Google blurs online-offline interaction in new art exhibition

As part of its Web Lab series (currently in beta), Google has set up five physical installations in the museum: Universal Orchestra, Data Tracer, Sketchbots, Teleporter and Lab Tag Explorer. The experiments enable participants both in the museum and all around the globe to do things like collaborate on music compositions in real time or have their portrait drawn by a robot.

“By opening up the museum experience to the world online, Web Lab doesn’t play by the usual rules—a visitor’s location and museum opening hours no longer matter,” said Jayme Goldstein, Product Marketing Manager of Chrome, in a July 19 post on the Google blog.

Artists have a long history of fusing the online and offline worlds. SIGGRAPH (August 5-9) and the Ars Electronica festival (August 30 - September 3) are two major events which explore the intersection between art and technology. The events aim to highlight exciting innovations and research that span the fields of art, science and technology while also exploring our globally networked world through dazzling and sometimes shocking art exhibitions.

The year-long Web Lab exhibition is free and open to the public 24 hours a day via the web interface at http://chromeweblab.com/. Google says it will continue to tweak the exhibition based on user feedback.