Virtual museums

Survival of the fittest in a digital environment

Marloes Kueter

0238422

Falckstraat 6B

1017 VW Amsterdam

06 14573182

07-08-2010

Trilce Navarrete

Culturele informatiewetenschap

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Table of contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3

Chapter 1 Museum ................................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Definitions of museum ........................................................................................... 4

1.2 Functions of museums ........................................................................................... 5

1.3 Visions on (the evolution of) museum functions ................................................. 10

1.4 Working definition museum and its functions .................................................... 11

Chapter 2 The Virtual .............................................................................................................. 14

2.1 Gilles Deleuze ......................................................................................................... 14

2.2 Digital Heritage Netherlands (DEN) .................................................................... 14

2.3 Ross Parry .............................................................................................................. 15

2.4 Martijn Stevens and interaction at the Maritime Museum ............................... 16

2.5 Working definition virtual .................................................................................... 17

Chapter 3 Virtual museums ..................................................................................................... 18

3.1 Vannevar Bush ....................................................................................................... 18

3.2 Ross Parry’s on-line museum ............................................................................... 18

3.3 Werner Schweibenz’s virtual museums ............................................................... 19

3.4 Peter Lester’s virtual exhibition ........................................................................... 20

3.5 Bruno Latour and Adam Lowe’s fac similes ....................................................... 21

3.6 Erkki Huhtamo’s historical overview .................................................................. 22

3.7 Surveys and considerations ................................................................................... 23

3.8 What is a virtual museum? ................................................................................... 25

Chapter 4 Audience/member/visitor/user/producer .............................................................. 27

4.1 Private and public .................................................................................................. 27

4.2 Experiences in the museum ................................................................................... 28

4.3 Participatory museums .......................................................................................... 30

4.4 Role of the visitor ................................................................................................... 33

Chapter 5 Case studies ............................................................................................................. 34

5.1The Armando Museum ........................................................................................... 34

5.2 Graphic Design Museum ....................................................................................... 34

5.3 Anne Frank House ................................................................................................. 35

5.4 National Maritime Museum Amsterdam ............................................................. 35

5.5 Framework of museum functions ......................................................................... 35

5.6 Comparison virtual museums ............................................................................... 37

5.7 Relation between functions and virtual museums .............................................. 39

Chapter 6 How to survive? ....................................................................................................... 41

6.1 Memes ..................................................................................................................... 41

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6.2 Rules for the (r)evolution of museums ................................................................. 42

6.3 Transcoded museum .............................................................................................. 43

6.3.1 Numerical representation ...................................................................... 44

6.3.2 Modularity .............................................................................................. 45

6.3.3 Automation ............................................................................................. 45

6.3.4 Variability ............................................................................................... 46

6.3.5 Transcoding ............................................................................................ 47

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 49

Endnotes .................................................................................................................................... 50

Literature ................................................................................................................................... 52

Appendix I ................................................................................................................................. 55

Appendix II ................................................................................................................................ 57

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Introduction

‘Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and

other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the surface, but

without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows—only hard and without

luminous edges—and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen. Alas, a

few years ago, I should have said “my universe”: but now my mind has been opened to higher views of

things.’ — Edwin A. Abbott. Flatland – A Romance of Many Dimensions

In Flatland Abbott describes the differences between spatial dimensions. The main character is

a square who lives in Flatland. This square makes an adventurous trip from his own Flatland to

Spaceland. His view of the world is the same as his own home, a flat world, but in Spaceland

the square is introduced to a third dimension. This opens a whole new world for the square and

other insights in his life. Thinking in three dimensions was something he could never imagine

and now he can, he finds it important to share this knowledge.

How does this square and his new world relate to virtual museums? Museums can be considered

as rather ‘flat’ places, but these ‘flat’ places can add a new, third, dimension to themselves.

They can, for instance, present their collection online in a virtual museum. The fear most

museums have, is that with the virtual museum the facet of imagination disappears. This thesis

assumes that the virtual museum represents a new level of imagination. Another aspect is that

museums seem to have no other option than to digitise their collections and present them online

if they want to play a significant role in the cultural field. This transition from a physical to an

online museum is comparable with the square’s trip and his discovery of a ‘new dimension’.

This trip through a new environment will be explored in this thesis. The first chapter will

examine what museums are or should be, based on an examination of definitions, functions and

visions. The title of this thesis assumes that ‘virtual’ is something ‘digital’. Is ‘virtual’ a

synonym of ‘digital’? Or does virtual adds a surplus? These are the key questions in chapter two.

Chapter three will give a definition of ‘virtual museum’ and chapter four will investigate the

role of the visitor. Is an online museum visit different than an offline visit (i.e. a physical visit to

the museum)? This thesis investigates if the online visit is also a ‘virtual’ visit. Chapter five will

comprise a comparison of four Dutch virtual museums. It constructs the place of the museum in

this new dimension brought by the internet. The last chapter focuses on strategies for museums

in order to survive. Finally, two questions have to be answered in the conclusion: Do museums

have clarity on the difference between being physical, digital and virtual? And do museums

have to reconsider their function in order to survive?

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Chapter 1 Museum

Before exploring the survival of virtual museums, it is necessary to define ‘virtual museum’. In

this thesis the definitions of ‘museum’ and ‘virtual’ will be taken as starting points. This chapter

focuses on the definition of museum as well as the functions of museums. It seems obvious

what is meant by a virtual museum; however, there is a discussion about the interpretation of

virtual. This thesis has no intention to interfere in this discussion. The focus lies on the

possibilities brought by being a virtual museum.

1.1 Definitions of museum

Probably most people have an understanding of what a museum is. This thesis uses primarily

the definition as given by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The ICOM is an

international organization for museums and museum professionals. For this account, they offer a

platform for collaboration between institutions. The ‘ICOM Statutes’ formulate the definition of

a museum as follows:

‘A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development,

open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the

tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education,

study and enjoyment.’ (icom.museum/statutes )

This definition includes tangible and intangible heritage, what is meant by intangible heritage is

not further explained by the ICOM. According to this definition it is not necessary to give

separate definitions of museum and virtual museum.

The ICOM believes that an institution has to meet several goals, before it can designate itself as

a museum. Does this definition fully comprise the museum as a whole? Edward Porter

Alexander and Mary Alexander find it difficult to give a plain definition of museum. In

Museums in motion they discuss several definitions from different people and institutions,

including the above ICOM definition. They quote Barry Gaither, director of the ‘Museum of the

National Center of African American Artists’:

‘The struggle [for museums] …has to do with hegemony over the interpretation of one’s own

experience, and how to give institutional form to that hegemony. If I saw any mission as the

appropriate mission of newer museums, evolving museums, museums associated with a specific

heritage within the American story, I would say it’s finding the courage “to be”. And that “to

be” is open-ended, because the “to be” is an evolving understanding of self and culture and its

dynamic relationship. That’s our real work. Other institutions can respond to us in a more

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concrete way, whether willingly or not, when we are more clearly ourselves.’(qtd. in Alexander

and Alexander: p. 3)

Gaither’s definition implicates that it is almost impossible to give a set definition of museum.

