Art inspired by google earth/ maps

google maps art progect

http://www.streetwithaview.com/

Pittsburgh based street artists Ben Kinsley and Robin Hewlett use google maps to create a world of their own. In may, Kinsley and Hewlett teamed up with google by staging unexplainable and wild scenes that would then be photographed by the google maps van and put on display for anyone who googles Sampsonia street, Pittsburgh. By photographing scenes such as two 17th century swordsmen in battle, or an escape from a window using knotted bedsheets, Kinsley and Hewlett attempt to make people "...question the notion of reality in something that we perceive as a factual representation of our world." this piece was inspired by the random moments of real life that seem mundane until they are isolated by google maps, such as being able to read your name on a wall or someone breaking into a car.

I think this project is very cleaver because it uses new media and pairs it up with installation art and created a piece that is reliant on technology but, in my opinion, maintains the hand-made feel of a painting or installation. I also like this piece because it is the concept that is most important by introducing the idea of making people question their trust in technology as well as reality; the execution seems like the easiest part of this project leaving the idea behind it the main focus.

Google Bible Earth

Australia's own James Dive is a different kinda of "Jesus-freak" as he uses google earth in order to recreate 3D models of biblical scenes. From Noah and the arc to the parting of the Red Sea and finally the crucifixion of Christ, Dive wanted to show events that may or may not have happened seem concrete when seen through the lens of technology. Dive also plays with our trust in satellite technology and wants us not to trust everything we see in a birds eye view, or what Dive in this case refers to as a "God's eye view." By mastering this new medium, Dive pieces together these biblical scene through actual images seen on google earth, for example, using images from parts of the Niagara Falls, various deserts, and the Red Sea in order to recreate the Moses scene. Dive even went as far as leaning secrets of the medium such as depth through shadows and colors schemes depending on the season to make this piece even more realistic

I really enjoyed this work because is makes google earth seem like just as much as a legitimate medium as acrylic paints or clay. It provides depth to a program that many people never thought possible. Also, I think it is very interesting how artist are now able to communicate controversial ideas though new media technology enforcing the idea that these new devices are not only here to help find direction but to make us think a little harder about how we perceive the world around us. Google earth is here to stay. might as well make it interesting.