[themartorana]

This is the dream of the internet making culture available to the masses. I've loved Google Art Project for a while, and news of more art coming online is fantastic. My wife is an art teacher and this kind of news makes her giddy.

[jdavis703]

Aren't museums open to the masses already? For example I was at the Louvre about a year ago and shocked at the casualness that tourists touched hundreds of years old objects with -- even when these objects had do not touch signs on them. What scares me is that our culture will wind up in the homes and offices of the wealth, truly hidden away from the masses. Seeing the way some museums "guard" their art, I'm really surprised donors still let us mere mortals breathe on their million dollar investments.

[sehr]

The masses cannot afford trips to Paris.

[jdavis703]

There are also masses in Europe. About 500 million I believe, and regardless there are art museums near almost everyone in all developed countries.

[JadeNB]

Even if there is an art museum near you, there may not be the art museum that hosts the particular piece of art that will change your life. Your comment sounds to me like it opposes making as much work as possible available to as many people as possible, which surely isn't what you meant.

[JoeAltmaier]

Well, ignoring the half of many countries that don't live in cities. Can less-than-half be called 'almost everyone'?

[sehr]

The masses do not live in Europe, the masses do not live in developed countries.