His “to be” understanding of a museum is a fluid definition. Therefore, museums have to accept

that museum strategies and visions on museum functions will change over the years. Museums

have also to consider that the expectations of the public are changing and that these expectations

cannot be controlled by museums. Gaither does not suggest, that museums should investigate

the reasons why people visit a museum and what their opinions and suggestions are to improve

the museum.

This changeability of museums and their positions are also included in the UNESCO definition

of museum. UNESCO believes that the main function of a museum is ‘[…] to safeguard and

preserve the heritage as a whole. It carries out whatever scientific study is required to

understand and establish both its meaning and its possession.’ (portal.unesco.org/culture)

Preservation is necessary to present identity and diversity, whether they are changed or not.

Furthermore, a museum is an actor and a means to construct a dialogue between culture and

nations. This means that there is no one-way communication; other actors participate in the

dialogue to form opinions about (the purpose of) museums and museum functions.

1.2 Functions of museums

The definition of museum is closely linked to its functions. Not every museum has the same

goals and not everyone agrees on which functions museums have or should have. According to

the ICOM definition, a museum has five functions:

1. to acquire

2. to conserve

3. to research

4. to communicate

5. to exhibit

The ICOM explains several functions by ‘ethics’. First, to acquire a collection, museums should

take into account the following principle:

‘Museums have the duty to acquire, preserve and promote their collections as a contribution to

safeguarding the natural, cultural and scientific heritage. Their collections are a significant

public inheritance, have a special position in law and are protected by international legislation.

Inherent in this public trust is the notion of stewardship that includes rightful ownership,

permanence, documentation, accessibility and responsible disposal.’ (icom.museum/ethics)

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The ICOM considers this principle as a guideline. In addition to this principle, several rules for

acquisition are provided. These rules are mostly about technical matters; ICOM does not give

reasons why museums should acquire. For this thesis, the ICOM-statement that museums

should publish their policies on collections is important, because every museum has its own

reasons to acquire. Furthermore, museums play an important role as a public organization,

which is demonstrated by all functions of a museum. Museums are also accountable to the

public since they receive subsidies from public funds. For this reason, museum policies should

be verifiable and transparent for the public.

The next function is ‘to conserve’. This is a difficult function, because it is not always obvious

what the terms ‘conserve’ or ‘conservation’. In the cultural heritage field there is some

discussion about the terms 'conservation' and 'preservation'. Although, these terms are

interrelated and seem to have the same meaning there is a minor difference in connotation.

Preservation is, as the word does suggest, mainly focused on treatments to ensure the

sustainability of a work of art. Moreover, preservation has as main goal that a work of art will

still exist in the future in a state that is identical to the original. In other words, a work of art

should remain authentic.

Conservation issues raise also questions on originality and authenticity. Bruno Latour and Adam

Lowe, for instance, argue that the concept of ‘authentic’ and ‘original’ have to be reconsidered:

‘it is not because of some inherent quality of painting that we tend to create such a yawning gap

between originals and copies […], but because of the differences in the techniques used for each

segment of the trajectory.’(Latour and Lowe: p. 8) In chapter four, their view will be further

explored.

For this thesis the definition of conservation of the ICOM-CC (International Council of

Museums- Conservation Committee) will be used, because it is a plain definition. Furthermore,

the ICOM-CC distinguishes several forms of conservation: “preventive conservation”,

“remedial conservation”, and “restoration”. These three forms of conservation constitute

together “conservation” of the tangible cultural heritage. In addition, using this definition the

ICOM-CC acknowledges that conservation is a complex matter. (icom-cc.org) According to

ICOM-CC, conservation includes:

‘all measures and actions aimed at safeguarding tangible cultural heritage while ensuring its

accessibility to present and future generations. Conservation embraces preventive conservation,

remedial conservation and restoration. All measures and actions should respect the significance

and the physical properties of the cultural heritage item.’ (icom-cc.org)

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Preventive conservation includes all measures and actions to avoid or minimize future

deterioration or loss. Remedial conservation are actions directly applied on an item in order to

arrest the current damage. Restoration, finally, goes further than remedial conservation and is

directly applied to an item that has lost its significance or function regarding the understanding

and appreciation of an item. When remedial conservation is applied, this significance or

function still exists, but it is likely that without any undertaken action this will be lost. (See

Appendix I for further explanation and examples).(icom-cc.org)

The ICOM does not prescribe precise rules for restoration purposes. Museums should bear in

mind that procedures should be carefully documented and (if possible) reversible. Conservation

is related to the research function of museums. The ICOM states that: ‘Research by museum

personnel should relate to the museum’s mission and objectives and conform to established

legal, ethical and academic practices.’ (icom-cc.org) Conservation is one of the tasks that

museums have and it is their main research topic. For example, there is little research done on

visitors behaviour, but this could be important information if museums want to serve the

audience. Furthermore, the ICOM finds that museums should co-operate and share their

knowledge on research. In other words, communication within the field as well as

communication to the audience is important.

The fourth museum function is communication. Exhibitions are a means of communication;

museums visually present their collection as well as their knowledge about the objects.

Communication is interactive, because visitors have also their own opinions about the museum

and the way museums ‘communicate’. This is important when creating a virtual museum.

Museums are used to one-way communication, but there are many ways to start a dialogue with

visitors. Moreover, when visitors give suggestions than museums should let them know this is

appreciated and show visitors how they helped to improve the museum. Probably not every

visitor is an active communicator, but in general visitors are an interesting source for museums.

Another way to involve the audience is the transparency on museum policies and mission, but

the collection and the exhibition will raise the most questions.

Exhibition is the last function and is included in communication. Museums need to exhibit,

because it is the most visible function and a starting point for a dialogue with visitors. Through

an exhibition the audience can experience the museum.

Museum functions are also formulated by Alexander and Alexander in their book Museums in

Motion (2007). They distinguish five museum functions which are very similar to the ICOM

functions:

1. to collect

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2. to conserve

3. to exhibit

4. to interpret

5. to serve

For the first function, they identify six purposes of collecting:

1. economic hoards

2. social prestige

3. reveal “magic”

4. express group loyalty

5. to stimulate curiosity and inquiry

6. a means of emotional experience

The authors underline that these purposes are also the difficulties that museums face when

compiling a collection. In their opinion, each museum has its own characteristics and therefore

not all purposes are relevant. Museums can only concentrate on a few purposes. For example, a

natural history/science museum has a different focus than an art museum. [1]

Another aspect of collecting is the planning of museums. The authors refer to an article of

Gardner and Merritt in which the collection planning of museums is theorized. In short,

museums should consider six elements and a plan is always ongoing.[2] It is beyond the scope

of this thesis to expound their theory. Furthermore, Alexander and Alexander give an overview

of the challenges museums face regarding the collection function. This includes research,

storage and computerization of collections. Digitisation of collections or digital born material

are not on their list of challenges. Probably they do not find it a challenge; protecting a museum

collection in wartime is a more urgent challenge, according to the authors.

