how e ver, on e can tour p erm an ent colle ctions (with impre ssiv e historical detail and tutoria ls on
archite cture), te mporary exhibits, tour the design plans and construction of the muse um itself,
and so forth.
O th er colle ctions offer fuller acc ess. The G etty offers 3,325 individu al artworks by 713
artists. T h e slid e-show form at is b a sically identical though. O ne can sele ct a spe cific work and
e nlarg e it, as w e ll as a cc e ss inform ation on the piec e largely identical to wh at a visitor to the
physic al mus e um se es. In a s ense this is a gross und er-utiliz ation of wh at te chnology can do,
but th e proje ct is still rela tiv ely new. Finally, the replic ation of the pre-fa bric ated collection is
aliv e and w ell in th e virtu al world. W hile this is a ple a sant, cle ar introduction to vie w ers who
know little a bout art in ge n eral— and argua bly, this is G oogle ’s main audience— it does,
n e c e ss arily, choos e pie ce s and era s for the vie wer, providing a de facto ivory tow er
p ersp e ctiv e and n e gle cting a thorough a ppro ach to move ments, which are often not e a sily
re pre s e nte d by individu al works or artists.
Google Art Project (home page)
The J. Paul Getty Museum collection on GAP
Public Engagement in the Digital Age
In an a g e of saturate d te chnology and s avvy tech users, mus e ums are still inventing
w a ys to e ng a g e physic al visitors as well as maintain a cyber-pre sence . T his tande m is evident
in the A cropolis Mus e um in Athe ns, which is situa te d ov er an ongoing exc a vation. Visitors can
stand ju st a fe w fe e t abov e arch a e ologists and wa tch as th e y cle ar mosaics and outlin e wa lls
of th e dw elling b e ne ath the plexi-gla ss floor of the muse um— a type of intera ctive arch a e ology.