Hi there! In this post I will be exploring and analyzing Google’s Art and Culture exhibits along with the work of CyArk. The museum that I looked at in the Google Art and Culture site is the Kimbell Art Museum and I visited many CyArk projects.
The Kimbell Art Museum from the Google Art and Culture site has a large collection of paintings and sculptures that are accessible through the Google site. This collection allows users to see the collections that the museum offers and may interest those who use the site to want to visit the museum.
The Fort York National Historic Site featured on the CyArk site has an exhibit, 3D models, videos, and an open heritage site all accessible through CyArk. I also looked at other CyArk projects through the open heritage site such as the Angel Island Immigration Station in California, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and Masjid Wazir Khan in Pakistan. All these projects offer a 3D perspective of their history.
Some possible implications for virtual cultural tourism are that some people may not feel the need to go to these sites in person because they have already seen a 3D rendering of the place. It could also offer cultural tourism to a wider audience as it is more accessible through the internet. It is possible that some people may see these 3D projects and think they got all the information they would learn from being there in person, but others may want to visit these places more after seeing them online. This technology is useful for accessibility as people who may not be able to afford travel or have mobility issues can still see these places and learn about them. Historical sites that are currently in war zones and have been scanned and processed for a 3D version benefit from the detailed scans as future restoration of the structures can reference the 3D scans as a guide. It also allows people to continue learning about the history of countries currently at war because traveling to those areas would be dangerous, but we can still see these historic sites online.
The Google Art and Culture project and the many CyArk projects provide a useful online tool for telling history using technology. These scans allow people from all over the world to access various historical knowledge that would not be accessible unless one visited these sites in person. There are some issues with this technology as it may discourage some people from visiting these places in person. There is also an issue with the technology, as it removes the human aspects from places with just a scan, a user cannot learn much unless further information is provided. However, this technology is valuable and can be useful in making history more accessible and offers a detailed view of these structures.
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