One of the many beauties of street art is its ability to reach the most public audience of any other form of art in existence. That being said, because the canvas is mostly a wall and semi-permenant, only people visiting said street get the pleasure of viewing it. That is, until now…
Google recently announced it was bringing street art online through several galleries from around the world, Google revealed it is doubling the number of high-resolution images available to more than 10,000, while also making it available through Chrome, Chromecast, and Android Wear so anyone can appreciate them.
This initiative is titled “The Google Art Project” and is part of the overall Google Cultural Institute. The Google Cultural Institute is the subsection of Google that has been working with art and cultural institutions to digitize offline exhibits. For street art specifically, Google has been working with 86 art organizations from 34 countries to help preserve some of the cool urban creations on walls and buildings around the world.
For this venture, Google partnered with many organizations such as The Mural Arts Program with the hope of preserving street art long after the paint has faded from the walls. The Mural Arts Program is one of the organizations, aforementioned, participating around the world in the preservation of street art through digital means.
The digital collection contains more than 10,000 images, 160 new exhibits and animated “GIF-iti” art from around the world, bringing street art, of all kinds, off the walls to computers and mobile phones a with just a simple Internet connection.
This new Google initiative to savor the creations of street artists for an even more public audience, utilizes technology and its ability to provide a way to preserve these artworks and make them available anywhere and anytime.
For the Mural Arts Program, partnering with Google was an opportunity to reach an audience beyond a certain state or neighborhood that may not have been able to see its work otherwise.
“Google reported it’s latest venture stating, “last June, we added street art from all over the globe—including 5Pointz—to the Google Art Project. Today, we’re doubling the number of public artworks to more than 10,000 high-resolution images. Eighty-five art organizations from 34 countries are sharing pieces, ranging from Sweden’s most famous street festival, to water tanks wrapped with art among New York city’s rooftops, to the abandoned walls of Buenos Aires that are a source of inspiration for street artists from all over the world.”
Amit Sood, director of the Google Cultural Institute and head of the new art project, went on to note,
“You don’t need to be tied to your desktop to enjoy these fantastic collections. All these images are now available on a device near you with Chrome, Chromecast, Android Wear and your mobile devices. Turn your TV screen into a vibrant backdrop and add some color to your smartwatch with our new Street Art Watch Faces.”