Conservation is the second function and Alexander and Alexander introduce The Delta Plan for

Preservation of the Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands. This is a Dutch initiative to create

awareness of the collection preservation/conservation needs. The main goal of the project was

‘[…]to clear the backlog in the cataloguing items of the cultural heritage and conservation of

objects by the year 2000’(De Bruin: p. 357). The plan of attack recognised that the expertise of

cultural heritage institutions should be improved on, for example: conservation standard

development; education function and promotion; research on treatment methods;

professionalism of staff members; training courses (De Bruin: p. 357). Furthermore, a ‘Planning

List’ has been put together in order to plan the conservation process. This list consists several

priorities:

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A. “High frequency of use and stimulation of use by special programmes for the public.

B. Vulnerable collections or parts of collections, with a high degradation velocity (acidity, iron gall,

ink corrosion, nitrate and acetate negative material and fire damage).

C. Single items with a high intrinsic or historical value (owing to the information or the object

itself).

D. Objects that require treatment for exhibition purposes.” (De Bruin: p. 363)

These priorities are an indication to establish the cultural value of collections. Museum objects

in the A collection have the highest priority regarding conservation. Objects in the D collection

have the lowest priority and have no or minor urgency for conservation.

Alexander and Alexander underline the concern that conservation is too important to neglect

and that there should always be financial support for conservation. In the authors’ opinion, the

great challenges that conservators and museums have to deal with are mainly the new materials

artist work with.

The third function of a museum is ‘to exhibit’. Alexander and Alexander define exhibition as

the purpose to communicate with the audience. An exhibition has two ‘chief classes of

exhibition’: permanent and temporary. The creation of an exhibition has four main components:

1. a concept (message) or story line

2. objects to be displayed

3. the setting

4. “front end” evaluation studies or audience research.

These components all refer to the physical environment (the offline museum); the online display

of an exhibition is not included in their concept. The authors find it a challenge for museums to

compete with internet for the attention of the audience. They imply that museums should be on

internet to attract peoples’ attention, but an online exhibition seems not a solution at all.

Interpretation is Alexander and Alexander’s fourth museum function. They explain it as an

educational function; museums should teach their visitors to interpret the museum objects. Their

view differs from the ICOM’s perspective which includes interpretation in the research function.

The interpretation function also concerns how and what to communication with the visitors. The

authors regard digital display as a means to communicate, but they consider public access (of

the offline museum) as well as transparency of museum policies and goals as the main concerns.

The above function relates closely to the fifth function: to serve. It is essential to know who

your audience is and what their needs are. Alexander and Alexander underline the changing role

of museums; different times have different needs. Digital display is an important consideration

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for museums. When your public is online, so should you (i.e. the museum). Another issue

concerns the role of the audience. The relation between museum and audience changes when the

role of a museum in society changes. A museum that wants to serve its audience has to give the

audience a significant role in the organization.

1.3 Visions on (the evolution of) museum functions

Museum directors have their own ideas of museum functions. This paragraph discusses the

views of four museum directors: Wim Pijbes (director Rijksmuseum Amsterdam), Edwin

Jacobs (director Centraal Museum Utrecht), Meta Knol (director De Lakenhal Leiden) and

Valentijn Byvanck (future director Museum of National History).

Wim Pijbes believes that a museum has an educational function for people of all ages. To reach

this broad audience, a museum has to be a pleasant place that inspires people. His educational

vision is shared by his colleague Edwin Jacobs who thinks that museums grow towards a

‘school of visualization’. He also notices that museums are in an exploring phase (Hollak).

The visualization of information is a means to excite young people. Meta Knol pleads for more

excitement to attract a young audience. The esthetical form that museums have is not the form

that appeals to the younger generation. Valentijn Byvanck takes this educational point of view a

bit further. Museums have to transmit culture (whatever that may be) through exhibitions.

Besides this task, museums also have to collect, to conserve and to document works of art.

Byvanck finds museums public institutions that should be open to the opinion of their audience.

He quotes Charles Wilson Peale (founder first museum with both works of art and natural

history content): museums have “to instruct and to entertain” (Hollak).

Pijbes underlines Byvanck’s view, but notes that with the introduction of internet the

presentation of information has to be short and more concise. He also observes that ‘contact’

with the audience is important nowadays, but it is almost impossible to measure the appreciation

of the audience. In addition, Byvanck and Knol both find that the use of (too much) text

obstructs contact with the audience. Knol recognizes the differences between elder and younger

visitors; text gives the first group something to hold on to, something the second group does not

need, they rather undergo the exhibition (Hollak).

A museum should be an experience according to the museum directors. Jacobs considers a

festival design: different stages with different performances. He finds the chronological order of

an exposition with a beginning and an end out of date. Byvanck thinks that museum visitors

should feel the museum without answering all their questions at first. Pijbes considers the

primary task of a museum to teach people how to see an object instead of just looking at it. Knol

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and Jacobs find that museums should help visitors to gain knowledge for self-fulfilment

(Hollak).

1.4 Working definition museum and its functions

To answer the question ‘what is a museum?’ is not that simple. It depends on the goals and

collection of a museum and who is responsible for the museum strategy. Nevertheless, the

above opinions do have several similarities.

For this thesis the definition of the ICOM will be used as working definition added with Gains'

fluid perception of a museum and UNESCO’s changeability:

‘A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its

development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates

and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for

the purposes of education, study and enjoyment. Furthermore, museums should

interact and communicate with its public in order to anticipate on the changeable

circumstances it has to deal with over the years. Therefore, museums should be

considered as ‘living’ institutions with fluid perceptions that will meet the needs of

their (potential) visitors.’

This definition contains also certain elements of the visions of the museum directors in

paragraph 1.3. They mainly consider education and visual presentation as important aspects of

museums. But their opinions are based on the developments they observe in this era. This can be

considered as fluid perceptions, for now visual presentation will attract a large part of the

visitors.

The interaction (or communication) with the audience is important and it should be a permanent

characteristic of museums. The only way to know what the audients want, is to maintain contact

with the audience. Considering the above definition, museums ought to educate people as well

as to reach a broad audience (either local or global).

The functions of museums that will be used in this thesis are:

Functions

ACQUIRE Museums have the duty to compile a coherent collection. The acquirement of a

collection is related to the mission of a museum. It is dependent on the subject or

theme of a museum.

Purpose [3] Reasons for museums to acquire objects.

economic hoards Museums depend on budgets and subsidies. When an object is very important for

a collection, then a museum has to gather a budget in order to buy it before

another institution does.

social prestige Some works of art have more value than others. For instance, The Night Watch

in the Rijksmuseum is an important work of art that has to be preserved as a key

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example of Dutch cultural heritage.

reveal “magic” This purpose relates to another purpose (see below). Museums can reveal a

magical experience for the visitor by creating another world using the collection.

express group loyalty When museums serve a specific group, the acquisition of certain objects can

express the relation and loyalty to this group. This relates also to the mission and

theme of a museum.

to stimulate curiosity

and inquiry

This purpose relates to the educational function. Some objects are controversial

in the sense that they generate very different reactions and feelings among the

visitors.

a means of emotional

experience

This purpose relates to the ‘reveal “magic”’ purpose (see above). Visitors can

have a personal relation with an exhibition, because it evokes personal

experiences.

Policies on

acquiring are :

published Are policies accessible for the public and/or published on the museum website?

clearly stated Has the museum stated an unambiguous policy on acquirement?

