Technology1Googling art all over <strong>the</strong> <strong>world</strong>Those that have always wanted toexplore <strong>the</strong> art galleries <strong>of</strong> Italy,or discover <strong>the</strong> rock drawings <strong>of</strong>Western Australia but have nei<strong>the</strong>r<strong>the</strong> time nor funds, can now do sowithout leaving home. The GoogleArt Project, a collaboration between<strong>the</strong> Google Cultural Institute and151 museums and research centresall over <strong>the</strong> <strong>world</strong>, allows users toview over 32,000 works <strong>of</strong> art allon one website. Bringing toge<strong>the</strong>rsome <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> best examples <strong>of</strong> sculpture,painting, drawing, historic andreligious artefacts, photographs,and important manuscripts, <strong>the</strong>Google Art Project was created to1. Taking a virtualtour <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> galleries<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Musée d’Orsayin Paris.2. Recording areligious scene froma painting for <strong>the</strong>Google Art Project at<strong>the</strong> Museu Nacionald’Art de Catalunya.Photographs: GoogleArt Project.2promote <strong>the</strong> use and preservation <strong>of</strong>culture online.When it was launched on 1February, 2011, <strong>the</strong> Google ArtPorject collaborated with 17museums but, this year, it rapidlyexpanded its collection, improved<strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> images, and addednew tools and interactive elements.Amit Sood, Head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> GoogleArt Project, stated: ‘The Art Projectis going global, thanks to our newpartners from around <strong>the</strong> entire<strong>world</strong>. It’s no longer just about<strong>the</strong> Indian student wanting to visitMetropolitan Museum <strong>of</strong> Art inNew York. It is now also about <strong>the</strong>American student wanting to visit<strong>the</strong> National Gallery <strong>of</strong> ModernArt in Delhi.’ Using Google’s StreetView technology, users can alsotake virtual tours <strong>of</strong> museums andiconic centres, such as <strong>the</strong> Palace <strong>of</strong>Versailles or <strong>the</strong> Musée d’Orsay.All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> artwork on <strong>the</strong> Projectcan be viewed at high resolution,and particularly famous works <strong>of</strong>art can be viewed using Gigapixeltechnology, which allows usersto view canvases in brushstrokeand patina detail. Google ArtProject’s database also allows visitorsto search through all <strong>the</strong> collectionsonline to view works bya certain artist or from a particularperiod. By employing <strong>the</strong> toolsExplore and Discover, users canexplore <strong>the</strong> website’s archive by title<strong>of</strong> artwork, genre, museum, country,<strong>city</strong>, or collection.Google has also incorporatedinteractive elements within <strong>the</strong>Project, by allowing users to choose<strong>the</strong>ir favourite work <strong>of</strong> art and detailsto create <strong>the</strong>ir own ‘User Galleries’across <strong>the</strong> site. Within <strong>the</strong>ir personalgalleries, you can add commentsbeside each work, and sharegalleries online with social mediaoutlets Google Plus and Hangout.The personal gallery also allowsusers to upload Youtube videos pertainingto <strong>the</strong> artwork featured in<strong>the</strong>ir personally chosen collection.There is a separate educational sectionon <strong>the</strong> website, featuring videosand content to help users understandcertain <strong>the</strong>mes in art.The Google Art Project is currentlyplanning to expand intomore countries and collections toincrease its online database. Thereare also plans underway to includean experimental section, high<strong>light</strong>inghow artists are using new technologiesto display <strong>the</strong>ir art.For now though, users canimmerse <strong>the</strong>mselves in art from allover <strong>the</strong> <strong>world</strong>, ranging from <strong>the</strong>street graffiti <strong>of</strong> Brazil to <strong>the</strong> caveart <strong>of</strong> South Africa. nKirsten Amor52 Minerva November/December 2012
ookreviewsThe Pharaoh: Life at Court and on CampaignGarry J ShawThames & Hudson224pp, 233 illustrations, 172 in colourHardback, £24.95What was it like to be one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mostpowerful rulers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ancient <strong>world</strong>? Howdid someone become king <strong>of</strong> Egypt? Whatdid a pharaoh do in his leisure time? Theseare some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> many questions tackled byGarry J Shaw, whose research focuses on <strong>the</strong>daily lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pharaohs, in his lively andcolourful new book.Shaw, who teaches at <strong>the</strong> EgyptExploration Society, follows <strong>the</strong> great rulersfrom <strong>the</strong> bedchamber to <strong>the</strong> battlefield.As well as exploring <strong>the</strong> evolution and ideology<strong>of</strong> kingship and what it was like tobe regarded as a god, he also investigates<strong>the</strong> personal life <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pharaoh – his recreationalpursuits, family life, diet and healthproblems. Pets were not unknown in <strong>the</strong>royal palaces <strong>of</strong> Egypt – cats