Google Arts & Culture

I use this app on my iphone and ipad. A couple things keep me from giving it five stars. One, the galleries of artists don't often include their full oeuvre but rather a few of their selected works. On the same note, some artists with relevant and incredible works don’t exist in this app. Two, why is the mobile UI so oddly conposed? I spent a few moments trying to find my bookmarked favorite paintings before i realized that i have to click on my own profile and scroll through the drop-down menu to find it. Why not include it as a bottom tab? Finally, PLEASE add the option automatically rotate the screen when going back and forth from landscape to portrait mode. This is my biggest gripe with this app. I want to be able to see the paintings at the widest aspect ratio relevant to the corresponding size of the painting and I thought it was rather strange that this app doesn't have that yet. These are a few of the reasons why i keep defaulting to Pinterest. This app has potential, but it does need work.

The Google Arts and Culture application is the type of application people who are curious about the cultures of the world dream of. To start off the design is in balance with a clear color background and minimal text regarding categories and article titles. Users can easily navigate the main sections of the app from the bottom tab. The app can also be used in various ways whether consuming information from the content provided which ranges from classical artworks articles on historical figures, science as well as a range of other topics. The app can be used to create content by way of galleries the user constructs. The app can even be seen as a observational lens through use of Virtual Reality and Selfies. A short review can’t do this application justice. It is well worth a download just for the ability to enrich your imagination.

It has long been obvious that all too many reviews (not just in the app store but of restaurants, products, etc.) tell us more about the reviewers than what they review. But never has it been more obvious than this. By any rational and even semi-informed measure this app deserves very high marks overall. While I can nitpick with the best, for a FREE app which is constantly improving and evolving, the features, content and execution of this app are exceptional. Joe and Jane Average user are absolutely clueless about the time and effort that goes into something like this, but even that aside there seems to be little rational thought behind many reviews. The one small feature/experiment for matching your selfie is a perfect example. With apparently zero consideration of factors such as the relatively small number of distinct pieces of art with which to compare, people are giving the ENTIRE app a low rating because they don’t like the results from this one little side-show fun-feature. And then there is the clueless person talking about the bias (inaccuracies) of the matches reflecting the bias of the developers! Typical, a critic claiming bias but really just demonstrating their own bias and ignorance. Insulted yet? If so then maybe you should reconsider your review and either give the rest of the app a closer look or stop insulting those who work hard to improve access to the rich world of art and culture that you would otherwise miss while playing angry birds.