Homepage Artistry

If you used Google to research anything over the last couple of days, you may have noticed that the icon above the search bar has been replaced with a sculpture of multi-colored chrome tulips. Artist Jeff Koons crafted the work specifically for the search engine as part of a larger effort to bring homepage personalization to an artistic level.

iGoogle Artists, as the collaborative project is called, offers a wide range of themes created by artists for users who want to update their internet pages with a bit of high art. It is as easy as clicking on the suite of your choice, and the chosen design will decorate your Google taskbar until you change or deactivate it.

An international group, over 70 artists from 17 countries and six continents, has been amassed. It is an interdisciplinary group as well. Designs from visual artists like Koons, Mario Toral and Dale Chihuly are available, as are those from cartoonist Robert Mankoff and Korean illustrator, Snowcat. The choreographer and opera director Mark Morris is represented, as is architect Michale Graves. Fashion designers Marc Ecko, Fátima Lopes and Dolce & Gabbana have also participated. Musicians such as Coldplay and the Beastie Boys have submitted works as well.