louvre

Art Game: If Venus de Milo had an iPhone

When I visited the vast halls of the Louvre Museum in Paris, I was impressed with the longevity of the art within those walls. The Venus de Milo looked as fresh as the day she was chiseled.

When creations come in the form of stone or oil on canvas, they also come with a certain heft. They have the fortitude to stand up to years of viewing. Nowadays, so many of our masterpieces, both grand and personal, come in digital form.

French artist Leo Caillard has been musing on this issue. What becomes of our digital creations after 10 years? How about 500 years? Will deviantART digital creations be on display at the Louvre?… Read more

Louvre looks to LEDs to light the way

The Louvre Museum is planning an overhaul to replace its current lighting with more energy-efficient and cost-effective LED lighting.

To that end, the Louvre Pyramid, designed by architect I.M. Pei, will be refitted.

Toshiba has signed a partnership agreement to provide the lighting, which in the first phase will encompass the glass pyramids and outdoor lighting for Napoleon Court as well as the Cour Carree, the Louvre's underground, sky-lighted entrance, square, and visitors' center, Toshiba announced Wednesday.

The Napoleon Court lighting is expected to be completed in 2011, with the remaining entrance and underground lobby lighting for the … Read more

Louvre iPhone app: Quelle horreur!

J'adore France and the French people. But I'm pretty disappointed with Musee du Louvre, a free but painfully brief virtual tour of the famous museum.

The app consists of four main sections. In Louvre: The Visit, you get a video tour of seven well-known areas of the museum, including The Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa.

However, each "tour" lasts less than 20 seconds, and the default language is French. If you tap the screen to bring up the controls and then tap the language icon, you can select English (or German or Japanese), but there'… Read more

The headset as a work of art

It's rare that we see a device that performs well and actually makes a good fashion statement. The Aliph Jawbone is apparently one of those exceptions.

Gizmodo says the unique over-the-ear Bluetooth headset "uses military noise-canceling tech that can drown out the violent screams of traffic, lawnmowers, and anything else NOT your voice by using an array of microphones." But what really makes this product stand out is its aesthetic qualities--not an easy accomplishment given the limitations of size and the infinite competition of its market.

The Jawbone's stunning appearance is no accident: It was created … Read more