I completely agree with Shana: an online exhibit shouldn't be copying
the physical one, but should offer something more. (Although, even if
it did copy the physical one, I don't think it would be a substitute
for seeing the objects in person.) The online exhibits I like let you
do things like rotate and pick up an object to look underneath it
(virtually), "curate" your own exhibit so you pick which object to
place together and why, explore how an object could have been
different: what if it was painted a different color?, bring together
collections from disparate institutions in a way that would be
difficult to do in real life, etc.
The Tate Gallery has a difficult-to-find section on its website
called "Insight." The special imaging section (http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/in_special.htm
) has a few pieces that have been up for five years or so, but I still
enjoy them. They're simple, too: What would this painting look like if
you moved the light? How did they install that? What does that 1,000-
pound sculpture look like from underneath?
Behind-the-scenes experiences can be effective in building interest in
your museum. I like the idea of letting visitors feel as though
they're seeing something special. I can imagine visiting an exhibit
after I'd already read a blog about its origins or watched a video of
its installation. I think I'd have a different connection to that
exhibit than I would if I just visited it "cold."
Like Shana, I have no real information on how online exhibits affect
ticket sales, though. Sorry!
JR
Jennifer Rae Atkins
Andrew Merriell & Associates
7198 Old Santa Fe Trail • Santa Fe, NM • 87505
P: 505-982-3950 • F: 505-820-6674
www.merriell.com
On Jul 25, 2008, at 5:41 PM, Shana West wrote:
> Oh, sheesh, I have been writing a lot more than my share lately but
> I really like to think and talk about this stuff.
>
> Online exhibits can be a great addition to physical museum
> offerings, but I don't think they're substitutes for physical
> experiences--it's important to make a unique experience, especially
> one that people can't have in real life. I find that online
> exhibits that try to just copy physical ones are kind of boring
> because they lose the physical immersion of 3-D space. The internet
> has a lot of other assets--mashup culture and user added content
> being examples--that can be immersive in other ways.
>
> I would say that a good, unique online exhibit can accomplish three
> things:
> 1. Reaching out to a new audience and bringing new visitors to the
> physical museum
> 2. Reaching out to people who've already visited the physical museum
> and staying on their radar
> 3. Fulfilling the mission even further (which I'd say takes the cake
> over the budget, at least to a point)
>
> Anyway, if anyone has stats on how online exhibits impact ticket
> sales, I'd be interested to hear, too--though I think that would be
> hard to track, hmm.
>
> Cheers,
> Shana
>
> On Fri, Jul 25, 2008 at 3:45 PM, Molly ODwyer
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello list,
>
> I have enjoyed reading some of these discussions, especially as they
> relate to my studies and the museum where I currently work. I did
> want to send out a question to the list and get the opinions/
> thoughts of those who may have more experience than I do.
>
> I was talking with a coworker about the upcoming changes to the
> museum website and we started to discuss online exhibits. We both
> agree that it would be a nice addition to the website to have online
> exhibits (in conjunction with exhibits at the physical location and
> online only). However he alluded to the idea that administration
> (aka the board) would have issues because the museum would be
> providing a free exhibit online when others would have to pay to see
> them in person.
>
> I've been thinking about this issue ever since and can't quite
> reconcile it in my mind. I can understand that a museum that doesn't
> charge (take Smithsonian or British Museum for example) wouldn't be
> losing out on revenue by providing an online only exhibit, but what
> about museums that do charge? Personally I'd rather not think about
> the money but museum boards have to. Has anyone run into this issue
> and how was it resolved? I have not seen this mentioned in all the
> reading I've done on online exhibits. I've become rather interested
> in how museums use technology and find this has definitely piqued my
> interest. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are welcome.
>
> Molly O'Dwyer
>
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>
> --
> Shana West
>
> Master of Arts, Museology
> University of Washington
> [log in to unmask]
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