We can spend most of our lives hoping that one day we will see a work like Van Gogh’s in real life. sunflowerMonet’s haystackthe clay tablets with actual cuneiform writing with our own eyes, or the Temple of Dendur in ancient Egypt. We can come face-to-face with all of them, including the temple, at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This means you can see directly from surface to surface. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art houses more artifacts of human civilization than any of us would care to examine in detail in a lifetime. But even if we do, we might just be tempted to look at them closer and even touch them. That may be an unlikely hope, but thanks to a new system at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we can at least get closer than ever. Archive of high-resolution 3D scans.
“Viewers can zoom in, rotate and examine each model, giving them unprecedented access to important works of art.” Official announcement from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “3D models can also be explored in the viewer’s own space through augmented reality (AR) on most smartphones and VR headsets, as a resource for research, exploration, and curiosity.”
Highlights include “Marble sarcophagus with a lion cutting down an antelope (3rd century). Statue of Horus the falcon guarding Nectanebo II (360-343 BC). Mr. Kano Yamayuki old plum (1646); and House model by Nayarit artist (200 BC – 300 AD). Or maybe you prefer an intimate perspective 18th century tiles depicting Mecca19th century Marble sculpture of Perseus with the head of Medusaor Set of armor of King Henri II of France?
browsing Archive of over 100 digitized historical objectsYou’ll also notice works from Japan, such as a 17th-century folding screen by the artist. Kano mountain snow and Kiichi Suzuki. These must have been a priority for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s institutional partner in this project, the Japanese television network NHK. It all comes “as part of the public broadcaster’s commitment to producing ultra-high-resolution 3D computer graphics of national treasures and other significant art objects,” with future plans for “further educational programming and potential content using these state-of-the-art, best-in-class models.” But for now, the archives offer us more than enough to look at from all angles. To do this, simply click the “View in 3D” button below the image on the page for the selected artifact or artwork. It may not be the same as holding the object in your hand, but it’s as close as possible to it. Unless, of course, you’re inspired to pursue your dream of becoming a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
via huge
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Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
