.jpg)
“Please Don’t Touch the Art” is the latest episode from createid, Idaho Public Television’s online creative series. This episode takes you inside the unique and high-tech environment of the Keith and Catherine Stein Luminary on the campus of Boise State University.
The Luminary is an immersive touchscreen digital gallery. It has the technology to mine (from the public domain) images of art from museums around the world and display them in high resolution. “A museum is only going to show maybe 5 percent of their collection on the floor at any given time,” says interim director Dr. Lisa Hunt. “So, we get to look at the other 95 percent of their collection and bring those pieces into one space.” Users can curate their own museum experience by choosing what they want to look at, expanding the view as large as they want, and examining every detail. The Luminary has collected tens of thousands of images to date, and the number keeps growing.
The space is more than just a digital art gallery. It is an educational space for student classes and other events and exhibitions. Boise State computer science students even use the space to learn coding and data management skills. “My students have been putting together the back-end part that connects what you see in here to all the museums that offer up their content on the internet,” explains Dr. Steve Cutchin, associate professor of computer science.
“The Luminary is a cool place, but a challenge to shoot video in,” says createid director Troy Shreve. “And of course, the video doesn’t do the place justice, so go visit it in person if you can.” The open public hours differ in the summer months from when regular school is in session, so visit their website, boisestate.edu/luminary, for details. If you can’t make it during open hours, look around with this 360-degree video from inside the Stein Luminary, linked below.
To watch “Please Don’t Touch the Art” and view our complete collection of all things creativity, visit idahoptv.org/createid. Don’t forget to follow createid on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.