Google Project Aims to Make Street Art Immortal

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From murals in Atlanta to graffiti in Tunisia, Google’s Street Art Project, which launches Tuesday, preserves and gives Internet access to more than 5,000 photographic records of otherwise impermanent artwork.

Google Cultural Institute‘s director Amit Sood says the project’s mission is to turn the world into “one huge open-air gallery for everyone to enjoy.”

“These works of art that decorate our streets do not always hang about for long, which is why we’re delighted to work with partners around the globe to help them tell a story of street art around the globe,” Sood said, referring to environmental and societal elements that threaten to destroy works of art created in public space.

Street art is at once a celebrated and reviled pastime. From humble beginnings as a vandal’s crime in New York City, street art has evolved to become globally accepted. Artists like Shepard Fairey and JR have seen their work attract attention in political campaigns and high society. However, street art can still be considered vandalism in many cases in the U.S. and around the world. This was proven in last year’s destruction of the iconic 5 Pointz in Queens. The street art initiative by Google provides a safe haven for these masterfully creative works.

One of the most important features is that the images are shown in their natural habitat, so the viewer can truly understand the space the art creates (quite an improvement over putting a Banksy piece in an auction). Not only does Google’s street art project preserve street art for time immemorial, but it provides a window into another world of art spanning the entire globe.

Chilean artist INTI on Reynoldstown Crossing, Atlanta, Georgia, for Living Walls 2013.
Chilean artist INTI on Reynoldstown Crossing, Atlanta for Living Walls 2013.Joshua Gwyn—Living Walls
3ttman Living Walls
French artist 3ttman in Summerhill, Atlanta for Living Walls 2013.Joshua Gwyn—Living Walls
Street Art El Seed It Impossible
Street artist eL Seed's It impossible, Cape Town, South Africa. Kent Lingeveldt—Itinerrance Gallery
Artist: eL SeedTitle: Lost Wall - Star Wars Film Set Location: Onk el Jmel, TunisiaCredit: Itinerrance gallery / eL Seed
Street artist eL Seed's Lost Wall on the Star Wars film set in Onk el Jmel, Tunisia. Ouahid Berrehouma—Itinerrance Gallery
Dal East Street Art
Abiding In The Broken Heart by DALeast in Malaga, Spain, 2013. Courtesy CAC Málaga
JR Street Art Brazil
French street artist JR's Women Are Heroes dominates the Morro da Providencia favela, one of Brazil's most dangerous, in Rio de Janeiro, August 20, 2008. Vanderlei Almeida—AFP/Getty Images
Vhils Street Art
The artwork of Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils decorates the walls with faces that represent the people who live in Providencia, the oldest slum in Rio de Janeiro, Nov. 29, 2012. Luiz Claudio Martins Baltar—Flickr/Getty Images
Vhils Street Art
The face of a woman who used to live in the demolished residential block is seen carved into a remaining wall by street artist Vhils and his team in Shanghai on March 1, 2012. Niu Yixin—EPA
Street Art Mark Baretto
A piece by Mark Barretto, a Filipino artist currently living in Dubai, created during a return visit to Cavite, Philippines. Mark Barretto—Filipino Street Art Project
C215 em Lisboa.
French street artist C215's work on the Calada da Pampulha in Lisbon. JosŽ Vicente—Departamento de Patrim—nio Cultural
Street Art In The East End Of London
A piece of Roa's rodent series in the East End of London, Nov. 15, 2011.Matthew Lloyd—Getty Images
Street Art Chile
Carnaval Latinoamericano by Charquipunk and La Robot de Madera in San Miguel, Chile. Managers Open Air Museum in San Miguel: Mixart Cultural Center
Street Art Stik Thierry Noir
Thierry Noir and Stik's historic collaboration on The Village Underground Wall in Shoreditch, London, February 2013.Thierry Noir and Stik

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