Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Virtual Museum Tours - Field Trips Online

Have you ever read about a museum you would love to visit, but circumstances - time - money - travel - make it impossible to visit the museum in person? Often I read of a wonderful exhibit in Savannah, or a new museum in Paris, an architectural wonder in South America, and wish I could drop everything and visit.


Today museums, world heritage sites, historical artifacts and monuments can all be explored via the digital world.

Here are some of my favorite online resources for virtual field trips:

  • Google Cultural Institute and World Wonders - Over 500 Google partners from 60+ countries have uploaded over 6.2 million objects and artifacts to the Google Cultural Institute website. In one year from June 2013 - June 2014 over 19 million unique visitors have viewed over 200 million web pages. FREE
Google Cultural Institute website

  • MoMA, New York City - The Museum of Modern Art App for iPhone lets you see and hear a wide variety of exhibits and artists, find out about upcoming events, and organize and share your favorite museum artworks. FREE 
MoMA iPhone app


  • Musée Du LouvreParis - Discover the Louvre Museum with this iPhone app that presents over 1000 pieces from the museum's collection, presents a history of the castle that houses the museum, and has a video tour of the Louvre. FREE
Musee du Louvre iPhone app

  • National Gallery, London - The National Gallery iPhone app has over 250 artworks with video and audio stories about the collection. Famous artists, writers and experts discuss the artworks and introduce the stories behind the masterpieces. $2.99
National Gallery iPhone app

  • Smithsonian Museums, Washington DC - Each Smithsonian Museum offers different virtual websites and apps for online tours, exhibits and background. The Museum of Natural History offers a panoramic room-by-room tour of the museum. FREE
Smithsonian Natural Museum of History Virtual Tour

What are your favorite virtual museum and cultural tours? Leave me a comment, I'd like to visit!

a la prochaine,

Shirley

Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Brooklyn Museum - Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe

Last week on ArtDaily I discovered a new exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe. The exhibit features over 160 shoes ranging from contemporary high heels to 16th Century heels, displayed alongside decorative arts and images of high heels in art, movies and films commissioned for this exhibit.

These shoes are an ART FORM: handcrafted, painted, sculptured works of art! Styles from platforms to stilettos to thigh-high laced boots demonstrate the history and our fascination with this provocative fashion accessory.

Shoes on exhibit include designs by:

  • Manolo Blahnic
  • Christian Louboutin
  • Chanel
  • Salvatore Ferragamo
  • Alexander McQueen
  • Andre Perugia
  • Elsa Schiaparelli
  • Vivienne Westwood
Prada
Glass Slippers by Nicola Ghesquiere for Balenciaga 

Skyscraper Inspired Heels
Chinese Manchu Platforms 

Platform Stilettos 

Animal Prints

Fantasy Booties

screenshot from the Killer Heels e-book

still from Marie Antoinette movie by Sophia Coppola


still from commissioned short film 


Killer Heels is a journey through the history of high heels that will keep you awing and marveling at the artistic creativity and imagination of shoe designers.

For more shoe images from the Killer Heels exhibit visit here.


The exhibit runs through February 15, 2015, at The Brooklyn Museum, Robert E. Blum Gallery.


a la prochaine,

Shirley