Friday's art website: Art Project, powered by Google

How would you like to view museums from around the world, explore artworks at very detailed levels, and create your own gallery of masterpieces? Welcome to the Art Project by Google, a compilation of over a dozen of the worlds' greatest museums and their art. Users can "tour" the museums just as if they were there in person. Viewers can also zoom in on a painting to get more information, or can view videos about the piece on You Tube. This website is truly interactive! It is more than just a place to see art, it is a place to experience art.

Q & A with Michael Murray Part 6

How do you decide what to photograph?

It really depends if its a piece for an exhibition or a commission piece. I've recently been asked by a private client to design an aerial piece of her house and surrounding neighborhood and add in a family of foxes as they are quite famous in her area. I therefore would only need to take photographs of model foxes, and similar textures (pavement, bricks etc) to her actual street. For exhibitions I'll go though my wee book of ideas, built up over many years, and pick one which I fancy working on, and would fit in with the exhibition. I'll then photograph anything I need for that design.

Picture credit: Michael's work, "Soccer Cows" at a recent exhibition

Friday's website of art interest: THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

The Smithsonian American Art Museum, is today's art website of interest. It is the nation's first collection of American art, and is an unparalleled record of the American experience. The collection captures the aspirations, character and imagination of the American people throughout three centuries. The American Art Museum is the home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. Its artworks reveal key aspects of America's rich artistic and cultural history from the colonial period to today. More than 7,000 artists are represented in the collection.

In addition to a robust exhibition program in Washington, D.C., the Museum maintains a highly regarded traveling exhibition program. It has circulated hundreds of exhibitions since the program was established in 1951. From 2000 to 2005, museum staff have organized 14 exhibitions of more than 1,000 major artworks from American Art's permanent collection that traveled to 105 venues across the United States. More than 2.5 million visitors saw these exhibitions. The Museum had three major exhibitions touring the U.S. in 2009. The museum staff also produces a series of podcasts, also available through iTunes, which feature voices of artists, curators, and students.

Photographer Meg Birnbaum exhibiting in Japan

Cow Art and More photographer Meg Birnbaum is exhibiting some of her cattle photography, amongst others, at the Tanto Tempo Gallery in Japan. She is currently traveling there to give an artist talk on March 13 at the Gallery. Information about the exhibit, "Plastic/Fantastic" can be found on the Tanto Tempo Gallery website.

Friday's website of interest to art enthusiasts: COW PARADE

For me, it can't get any better than this: cows and art! Today's website of interest for art enthusiasts is Cow Parade. This art exhibition consists of fiberglass cows that are individually decorated by artists, architects, designers and other celebrities. The cows have gone on exhibit in major cities around the world.

Cow parade has been one of most widely viewed art exhibition worldwide by an estimated 100 million people. The exhibits have also managed to raise 20 million dollars for charity. To borrow these words directly from their website, "The cow is a universally beloved animal. The cow represents different things to different people around the world-she's sacred, she's historical, she connects us to our past-but the common feeling is one of affection. There is something magical about the cow that transcends throughout the world. She simply makes everyone smile." The website has a slide show of the all the cows that have been on parade and answers to their most frequently asked questions.