Culture & Religion — February 2, 2011

Is Google the Future of Art?

The Google Art Project offers a new form of collaboration that allows museums to take extraordinary art works beyond their individual homes to create the first global art collection.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Whether you’re in an internet café in São Paolo looking at the brushwork in Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night, which is normally found on display at MoMA in New York, or at home in Cleveland, exploring the surface of the British National Gallery’s Holbein painting The Ambassadors, you’ll find a different level of detail in viewing art online with this project, and new, virtual ways of exploring gallery spaces that dramatically change the experience of learning about great works of art.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Guest Thinkers

From Your Bedroom: The Promise of Google Art Project

One of the true joys of the internet is that you can do pretty much anything (even blog) from the comfort of your own bedroom (maybe even in your pajamas). […]

Collage of geopolitical symbols, featuring a close-up of a man's bald head, China's flag, a globe highlighting Taiwan, and circuit patterns.

The Present

Why the USSR and China fell behind the US in the Chip Cold War

Both nations made missteps, but China still has a chance to make up lost ground.

Person examining a petri dish with tweezers, holding small colored objects, against a dark background.

Health

Are microplastics really destroying our health?

They’re in our brains, hearts, and blood — but what are they doing to us?

Collage showcasing a stratospheric balloon soaring over Earth and a close-up of fingers, with "The Nightcrawler" emblazoned at the top, capturing the spirit of a creative renaissance.

Business

How AI is ushering in a creative renaissance

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Two colorful cells with purple nuclei, green cell edges, and radiating filament structures against a black background.

Health

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow

The findings suggest that biochemical and physical effects of exercise could help heal nerves.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Emulating Nature in the Lab

Nature is smart, efficient and innovative. That’s why scientists and engineers all over the world try to copy it in their labs. The field concerned with imitating nature is called biomimetics.