The thing that I find missing from this discussion of
virtual museums is a sense of "place." A principal
experience, for me, in going to a museum is the pleasure I
get in *being* somewhere. I know that this same sensation is
a major impediment for many museum-goers, they find the
museum atmosphere daunting or otherwise off-putting (for
reasons of class, culture, etc.) But in any case, it is a
major component of the museum experience, with all of its
social, emotional, and cultural resonances. Those who
describe this experience as solely visual are simply not
paying attention to everything that goes on during a museum
visit.
And then there is the indescribable and complex aura that
surrounds an actual artifact, as distinct from a
representation. Everyone is familiar with the difference
between a book of pictures and a gallery of pictures. To me,
there is simply no comparison between the richness of the
experience in encountering an actual thing, and encountering
a representation of the thing.
I am pretty dubious about the value and future of "virtual
museums." I have visited many of these on the Web. For the
most part, they are interesting and occasionally well done.
But the experience is more like watching a frustratingly
slow, ill-produced, and lo-rez documentary about the Louvre
than visiting the Louvre. (By the way, the Louvre web site
has a disclaimer saying that it is not connected to the
museum itself.)
The farther we move away from the primacy of the object and
the pleasure of the actual physical contact, the more we
enter into competition with other media such as movies,
edutainment CD-ROMS, etc, a competition in which I'm afraid
museums will come out the losers.
But, people seem in love with this conception, and alot of
good creative thinking is going into it, so maybe I'll be
pleasantly surprised.
Eric, who is sounding older every day.
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