A selection of 166 pieces has been chosen
SOPHIE SPEER
INTO THE UNKNOWN: Te Papa curator William McAloon with Ian Scott's painting Leapaway girl, 1969, which will be one of the exhibits.
Virtual tours of the art of Te Papa will be available from today to enthusiasts around the world.
The national museum has joined Auckland Art Gallery in offering part of its collection online through the Google Art Project.
A selection of 166 pieces has been chosen, ranging from Colin McCahon paintings to photography, Maori taonga and Pacific Island treasures such as tapa cloth and cloaks, which were "visually really sumptuous", curator William McAloon said.
The works will be shown in super-high-resolution images, allowing viewers to zoom in to see details beyond what is visible to the naked eye.
"We were clear that it wasn't just going to be paintings represented," he said. "We are representing ourselves as the Museum of New Zealand, so to recognise that, we were clear it was going to be art in an expanded sense."
Te Papa is joining the second phase of the project, which already includes leading galleries such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Britain in London and the Palace of Versailles in France. There are now 151 cultural institutions in 40 countries worldwide represented in the project. More than 30,000 objects are available to view in super-high resolution.
The first phase was unveiled a year ago, and since then the galleries involved have reported increased visitor numbers – and Te Papa is hoping for the same.
"We're confident that will be the case," Mr McAloon said. "We're not just interested in that immediate or short-term response.
"It's a long-term project, it will be part of the web into the future and it's really important that we're there."
He had not yet seen the final product and was looking forward to seeing how Te Papa's selection stacked up.
"It's exciting, really, because it's a bit of an unknown.
"It will be really interesting to see how we fare and to see what other museums put forward."
- © Fairfax NZ News
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share Your Imagination with Us