Selective Collection Composition
One issue that eventually museums will have to address is the limited way they shape
their “digital exhibits” as they race to present and curate their collections on the Internet. Most
typically, they only allow access to collection information through the interpretive frameworks
they provide, which reinforces earlier attitudes about collections and viewing. This does not
appear to be shifting yet in the ongoing digital revolution (Keene 139). Almost all of the virtual
tours and collections available literally reproduce the physical experience as closely as
possible. While this is potentially exciting and e ducational for those who cannot travel—and
arguably only scholars “care" about the way collections are framed and presented for
consumption— it does replicate the formulaic interpretation of history that recent scholarship
across disciplines are struggling to reevaluate. In other words, museums must guard against
technological determinism—the key issues become not the capabilities of technologies, but the
politics, cultural effects, and moralities of how we use them (140).
Digitizing collections is gaining traction quickly, but varies pretty widely by museum and
type of collection. Most digitized collections are limited to an individual museum’s well-known
pieces or specific collections, like the Louvre, which has one of the least sophisticated online
presences. Often works appear as lists or as slide-show type features. Search functions
include special exhibits, categories like painting, architecture, or sculpture, and searching for
artistic movements or artist. Background information on individual pieces is fairly limited on
most sites. Despite the limitations of this type of presentation, which is largely one
dimensional, the opportunity for collaboration and wider general access to images and
histories on the Internet are increasing.
Google’s Art Project is an interesting and ambitious project that appears to be a onestop site for browsing art. Launched just four years ago (in February 2011) and with initial
collaboration agreements with 17 major museums, it is rapidly expanding. Of course, copyright
and permission issues entailed by endowments, gifts, and collections or pieces on loan make
this project expensive. It has the advantage of allowing museums to avoid the costs associated
with creating their own virtual museums, but instead it seems that most museums working with
this project are allowing Google only partial access to their already developed digital
collections. One can browse specific collections, like those at the Acropolis Museum, but only
24 pieces and seven artists are represented here. On the Acropolis Museum web site,
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