Stepping back to Doug's original message from a large gallery in
Toronto my first thought is this. In a gallery the art often imparts
its own message as opposed to museums where we place three dimensional
artifacts and re-contextualize them after they have been removed from
their natural environment. This is a strength in that we control the infomation
imparted and of course a liability if there is something wrong with
the message. Regardless of what we surround the artifact with be this
recreations, physical or virtual or a simple label or maybe nothing -
someone or some group with a particular philosophical bent is in control.
So the problem is circular and changes with the times. Maybe what we
are talking about here is nothing more than intellectual marketing. Fine
because we need the breakthroughs but it is nothing more than the course of
events seeking perfection.
After MDOC in Cambridge and a visit to some of the big guys in Washington
last spring I have to say that the most successful computer in an exhibit
I have seen to date is gem multimedia presentation at the Royal Ontario
Museum in Toronto. The public lined up to use it both before and after
visiting the exhibit. Sorry Doug I have not seen your new stuff at the
AGO.
Maurice D. Smith, Curator.
Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston,
Kingston, Ontario.