Policies on :

rightful ownership This includes copyright.

permanence This relates to conservation and preservation as well as digital access.

documentation Documentation is important according to the ICOM. It ensures that policies are

transparent for the public and for the museum it has the purpose of a historical

overview.

accessibility This relates to promotion and preservation of the museum collection as well as to

permanence.

responsible disposal The other site of acquirement is to dispose objects from the collection. For

example, the relocation database

(http://www.herplaatsingsdatabase.nl/index_EN.php) of the Netherlands Institute

for Cultural Heritage (ICN) is an initiative to dispose objects from a collection in

a responsible way. Objects do not disappear completely, but are removed from

the collection.

CONSERVATION Museums have to take care for their collections in order to fulfil the other

functions.

Distinction

between:

preventive

conservation

Includes all measures and actions to avoid or minimize future deterioration or

loss.

remedial

conservation

Actions that are directly applied on an item in order to arrest the current damage.

Significance or function still exists, but it is likely that without any undertaken

action this will be lost.

restoration Directly applied to an item that has lost its significance or function regarding the

understanding and appreciation of an item.

Policies on :

funding From which institutions does the museum receive subsidies? And how much can

they spend on, for instance, collections?

documentation Documentation is important according to the ICOM. It ensures that policies are

transparent for the public and for the museum it has the purpose of a historical

overview. For conservation it is important to know which treatments were

applied to an object and what resources were used.

technical matters Techniques used for conservation (non destructive or destructive).

RESEARCH Museums perform research about their collections in order to explain the

(meaning of the) objects and to inform future acquisitions (Navarrate).

conform mission Do mission and research questions match?

Sharing knowledge:

strategy Is sharing knowledge a goal or is it a side issue? Is there structural cooperation

with other institutions or is it occasional?

sharing with When a museum shares knowledge, then with whom? What sort of institutions?

Does it share with other museums or also other cultural heritage organisations or

research institutions?

COMMUNICATE Museums communicate their work of acquisition and research to the public, most

commonly through exhibitions, events or publications. Museums increasingly

communicate via the web (Navarrete).

with other museums Which museums? What is communicated (see sharing knowledge)? On what

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level and how?

handling feedback

from the field

How does a museum processes the feedback from other museums?

contribution to

research discussions

Does the museum have an active attitude in the discussions within the museum

field?

communication with

visitors

How does the museum communicate with visitors? Is it a one way

communication or does the museum stimulates an interactive dialogue with its

visitors? Which means are used for communication?

feedback of visitors When visitors can leave comments or feedback, then how is this feedback

handled by the museum? Does a museum show that the comment is appreciated?

How?

EXHIBIT Museums present their collections to the visiting public. Online exhibits allow for

sharing the collection and expertise about the objects remotely (Navarrete).

offline Permanent or temporary exhibitions.

online This relates to the mission and key function of a museum. See also the table

‘Sorts of museum’.

EDUCATE Museums have increasingly taken the role of informal educational institutions

(Navarrete).

Distinguished groups Which groups does a museum have in mind when designing educational tools?

Form:

offline Which tools are used? For example, booklets or a guided tour.

online Which tools are used? See also table ‘presentation of information’.

SERVE Museums are obliged to serve (a selected) the public, as preservers of human and

natural heritage (Navarrete).

knowledge about

visitors

Did the museum do research on their visitors? Has it mapped out which kind of

groups visit the museum? For instance, does the museum works with ‘Persona’s’

in order to determine what the main groups are and what their needs and interests

are?

visitors’ role in

museum

Do visitors have a key function in the mission statement of museums? Do visitors

have some influence on the improvement of a museum?

objectives How does the museum want to serve their visitors? What are the goals and how

does the museum achieve these objectives?

Figure 1 Functions of museums

The ICOM and Alexander and Alexander use mainly the same functions. In chapter three the

framework will be constructed in order to investigate and compare ‘virtual museum’ based on

the above functions and the working definition of museum. The next chapter explores the virtual

and gives a working definition for this thesis.

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Chapter 2 The Virtual

In the previous chapter the definition of museum that will be used in this thesis is explored and

stated. The next step is to construct a definition of virtual. This is a vague concept, but to

understand ‘virtual museum’ this vague concept will be explored in this chapter in order to

define it. First, Gilles Deleuze’s concept of ‘virtual’ will be explained to give a philosophical

view on the matter. Second, the definition of virtual that the Digital Heritage Netherlands (DEN)

uses. Ross Parry’s concept of virtual will be investigated; his idea of a recoded museum will be

further explored in chapter six. The last visions on virtual in this chapter are the ideas of Martijn

Stevens as well as the discussion during the virtual museum meeting of March 25 2010 where

Stevens held an introduction on the subject.

2.1 Gilles Deleuze

In The Actual and the Virtual Gilles Deleuze describes ‘the actual’ as object and ‘the virtual’ as

image of this object. In other words, an actual object has a virtual counterpart. Deleuze states

that the actual is represented by objects; the actual object reflects the here and now. The virtual

is interpreted as an image of an object. It coexists with the actual object and also preserves the

past. Without an actual object there is no virtual image. The question is, if a virtual image needs

to have an actual object. Deleuze is not clear on this, but when digital content is considered as

virtual then it is reasonable to assume that virtual images do not have an actual object as

counterpart.

Deleuze has a philosophical view on virtual in which he distinguishes objects and images. A

museum is both actual and virtual, according to Deleuze. The actual museum is the building and

the physical collection. The virtual image of this actual museum are the memories, history and

interpretation of the building and the collection. Deleuze’s virtual museum is related to the

actual museum, but not necessarily as a digital version of or an addition to a physical museum.

2.2 Digital Heritage Netherlands (DEN)

The Digital Heritage Netherlands (DEN) is ‘the Dutch national ICT knowledge center for

cultural heritage’ (den.nl). This organisation is the authority in the field of cultural heritage.

DEN gives the following description of virtual:

‘Something virtual is independent of place, space and time. It is an online space without

physical properties that is similar to the real world. Informatics describes virtual as something

‘non-existing’ which appears to exist through software. Thus, the user can feel a part of a space,

although it is a virtual space.’ (matrix.den.nl)

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DEN understands ‘something virtual’ as a technological matter. For (most) cultural heritage

institutions, this is a logical definition, because the digitisation of collections is a technical

matter. Thereby, a virtual museum can be seen as a logical result of a digitisation project. DEN

defines digital as follows:

‘The ability of a computer to binary encode data or a signal, which means that all information is

expressed in combinations of zeros and ones. This encoding allows copying the data accurately

without loss of any information.’ (matrix.den.nl)

This definition of digital will also be used in this thesis. Furthermore, DEN distinguishes three

digital manifestations of cultural heritage (matrix.den.nl):

1. Digital born heritage: heritage material originally digital, such as electronic archives,

digital art or photos made with a digital camera.

2. Digitised heritage: material not originally digital, but reproductions by a digitisation

process.

3. Digital heritage information, such as descriptions, detailed photos or digital

reconstructions of the heritage item. The information is usually available in an organized form

(e.g. a database).

These different forms of digital content are useful to understand the different problems

museums face with digital content. For example, digital born art requires a different approach to

conservation than seventeenth century paintings.

