The aim is to expose the world to Puerto Rico
art, preserve it and help museums in the U.S.
territory that are struggling to exhibit paintings
given space constraints and budget cuts amid a
13-year recession.
“It’s a flare out to the world that there’s incredible
art here,” Miranda told to Media. “There’s no
reason why Puerto Rican art should not be seen
on the same stage as the Louvre, the Met and
all the incredible other places where Google has
come with its cameras to digitize the artwork.”
Puerto Rico artwork joins Google’s current online
exhibitions and stories from around the world
including “Rings from 500 BC,” an up close view
of the “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” and a virtual tour
of Chichen Itza in Mexico.
As part of the project, Google brought its so-
called “art camera” for the first time to Puerto Rico,
which required special permits, Miranda said.
“I’m sure I’m on some kind of watch list,” he said
with a laugh.
The camera has an extremely high resolution
thanks to a 400 millimeter zoom that unveils
details invisible to the human eye, including
brush strokes. It also allowed those at the
Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to find the
signature of a pioneering female artist, said
executive director Carlos Ruiz, adding that the
institute was forced to close its national gallery in
2013, leaving works without a permanent space.
The camera took thousands of pictures to digitize
48 pieces of Puerto Rico art as it went inches by
inches to cover an entire painting, a job that took
30 minutes to several hours depending on the
size of the artwork, said Simon Delacroix, U.S.
lead for Google Arts & Culture.