In article <[log in to unmask]>, markus
kruse <[log in to unmask]> writes:
> I am just so disappointed by many attitudes about computers and the internet.
> many of the museums do not even want to offer their collections or imagery
> to the world wide community. many of them will fall behind again.
>
> Isn't there an opportunity for a heavy emphasis on globalization and art
> education world wide for these museums??? as well as public relations that
> do not cost much and have a much larger audience than the regular ways of pr.
>
> of course, one of the problems might be that the imagery is not the same as
> the original. as a new york times article this summer listed: pixelization
> of imagery can still be a problem. but then the national gallery in london
> has been working on a project like this for almost a decade?
>
> images are too large for people to download. although the compression
> technology of 1-100 is already developped.
>
> or is it the computer phobia of many of the heads of museums??? many of the
> heads are still the old school.
>
> any comments would be greatly appreciated.
>
> markus kruse
>
One thing I've not seen mentioned so far is that, in addition to the cost to
the museum, there is the fear (how justified could be a separate discussion)
that we may be harming ourselves in the long run.  Many museums rely fairly
heavily on admissions income, and anything that jeopardizes visitation is to be
handled with great care.  It is true that a virtual museum may inspire
people to come see "the real thing".  On the other hand, one of the prevailing
trends of the past half-century has been to substitute convenience for quality
(with TV dinners being one of umpteen examples that come to mind).  It is
therefore also true that a virtual museum may convince people to not bother
braving traffic, weather, and admission prices when they can see "just about as
good" on their computer screens in the comfort of home.  Thus, while incurring
significant cost to develop and maintain a virtual museum, the result may be a
loss of revenue, to boot.
 
Many institutions are likely to be waiting to see which of the above scenarios
is dominant (by watching someone else set up internet imaging and seeing what
happens to their attendance), and others are likely to test the waters but
slowly.  With no data on the effect of "electronization" on museum budgets, I
think it is a bit early to lambast the museum community for not leaping onto
the info superhighway.
 
Robin