2.3 Ross Parry

Ross Parry explores in his book Recoding the museum the challenges museums face regarding

digitisation. He takes new media as a starting point and therefore understands ‘virtual’ as

‘virtual reality’. Parry defines ‘virtual’ as:

‘For virtual space is, likewise, dynamic and fluid in the way it interconnects elements within its

structure. And, as with all hypermedia, virtual reality space revels in layered meaning, and

coexisting discourses. Moreover, unlike other formats and media, it celebrates and centres the

eye of the user; the connectivity between objects (i.e. ‘meaning’) is assembled entirely for the

individual. In this way, virtual reality might be seen as a perfect analogue for the post-modern

condition. In virtual reality everything is reduced to representation. Nothing has an accessible

history. Everything is configured for and revolves around the individual. Looking/reading is

interactive, and, therefore, an act of production and creation. It is a self-oriented-world of

surfaces and contemporaneous moments. In a sense, it is the very essence of post-modernity.’

(Parry: p. 72)

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This definition is also based on technologies and the digitisation of cultural heritage. Parry

considers museums in a ‘virtual reality’ as online museums accessible through internet. Virtual

reality has to be considered as representation without an accessible history and with no

beginning and no end. Edwin Jacobs (director Centraal Museum Utrecht, see 1.3) would agree

with him, because this is the only way that an exhibition can be fully experienced without any

borders (such as beginnings and endings).

2.4 Martijn Stevens and interaction at the Maritime Museum

The Virtual Museum was the theme of the meeting held in the National Maritime Museum

Amsterdam at 25 March 2010. The first and main question that day was: What is a virtual

museum? Martijn Stevens gave an introduction on the theme. For a definition of virtual museum

for this meeting Stevens used the ICOM definition of museum and linked it with virtual as an

online presentation of digital/digitized objects. In his opinion a virtual museum should be

named a digital museum, but a digital presentation is not necessarily a virtual museum.

In his PhD thesis, Stevens investigates the position of museums in the digital culture. His aim is

to redefine the definition and notion of museum. His main focus is the presentation of art in

conventional galleries and online environments, especially digital born art. However, Stevens

does not provide a plain definition of virtual or virtual museum. He uses the term cyberspace in

order to explain the internet and the ‘digital born’ art on the internet. For theorizing his thesis

Deleuze’s concept of controlled society is the framework for understanding this digital

cyberspace (Stevens: p. 67).

Stevens introduces two concepts of Deleuze. Becoming is the concept of an endless process of

transformations. The other concept, machine, is a form of this becoming. Stevens wants to show

with this idea that internet art is not a name for unique and original forms of art. Like machines,

the process is not a fluent one; there are some failures and interruptions. Art is a continuous

process; however, art is not an automated process (Stevens: p. 67 and 179).

During the meeting Stevens’ idea of virtual museum seems to differ from the interpretations of

the museums. The museums that presented their plans for virtual museums did not discuss what

precisely a virtual museum is. Most museums interpreted virtual as digital. This includes

websites and applications for smart phone applications (scheepvaartmuseum.nl). The museums

that were present at the meeting are used as case studies in this thesis. For a discussions on the

individual cases see chapter five.

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2.5 Working definition virtual

Virtual can be differently interpreted and it is difficult to find a set definition. Museums

interpret virtual mainly as digital and they eventually design the virtual museums. On the other

hand, some authors in this chapter argue that virtual is more than digital content accessible via

internet. However, for this thesis virtual consist of two key factors: first, the technical

interpretation that lacks time and space, as described by the DEN and Parry; second, the ideas of

Deleuze and Stevens on the interaction between museum and visitor as a fluid and continuous

process expressed through digital access and with interactive features.

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Chapter 3 Virtual museums

The definitions of museum and virtual, which will be used in this thesis, are stated in the

previous chapters (see respectively p. 11 and p. 17). This chapter focuses on the definition of a

virtual museum. The following authors and their ideas will be used to explore and to define the

idea of a virtual museum. First, Vannevar Bush made a first step with his “memex” to

reconsider display of information. The next author is Ross Parry. He uses digitisation to recode

the museum and construct a virtual museum. Another definition of virtual museum is given by

Werner Schweibenz. He distinguishes different virtual museums. Peter Lester compares the

physical exhibition and virtual exhibition to answer the question whether the virtual exhibition

is the natural successor of the physical one. Bruno Latour and Adam Lowe discuss the terms

‘authentic’ and ‘original’ regarding virtual museums. The last author in this chapter is Huhtamo.

He gives an historical overview of the idea virtual museum.

3.1 Vannevar Bush

Vannevar Bush introduces in ‘As We May Think’ his idea of the “memex”. He describes it as

follows:

‘A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications,

and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is

an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory. […] In one end is the stored material. The

matter of bulk is well taken care of by improved microfilm. Only a small part of the interior of

the memex is devoted to storage, the rest to mechanism. Yet if the user inserted 5000 pages of

material a day it would take him hundreds of years to fill the repository, so he can be profligate

and enter material freely.’ (Bush: paragraph 6)

Bush’s memex is a personal mechanical memory, as we may think of this as a computer. This

memex can display a virtual museum. Bush imagined that institutions will produce

encyclopaedias for the memex and that these encyclopaedias can be trailed down from another

memex. The aspect similar to contemporary ideas of virtual museums is that information should

be public and traceable for others. Bush argues that the human mind does not operate the same

as a library catalogue. To find and understand information the techniques should be developed

to meet the needs of the users.

3.2 Ross Parry’s on-line museum

Users are also an important actor in Parry’s idea of virtual museum. There are different views

on how to define ‘virtual museum’. Parry chooses to call it on-line museum. He states that new

technologies, especially the Web, offer new opportunities. Parry acknowledges the possibilities

museums are offered through internet (or the Web), but he recognizes also several difficulties.

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First, internet is not accessible to everyone. Parry refers to the digital divide. This divide splits

the world population roughly in those who have access to internet and the ones who have not.

He assumes that the main part of the internet users are from the western world. Whether this is

still valid, is not taken into account. There were no known studies that further investigated this

digital divide at the time Parry wrote his book. And for this thesis it takes too far to investigate

whether the divide is still valid or not.

The digital divide is one barrier, technical challenges are another one. Parry states that internet

is just as good as the technique used for accessing the internet and building websites. Museums

should consider this problem, because if their on-line museum is too ‘high tech’ for their

audience the display of the exhibition will not be the same for every visitor. In addition, some

parts of the exhibition are not accessible or visible for visitors if they lack the required

equipment on their computers. The third challenge for museums is the use of internet. There are

certain patterns of usage to discover, but Parry assumes that it is difficult to explore the use of

on-line museums in everyday live comparing with physical museum visits and the experience of

visitors.

3.3 Werner Schweibenz’s virtual museums

The use of online museums is linked with its design. Werner Schweibenz identifies three types

of museums on the web: the brochure museum has an information function for future visitors;

the content museum gives information about the museum-collection and it presents the

collection objects; the learning museum gives contextual information about the online collection

and it also presents the collection objects (Schweibenz “The development of Virtual Museums”).

