---------------Original Message---------------


Give some credit where it is due - art museums have used "hands-on" learning
techniques with these types of objects for decades.  Unfortunately, many have
not introduced this material into the gallery for a variety of reasons, and
have instead limited its use to educational tours and special galleries or
exhibitions.  Even so, many visitors seem to be attracted to the lure of the
original - "I touched a Van Gogh!!" - rather than "I touched the impasto of a
simulated Van Gogh!!"  The thrill is not there - the connection to the
world-famous, often long-dead hero/artist is denied.

Kevin
[log in to unmask]


----------End of Original Message----------

A very valid point - in my experience, the one paramount thing a visitor to a mu
seum is
looking for is authenticity -- the thrill of the "real thing."  Otherwise, they
could go to
any other place offering reproductions of experience (movies, for example).

-------------------------------------
Name: amalyah keshet
visual resources / the israel museum, jerusalem
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Date: 02/25/96
Time: 08:03:58

-------------------------------------