ART INFORMATION: Virtual MuseumsMany of our favorite museums are currently closed to the public due to the Corona virsu Pandemic. However, a number of these museums are reaching out to the public offering online art-related activities. The following are some of the activities that have been brought to our attention.
Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum has a rich variety of offerings. Visitors have access to over 675,000 works of art in its Rijkstudio. There are high-quality images of the works, downloadable images, descriptions of the works and in some instances excerpts from the museum's audio tour. You can browse the collection or look at groups of works (called Rijkstsudios) that have been assembled by the museum or by other viewers. The museum has also produced a series of videos on Youtube under the heading Rijkscreative. These include a number of demonstrations teaching viewers art techniques used by artists such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt. English-speaking people should not let the fact that the Rijksmuseum is in the Netherlands deter them. All of the aforementioned programming is in English as well as Dutch. Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is also offering virtual art programs. One such offering involves Instagram postings that feature photos of works from its collection along with some information about the works. Another offering is a podcast discussing a painting by Georgia O'Keefe. On its Youtube channel, the BMFA has videos that include talks with artists, samplers of lectures by experts and authors, and insights from behind the scenes at the museum. Viewers can also browse through the photographs and information about the works in its extensive collections on the BMFA's website. Focusing on modern and contemporary art, New York's Museum of Modern Art (“MOMA”) has a wide-variety of online offerings. Like the Rijksmuseum and BMFA, MOMA has its own video channel on Youtube, which includes videos about works in the museum, topics related to modern art and the techniques used by some of the artists represented in MOMA's collection. Similarly, with the MOMA Audio ap, you can listen to artists, curators, and MoMA staff speak about the Museum’s collection and special exhibitions. MOMA has also assembled an extensive amount of material under the heading MOMA Learning. This includes programming that can be used by teachers and parents who are conducting home-schooling as well as the general public. The museum is also offering free online courses at Coursera. Each course features original videos, texts, and audio, including studio visits and conversations with artists, educators, curators, and other creative forces. Virtual art offerings are not limited to the large museums. For example, the Frick Collection in New York has an online video tour of its collection of Limoges enamels presented by the director of the museum Ian Wardropper The Frick has also contributed several of its Vermeer paintings for inclusion in an online presentation by Google Arts and Culture on Vermeer and music. Along the same lines, the Morgan Library and Museum is offering a number of online art-related activities. These include an online exhibition City of Souls, Walks in Rome. The presentation looks at several landmarks in Rome, combining quotes from 19th century writers, views by contemporary artists and modern photographs. In addition, the Morgan along with the Art Students League of New York is conducting a portrait competition on Instagram. Of course, viewing art online does not compare to experiencing it in person. Still, it is an enjoyable experience and much can be learned about art from the offerings that the museums have posted online. |
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Art information - Virtual Museums