> when you see a picture of an
>object on your computer screen,you're addressing a surrogate for an
>object, not the object. Am I to understand there was no difference
>between the two?

Good question...thought-provoking!

I view objects (and other cultural resources) for their information
potential, including their ability to touch something deep inside and
inspire me.  In many museum settings the opportunity to touch, stroke, and
heft an object is prevented by plexiglass (and guards), so my "experience
of the real thing" is already somewhat truncated.  While I still thrill at
experiences of being in the presence of a "piece of the true cross" (the
Treasury Guards flag from Ford's Theater, for example) many exhibits fail
to inform me as well as the coffee table book would...or a well-done
presentation on the Web.

Cheers,

Tom Vaughan                    \_   Cultural
The Waggin' Tongue             \_    Resource
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