Furthermore, Schweibenz uses the following working definition for virtual museum:

‘…a logically related collection of digital objects composed in a variety of media which,

because of its capacity to provide connectedness and various points of access, lends itself to

transcending traditional methods of communicating and interacting with visitors…; it has no real

place or space, its objects and the related information can be disseminated all over the world.’

(qtd. in Schweibenz “The development of Virtual Museums”)

The three identified types of museums on the web are steps on to a virtual museum. The

learning museum has to link to external digital collections before it becomes a virtual museum.

Schweibenz sees this as the only way to create digital collections with no counterparts in the

real world. This is called a virtual museum or a ‘museum without walls’ referring to André

Malraux. Malraux meant by a ‘museum without walls’ the knowledge people have of works of

art through photographic reproductions (Murray: p. 186).

This ‘imaginary museum’ can also be explained as a virtual museum with digital content. The

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main objective is that visitors gain knowledge on certain objects through representations and

thus without visiting the physical museum.

3.4 Peter Lester’s virtual exhibition

Peter Lester explores the differences between physical and virtual exhibitions and he wonders if

the virtual exhibition is the natural successor of the physical one. He defines virtual exhibition

as: “[…] one in which records, or photographic images of the records, are digitised and stored as

a computer file.”(Lester 85) Lester uses archives as a starting point and therefore he defines a

virtual exhibition as a digital representation of an archive.

Lester understands exhibitions as a form of advocacy, the duty of each archivists. He finds this

as important as preservation and description. In order to fulfil this duty, archivists should

investigate who their visitors are. In Lester’s view it is fundamental to determine the public

profile, because without knowledge about the visitor it is impossible to create an archival

exhibition that will be used. In addition, Lester means with ‘natural successor’ the development

of techniques to display collections otherwise than the traditional physical exposition as shown

in museums.

Lester uses the definition ‘showing for a purpose’ for exhibition. First, he distinguishes museum

exhibition and archival exhibition, because of the different functions of the institutions and the

different record formats. Archives are meant to provide information; users can choose which of

the collection objects they want to study. Museums are also ‘learning’ institutions, but the

objects cannot be touched by users and users cannot choose which of the objects in the

collection will be shown that depends on the choice of the curator.

An exhibition has a purpose; in other words, it has to serve the visitor. Archival exhibitions,

visitors want specific information. Therefore, the presentation of an exhibition is important.

Visitors also have to be aware of the existence of the exhibition. If no one knows about the

exhibition, than how can it be justified? Archives and museums have to serve the public. The

given information on and from the collection has to satisfy the visitors. If they are not satisfied,

than why exhibit? Justification of an exhibition is in Lester’s view to satisfy the visitor.

The visitors forms the starting point of an exhibition, because when it is clear who will visit the

website, then it is easier to design an online tool which facilitates the needs of the audience.

Archivists and curators have to bear in mind that they have to explore the various possibilities of

the World Wide Web in order to communicate with and inform the audience in new and

interactive ways.

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Lester points out that exhibitions ‘bring the viewer in contact with the “real thing”’. He also

argues that the online version is not able to construct such contact, but it can be a natural

successor to the physical exhibition if during the display of objects three areas will be

considered: viewer communication, interpretation and interaction. The role of the visitor is

important in his opinion. In the following chapter the role of the audience or visitor will be

further explored.

3.5 Bruno Latour and Adam Lowe’s fac similes

Bruno Latour and Adam Lowe argue that the main question concerns the quality of the

reproduction. What really matters is that fac similes are necessary to explore and re-define what

originality actually is (Latour and Lowe: p. 5). They quote Charles Péguy to underline their

opinion on this: “if we stop interpreting, if we stop rehearsing, if we stop reproducing, the very

existence of the original is at stake. It might stop having abundant copies and slowly disappear.”

(Latour and Lowe: p. 5-6)

Latour and Lowe notice that since the invention of the printing press the costs dropped, the

number of copies increased and, moreover, the manuscript of a work became ‘the original’.

Before then each copy was an original, because the number of copies were marginal and the

process of copying was considered as a work of art. What happened to the aura of a work?

Instead of moving along with the copies, the aura remained attached to one piece of work: the

‘original’. The authors refer to Walter Benjamin who made this distinction, because he believed

that a mechanical reproduction could not express the same intentions or feelings as the original

work (Latour and Lowe: p. 7-9).

Latour and Lowe designate when (mechanical) techniques become almost indistinguishable to

the techniques used in the original work. They believe that the distinction between ‘original’

and ‘copy’ will fade in time. In their opinion it is not the reproduction itself that lacks the aura

of a work, but the gap between the used techniques (Latour and Lowe: p. 9).

Moreover, the authors state that in order to preserve paintings for the future, they have to be

taking care of. When a work has to be reframed, dusted or relit than this can be interpreted as

reproductions. A painting cannot be the original if a curator has modified it. Reproduction is a

necessity of existence. This does not devalue the original work, because originality is not only

attached to a particular work, but the context of this particular work is important as well. If a

work of art is separated from its context, the aura disappears. Therefore, viewing an original or a

fac simile is of no importance. The context of a work of art has to be present in order to have an

original experience (Latour and Lowe: p. 10-11).

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The context of a work also relate to its availability. The time spend on investigating a work of

art affects the experience of this work. Time is intertwined with the location and the popularity

of a work of art. When a location is small or fragile, visitors will have little time to look at an

object. The same is true for a popular work of art. When large groups of visitors want to see a

certain work of art, they do not really have enough space and time to examine the object. They

have to be satisfied with just a glimpse of an object. And that is not enough to undergo the aura

of a work (Latour and Lowe: p. 12).

A third element concerns the surface features of a work of art. It is easy to confuse 3D with 2D.

Latour and Lowe give the example of the reproduction of Veronese’s Nozze di Cana. This

particular work has been replaced by a fac simile that not only resembles the representation, but

also Veronese’s technique (Latour and Lowe: p. 12-13).

The reason why digital reproductions have a bad reputation is due to the used technologies.

These are rather poor, because of the inappropriate screen of our computers. Latour and Lowe

end their statement with: “Since all originals have to be reproduced anyway, simply to survive,

it is crucial to be able to discriminate between good and bad reproductions.” (Latour and Lowe:

p. 13-14)

3. 6 Erkki Huhtamo’s historical overview

Context is also a central focus for Erkki Huhtamo’s historical overview of virtual museums. He

thinks that the origins of the virtual museum have to be found at the beginning of the 20th

century. The new media at that time were photography, film and sound recording. The avant-

garde movements of that time used these new media for radical changes in the roles and the

concept of art. The relationship between exhibition spaces, exhibits and spectators/visitors

needed to be rethought. It was also necessary to redefine the public viewing contexts as well as

the notion of the galleries (Huhtamo: p. 3).

Huhtamo finds in ‘integration’ the key idea for reconsidering exhibits. The avant-garde

movements considered exhibits as an integral element of a total environment. Visitors were

encouraged into a dynamic relationship with all dimensions and elements of the exhibition

space. The visitor turned into an active participant and became a part of the exhibition. This

relationship is best described by Frederick Kiesler (Huhtamo: p. 6):

“The traditional art object, be it a painting, a sculpture, or a piece of architecture, is no longer

seen as an isolated entity but must be considered within the context of this expanding

environment. The environment becomes equally as important as the object, if not more so,

because the object breathes into the surrounding and also inhales the realities of the environment

no matter in what space, close or wide apart, open air or indoor.” (qtd. in Huhtamo: p. 7)

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The participation of visitors allows the object and the environment to be equally important.

