The News, Explained
Google Arts & Culture and the Courtauld, the British institution for art-history teaching and research, launched The Art of Looking on November 4. The 12 new stories guide readers through questions about artworks, their production and their historical settings. Google Arts & Culture is a service for exploring cultural institutions’ collections, exhibitions and explanations online. Source
The official project page presents three routes: examining details, playing and interacting with art, and discovering hidden stories. Who Is Art For? connects Rosa Bonheur’s work with an expert explanation, while How Is Art Made? explores medieval ivory carving. The collection lets someone curious about technique and someone interested in the society around an artwork begin with different questions. Source · Source
Close-looking imagery also builds on earlier work. In 2022, the partners used Google’s Art Camera, a high-resolution imaging system, to capture 16 notable works. The 12 in the new announcement counts stories; the sixteen counts works photographed in that earlier collaboration. The announcement gives Van Gogh’s reed-pen marks as an example of details to examine, and the project links to material about close observation and artistic techniques. Source · Source
The partners also announced a new artist residency, a program supporting an artist’s research and creative work. It will explore AI use in cultural institutions’ metadata workflows and the Courtauld’s photographic collections. Metadata means descriptive information, such as a work’s title, creator and date, that helps people identify and find material. Making photographs searchable and connecting them with learning curricula are aims for the work ahead. Source
OYOPICK’s Take
The promising choice here is to place questions alongside close-up imagery. When an expert’s account of technique accompanies a brushstroke or pen mark, a small detail can become a clue to understanding the work. We hope online viewing tools continue to expand people’s observation and curiosity in this way.
The value of the AI cataloguing research will also depend on accurate descriptions and connections. Correctly linking titles, creators and dates could make photographic material easier to find and use in teaching. As residency results emerge, we would like the partners to explain how they check information and errors, identify its sources, and define which material becomes publicly accessible.