Google App Enhances Museum Visits; Launched at the Getty

Earlier this year, Google rolled out “Art Project,” a tool that lets you access 1,000 works of art appearing in 17 great museums across the world, from the Met in New York City to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. (More on that here.) Now, as part of a broader effort to put art in your hands, the company has produced a new smartphone app (available in Android and iPhone) that enriches the museum-going experience, and it’s being demoed at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

The concept is pretty simple. You’re wandering through the Getty. You spot a painting that deeply touches you. To find out more about it, you open the Google Goggles app on your phone, snap a photo, and instantly download commentary from artists, curators, and conservators, or even a small image of the work itself. Sample this, and you’ll see what we mean. And, for more on the story, turn to Jori Finkel, the ace arts reporter for the LA Times.

Related Content:

Art in “Augmented Reality” at The Getty Museum

A Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel

MoMA Puts Pollock, Rothko & de Kooning on Your iPad


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  1. Avi says . . . | June 28, 2011 / 6:57 am

    I don’t quite understand how this can be implemented when most museums have a strict “no-photography” policy.

  2. tim says . . . | June 30, 2011 / 12:07 am

    I dont get what is going on here, that video was not very helpful in showing that this technology can do, i think arguemented reality has a large role in future technologies .. none in which have random objects jumping in to people’s pockets.

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