There is interactivity between all actors: visitor, object and environment. In addition, Huhtamo

points out that the avant-garde used technology against collective consumption and for

individual and customized experiences (Huhtamo: p. 9).

Kiesler had also a vision of a virtual museum. He imagined that it would be possible to display

pictures as a permanent wall decoration at home. Jeffrey Shaw was inspired by Kiesler’s idea

and used it for his work of art. For an exhibition in 1990 he made a rotating platform with a

screen in front of it. Visitors had to sit on the platform and they controlled the movements of the

platform by leaning backwards or forwards. On the screen an exact replica of the gallery was

displayed, but visitors could penetrate the walls and discovered other galleries with virtual

objects. Shaw considers a virtual museum as a location that transcends the physical space. This

opens new possibilities for art and its display (Huhtamo: p. 11-13).

Huhtamo ends with a list of challenges museums face when creating a virtual museum. He

points out that this list will change over the years. For this thesis the following questions of his

list are interesting:

‘• Is there a limit to the “multisensory overload” in exhibition design? How many information

channels can be added without causing confusion and miscommunication?

• How should physical museum relate to virtual ones? Can a virtual museum be merely a replica

of the physical one, or should it be something radically different? What?

• Can all location-based exhibits be replaced by virtual ones? Is this a viable goal?

• How important is user interaction? Wouldn’t it be good to try to do without it, at least

sometimes? What would be the consequences of noninteractive virtual museum design?’

(Huhtamo: p. 14)

Huhtamo remarks that the non digital virtual museums from the past should not be neglected.

Those experiments and experiences could be useful for the development of digital virtual

museums.

3.7 Surveys and considerations

In the above paragraphs several theories are discussed, but to construct a framework for

comparison of virtual museums it is useful to look to other studies on this subject. For this thesis

the outcomes of the surveys and the considerations are taken from articles of Sylaiou Styliani et

al. (2009) and Chern Li Liew (2006).

Both articles discuss the advantages and limitations of online exhibitions. Styliani et al. use the

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three categories of virtual museums as stated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM):

brochure museum (to inform (future) visitors), content museums (information about the

museum collection and presenting objects) and the learning museum (giving contextual

information about the online collection as well as presenting objects). In comparison with

Schweibenz, who distinguished the different types of museums, the authors add that visitors

have a personal experience or relation with the collection. Liew uses the term ‘interactive

museum’ and not the ICOM museum categories. He also excluded institutions which main

focus is displaying objects without context as in the learning museum defined by ICOM.

Liew continues with the survey population (mostly respondents from the US and other English

speaking states) and he also outlines the data analysis. This information is not used in the article

of Styliani et al. The authors do not explain their outcomes, but describe the different techniques

and tools that are available and are used by virtual museums.

The main findings of both studies are similar on some points. For instance, both discuss the

advantages and limitations of the use of different types of technologies and the need of ‘in

house’ knowledge about these systems. Furthermore, there is agreement about the role and

needs of (future) users. Before designing an online exhibition, it is important to understand the

audience in order to display collections in a clear way. A user should easily find its way through

the online exhibition. If this is not the case than the purpose of the exhibition is lost or not clear

to the visitor.

Both articles underline that the use of techniques should support the aims of institutions,

especially considering the intended visitor. In practice that could be anyone, because the use of

internet as medium implies that a virtual museum potentially reaches a large and diverse

audience. In the same fashion, Liew brings forward that copyright is another issue that could

limit the possibilities of virtual museums, whereas Styliani et al. leave out this consideration.

However, both agree on the fact that physical museums and virtual museums exist next to each

other; an online exhibition cannot be considered as a substitution, but in several cases the online

content is used as promotion material for the physical exhibition.

When designing a virtual museum, Liew points out that funding and budget have also to be

taken into account. Without those, designing a virtual museum is almost impossible. The size of

the budget is largely responsible for the quality of the online exhibition. Styliani et al. bear in

mind that digitisation techniques are very costly. The authors, do not focus on this issue and

concentrate more on collaboration between institutions for sharing knowledge, collection

objects and to gain more funding together. Likewise, Liew agrees with collaboration, but as the

results in his article show there is not enough conjunction between the institutions. This does

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not benefit the development of standards used in designing a virtual museum.

3.8 What is a virtual museum?

In theory, a virtual museum is both a digital presentation of objects and a physical exhibition

that triggers the imagination of visitors. In practice, most virtual museums represent the online

publication of a collection of digital content. In this thesis the digital presentation of objects and

information accessible through the internet will be investigated. A virtual museum can also

contain non digital content, as expressed by the avant-garde movements Huhtamo describes.

It is important that the museum provides the visitor with the context of the object, also in the

virtual museum. Contextualization in a digital environment can be personalised by tools

designed to respond to the needs of the visitor. Visitors are the key actor in a virtual museum,

according to Lester. Tools should be designed regarding the needs of the visitors. In this way the

reproductions will be experienced as original works. The visitor is in this thesis also regarded as

the key actor.

Latour and Lowe agree on Lester that the experience of a work of art depends on the used tools

and techniques. For this thesis the techniques are less important, but the tools offered to visitors

are essential for an interactive experience. Furthermore, following Huhtamo’s list of challenges,

a virtual museum is always evolving and newly arose questions are essential for the ongoing

improvements to virtual museum. This thesis underlines his idea.

For this thesis the following definition will be used:

A virtual museum is a digital presentation of objects accessible through the internet that

provides interactive tools as well as contextual information in order to give visitors the

experience of the original object. The form of the digital objects (digitised, digitally

born or database) does not affect this experience. The visitors are the key actors in a

virtual museum which is an always evolving space.

In addition, a distinction is made between types of virtual museums. The table below is

constructed from the theories of Schweibenz, Styliani and Nina Simon (see chapter four).

Type of museum

Brochure Basic museum information (Schweibenz; Styliani et al.)

Content Information on the museum collection and presentation of

objects (Schweibenz). Digital access to the collection and

object oriented presentation (Styliani et al.)

Learning Contextual information about online collection as well as

presentation of objects (Schweibenz). Different points of

access; context-oriented and additional information on objects.

Visitors have a ‘personal’ experience or relation with the

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collection (Styliani et al.).

Participatory Interaction with visitors where museums respond to the

feedback of visitors (Simon). This applies to the three other

museum typology above. Figure 2 Type of museum

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Chapter 4 Audience/member/visitor/user/producer

In the previous chapters the museum is described as a changing organization that has to deal

with the real and the virtual. In this chapter the role of the audience will be explored. To

communicate and to serve are two key functions when exploring the relation between museum

and visitor. When a museum decides to create a virtual museum, interactivity with the visitors

should be the key to evolve as a museum. What does this interactivity mean for the audience?

And how could museums facilitate this interactivity?

The first paragraph investigates the influence of new media on the public and private spheres as

well as the redefinition of time, space and social relations. This is followed by the role of

visitors in the museum and the attitude of the museum towards them. The third paragraph

explores the participatory museum. The last paragraph outlines the role of the visitor as

interpreted in this thesis.

