Google Builds On Street Art Project, Ensuring Scrubbed LA Murals Live On
Jennifer Madison, CBS Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Artists have long battled with developers to preserve the work that colors the city's streets and its history.
Nearly a year after the owner of a Venice building was sued for allegedly violating federal law by destroying the Brooks Avenue mural that served as the backdrop for a 1969 photo of The Doors, artists have secured a small victory, ensuring their work won't be so easily erased.
Google Tuesday announced yet another expansion of its Google Art Project, which added street art from around the world to its library back in June.
Lucy Schwartz, program manager of Google Cultural Institute, says the company is now "doubling the number of public artworks to more than 10,000 high-resolution images."
According to Schwartz, 85 art organizations from 34 countries are participating in the effort, The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles and the DO ART Foundation among them.
Recent uploads from DO ART include work from Christina Angelina, EaseOne and Stephen V. Williams.
"So much goes into making a piece of street art," Schwartz wrote in a blog post. "Yet its transient nature puts it at risk of being scrubbed out and lost forever. The Google Art Project allows these works of art to transcend the walls, be transported to your screen and live on."
Other works included in the expansion are New York City's Water Tank Project, Melbourne's laneways and "multicolored murals in Delhi, Lima and Honolulu," as well as "GIF-iti" from artists like INSA and Cheko.
