop this cultural institute. The idea is to give people access to historic works of art on their laptop or tablet.
If you happen to find an artwork particularly interesting, you can click on the link in your open tab and immediately be taken to Google Cultural Institute, where you’ll be able to learn more about the artists, the size of the piece, and where you can see it in person. You can even click to zoom in on pieces and see individual brushstrokes.
Now you can at least feel good every time you open a new browser window. That is, up until you click it over to Reddit.com/r/aww.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+.
