(Charles Onians/AFP/Getty Images)
More and more frequently, it seems as if museums have been making the significant decision to place large portions, sometimes the entirety, of their collections online, often available to the public at no cost. In the last year, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, among many others, have been diligently working toward uploading the whole of their collections to the Internet. The Getty and the Rijksmuseum have even gone as far as to offer high-resolution images of this artwork with little to no copyright restrictions. Initially, I felt ill at ease and suspicious toward what I considered to be an unsettling trend in the museum world. After researching this idea more in depth, however, I am obligated to acknowledge the remarkable benefits associated with widely accessible collections at the touch of a mouse, despite my personal preference for the museum experience.
When I first began this blog entry, I was very stubborn in my conviction that museum collections online could only serve to hurt an institution. I believed that the number of museum visitors would drop, with individuals choosing to explore the artwork from the comfort of their own home rather than traveling out of the way to visit an institution in person. However, after reading a recent article in the Art and Design section of the New York Times that discusses the reasoning behind various museums’ decisions to post their collections online, I was able to put aside my personal bias and accept that there are substantial benefits to collections being made widely available on the Internet.
Taco Dibbits, the director of collections at the Rijksmuseum explained in an interview for the New York Times, “We’re a public institution, and so the art and objects we have are, in a way, everyone’s property.” Some museums firmly believe that it their duty to make their artwork accessible to anyone and everyone that wishes to view it. Collections that are available online have created the opportunity for the public to interface with artwork from museums all over the world. In addition, online collections have the potential to serve as crucial teaching tools at all levels of education. For example, schools that do not possess the funds to send their students to museums will have the ability to bring the museum into the classroom. Additionally, scholars will have the opportunity to closely examine, often to an extent that might not otherwise be physically possible in the museum setting, pieces of art that may be housed in other countries. In some cases, art can even be viewed in situ within an exhibit, giving the viewer the ability to experience a piece beyond its two dimensional image in a textbook.
I will admit, it is convenient to be able to peruse a museum’s collections if you are otherwise unable to visit the institution. At the end of the day, however, I firmly believe that browsing through online collections will always be a poor substitute for the magic of exploring the various exhibits of a museum in propia persona. Museums have become a natural meeting place for all members of our society, ranging from children and school groups to students, adults, and teachers. Museums are spaces that inspire learning, creative thinking, and discussion over an endless variety of topics, among a wide and diverse audience. In his article "The Mindful Museum," I believe Adam Gopnik is quite accurate in his description of the museum as the agora of contemporary society. I can only hope that museums continue to function as the central place where people can connect and converse with each other over art and culture.
Check out these links that helped inspire my first entry of Museum Musings!
Los Angeles Times Article
New York Times Article
"The Mindful Museum"
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