and dogs werepopular and some were so beloved that <strong>the</strong>ywere buried in <strong>the</strong>ir own tombs.Quotations from original texts enliven <strong>the</strong>narrative, as in <strong>the</strong> chapter describing all <strong>the</strong>royal cities <strong>of</strong> Ancient Egypt in which <strong>the</strong>earliest, Memphis, sounds like a kind <strong>of</strong> paradise:‘her granaries are full <strong>of</strong> barley andemmer, her lakes are full <strong>of</strong> lotus-buds…The noble ladies <strong>of</strong> Memphis sit at leisure,hands bowed down with [festive] foliageand greenery’.All this is set within a clear historicalframework, well described in ChapterTwo, ‘The Story <strong>of</strong> Two Lands’, and,at <strong>the</strong> <strong>end</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> book, <strong>the</strong>re is a usefulcheck-list <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong> pharaohs, fromPredynastic times to <strong>the</strong> Roman period,giving biographies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most important.54Ancient Egypt: A Guide to <strong>the</strong> MonumentsWilliam MurnanePallas A<strong>the</strong>ne,3rd edition revised by Aidan Dodson418pp, 34 colour and numerous black andwhite plates, maps, plans, and sectionsPaperback, £19.99Aided by plans, maps and good illustrations,this chunky, well-written culturalguidebook not only takes <strong>the</strong> traveller ona thorough and informative tour <strong>of</strong> Egypt’sancient monuments, but also gives a conciseinsight into <strong>the</strong> long history <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> country.The author does not confine himself to<strong>the</strong> Pharaonic past, Christian, Coptic andIslamic sites are included, as is <strong>the</strong> development<strong>of</strong> archaeology:‘Gone are <strong>the</strong> freewheeling days <strong>of</strong> exploration– <strong>of</strong> unsupervised digs and <strong>the</strong> gifteddilettante floating down <strong>the</strong> Nile on hishouseboat; <strong>the</strong> specialist has replaced <strong>the</strong>gentleman at large… To some <strong>the</strong>re is asense <strong>of</strong> lost romance: certainly nothingwithin <strong>the</strong> last 90 years has matched <strong>the</strong>excitement that greeted <strong>the</strong> discovery <strong>of</strong>Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. What is generallyforgotten is that this excavation wasa model for its time, marking a new era <strong>of</strong>pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism in field archaeology…’.From Siwa Oasis in <strong>the</strong> Western Desert toSt Ca<strong>the</strong>rine’s Monastery in <strong>the</strong> Sinai, eachancient monument is beautifully described,made clearer by plans, maps and sections,and <strong>the</strong> visitor is also given a suggestedroute to make sure nothing is overlooked.At <strong>the</strong> back <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> book <strong>the</strong>re is a capsulelist <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong> pharaohs and a description<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir reigns, and also a guide to <strong>the</strong>cities and towns <strong>of</strong> Egypt; for example:‘Aswan is truly <strong>the</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Nile. The river runs cold and clear,splashing and swirling around <strong>the</strong> cliffsand jagged outcroppings. In this land <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> First Cataract, <strong>the</strong> Nile has lost its buffer<strong>of</strong> cultivation, and <strong>end</strong>less waves <strong>of</strong> goldensand swirl against its banks.’There is, however, only a small sectiongiving practical information; ano<strong>the</strong>r book,or an internet search, would be needed foradvice on hotels, restaurants and so on.Egyptian Hieroglyphs for CompleteBeginners: The Revolutionary NewApproach to reading <strong>the</strong> MonumentsBill ManleyThames & Hudson160pp, 45 illustrationsHardback, £12.95For students who never quite got to gripswith Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar, thisbook may come as a gods<strong>end</strong>. In <strong>the</strong> preface<strong>the</strong>re is fur<strong>the</strong>r good news for thosewith no Latin or Greek when Bill Manley,who has 25 years’ experience <strong>of</strong> teachinghieroglyphs, announces: ‘The way thisbook works assumes you have no particularknowledge <strong>of</strong> any foreign language, ancientor modern, and no particular knowledge <strong>of</strong>grammar or specialized terminology’.Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore this is no traditional grammarbook or primer as he explains: ‘… <strong>the</strong>approach here has been organized arounda sequence <strong>of</strong> monuments, which you areinvited to examine and read right from <strong>the</strong>start’. So, <strong>of</strong>f you go, starting with a stela<strong>of</strong> Mereri from his tomb at D<strong>end</strong>erah,circa 2200 BC, and <strong>end</strong>ing up with hieroglyphson <strong>the</strong> wall <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fering-chapel <strong>of</strong>Sareput II at Aswan, circa 1850 BC.The epilogue includes useful lists <strong>of</strong> names<strong>of</strong> kings and gods and hieroglyphic signs. Iam sure that Champollion would approve,although perhaps through gritted teeth.Lindsay FulcherMinerva November/December 2012