Zoom into "A Sunday On La Grande Jatte" at the Art Institute of Chicago: <a href="http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/the-art-institute-of-chicago/artwork/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884-georges-seurat/609033/" rel="nofollow">http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/the-art-institute...</a><p>Seurat knew a lot about dots -- but seriously, the resolution is pretty impressive.
This also means you can now (virtually) tour the White House: <a href="http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/the-white-house/museumview/" rel="nofollow">http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/the-white-house/m...</a>
I've been trying out the Art.sy beta, and although the Art Project seems to have more functionality, I like the navigation experience on Art.sy better. Art.sy is simpler and more artwork-focused, which leads to more random browsing. That said, Art Project is very well done. The winner of this market will probably be determined by content, ie. who can sign the most museum partnerships.
Navigation is really klunky.<p>Variable resolution is the thing it has going for it. Ability to zoom in on painterly detail, or on details of larger-scale work.<p>Much of the sculpture does not come across well at all -- no multiple views, very static presentation (e.g., <a href="http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/the-art-institute-of-chicago/artwork/sideboard-designed-by-edward-william-godwin-made-by-william-watt/450226/" rel="nofollow">http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/the-art-institute...</a> or <a href="http://www.googleartproject.com/artist/andrea-zittel/4132322/" rel="nofollow">http://www.googleartproject.com/artist/andrea-zittel/4132322...</a>). A loss.<p>They should focus on pieces that will come across in this format.
<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/amit_sood_building_a_museum_of_museums_on_the_web.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ted.com/talks/amit_sood_building_a_museum_of_muse...</a><p>This is the video introducing this project at TED.
Horizontal scrolling... why?! I realize it works with a mouse wheel, but why do it?<p>Awesome concept though. Probably would have been nice to have when I took art history in college.
I can imagine the technology behind this would be great for architecture and real estate. Imagine wanting to buy a home and using the museum view to navigate it remotely.