4.1 Private and public

Sonia Livingstone claims that 'new media' has potentially dramatic consequences. In her view

this implies that the boundaries between distinct spheres (e.g. work and leisure) are being

blurred or transcended. This means that the role of different groups is changed as well as the

relations between them. Livingstone argues that the most pertinent boundary is the one between

public and private. She examines the increased media use as well as how children should learn

to maintain the boundaries between their public real sphere and the private digital sphere on the

internet. Livingstone finds this necessary in order to keep personal information as well as the

children themselves safe. She explains this as the mediated childhood (Livingstone “In defence

of privacy”).

According to Livingstone the media have an important role nowadays, especially, in the lives of

children. She mainly refers to the internet, whereas Kirsten Drotner focuses on the mobile phone

as the medium. Drotner claims that mobile media increases individualisation, but she probably

means that mobile media cause a blur between public and private space. There is no need for a

fixed place for a private conversation; people create their own private space and shut themselves

off from the other people in a public space. This is what Drotner calls individualisation:

ignoring others in a public space in order to have a private conversation in the same space

(Drotner “Audiences and Publics”).

Therefore, time, space and social relations have to be redefined. Space can be both public and

private. Social relations change within a public sphere, because even strangers are involved in

private spaces without asking them to be a part of a private space. Probably, you have to accept

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that sometimes a public space becomes a private space and that you are a part of it. Time has to

be redefined. First, because it is possible to visit a website whenever you want and to find

information at any time. Second, communication through mobile technology does not have any

restriction regarding time, because there are other ways to communicate. As a consequence the

conversation is delayed, but it can be continued at any time (Drotner “Audiences and Publics”).

Drotner differs from the perspective of Livingstone and redefines the digital/virtual spheres to

include both a public and a private sphere, and also the 'real' public and private sphere. For

example, private conversations can be held in a public place. When using a mobile phone the

illusion of a private sphere is created, even though the person can actually be in a public sphere.

Both authors agree that the boundaries between the different spheres are blurred, especially

considering private and public spheres.

What does this mean for museums? Museums are public spaces. At the same time, the

interpretations visitors give to museums are individual interpretations and can be considered as

private. Paraphrasing the ideas of Livingstone and Drotner: museums offer a space to create a

private experience inside a public space. Accessibility to this personal space is another question.

A private online space could only be accessible for the one who created it, but it could also be a

public space open to other visitors and/or the museum.

4.2 Experiences in the museum

Museums create exhibitions with a purpose and with a certain attitude towards visitors. In return,

different visitors have different experiences, most likely evoked by the attitude of the museum.

Zahava D. Doering distinguishes three different attitudes:

‘Stranger: This attitude arises when the museum believes that its primary responsibility is to the

collection and not to the public.

Guests: From this point of view, the museum wants to “do good” for visitors out of a sense of

mission, primarily through “educational” activities and institutionally defined “learning”

objectives.

Client: This paper suggests that social trends will force museums to adopt attitudes and

behaviors in which the museum is accountable to the visitor. Institutions will then acknowledge

that visitors, as clients, have needs, expectations, and wants that the museum is obligated to

understand and meet.’ (Doering: p. ii)

Furthermore, Doering describes four major categories of experiences individuals prefer and find

most satisfying in museums:

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‘Social experiences center on one or more other people, besides the visitor.

Object experiences give prominence to the artefact or the “real thing”.

Cognitive experiences emphasize the interpretive or intellectual aspects of the experience.

Introspective experiences focus on the visitor’s personal reflections, usually triggered by an

object or a setting in the museum.’ (Doering: p. ii)

Doering believes that museums have to listen to their visitors and have to respect their needs. If

they do so, museums will be able to provide the experiences their visitors find most satisfying.

In addition, museums can also find a way to communicate their mission.

Regarding museum visits, the ‘Museum visitor experience’ model of John H. Falk takes

communication between museum and visitor a step further. He underlines the interaction

between museum and visitor. In order to understand the museum visit, it has to be

acknowledged that a museum visit starts before ‘anyone sets foot in a museum’ (Falk: p. 158).

Two streams of thought have to be considered:

‘An individual who wishes to satisfy one or more identity-related needs and decides to satisfy

one or more of these needs through some kind of leisure time activity.

The individual possesses a set of generic as well as specific mental models of various leisure

settings, including museums, that individually and collectively support various leisure-related

activities.’ (Falk: p. 158)

These two streams of thought (identity-related needs and a set of various leisure settings) come

together when an individual decides to visit a museum. Falk only discusses the physical visit;

can his ‘Museum visitor experience’ model be applied to the virtual museum? It can,

considering the interaction motivation between museum and visitor.

Falk distinguishes five categories of identity-related museum motivations (Falk: p. 158):

Explorer

Facilitator

Experience seeker

Professional/Hobbyist

Recharger

First, what does Falk mean by identity? He defines it as follows:

‘[…] as something that is always “situated” in the immediate realities of the physical and socio-

cultural world. Our identity is a reflection and reaction to both the social and physical world we

consciously perceive in the moment, but identity is also influenced by the vast unconscious set of

30

family, cultural, and personal history influences each of us carries within us. Each is

continuously constructing and maintaining, not one, but numerous identities which are expressed

collectively or individually at different times, depending upon need and circumstance.’ (Falk: p.

72)

Falk finds that identity is the combination of both internal and external social forces; cultural

and individual agencies contribute to identity. Furthermore, he acknowledges the different

layers of identity (individual, social (close relations) and societal (broader relations)). Identity is

also evolutional, because of the influences of innate and learned perceptions of the physical

environment; in other words, identity derives from the learned and genetic influences. Museums

are a part of the identity of museum visitors. They are one of the external social forces that

influence museum visitors.

Museums should be able to reflect different layers of identity if they want to attract a varied

audience. Therefore it is important to understand the motivations of a museum visit. The

following factors influence the motivations of visitors:

‘Personal Context: The visitor’s prior knowledge, experience, and interest.

Physical Context: The specifics of the exhibitions, programs, objects, and labels they

encounter.

Socio-cultural Context: The within- and between-group interactions that occur while in

the museum and the visitor’s cultural experiences and values.’ (Falk 159)

Interestingly enough, Falk thinks rather non-virtual. Although these categories and contexts can

be applied to a virtual museum visit, some factors are not investigated in his approach. For

example: accessibility through the internet; the quality of display of objects; and the navigation

through a virtual museum.

4.3 Participatory museums

The museum visitor is the key in Nina Simon’s participatory museum. She uses three theories to

construct an approach to let audience participate in cultural heritage institutions, with a focus on

museums. These theories are: audience-centred institutions; visitors construct their own

meaning and the influence of users’ voices on project design and public-facing programs

(participatorymuseum.org).

First, Simon focuses on the dissatisfactions of audiences which she considers as challenges for

museums. These dissatisfactions are reasons to pursue participation (participatorymuseum.org ):

1. Cultural institutions are irrelevant to my live

31

2. The institution never changes – I’ve visited once and have no reason to return

3. The authoritative voice of the institution doesn’t include my view or give me context for

understanding what’s presented

4. The institution is not a creative place where I can express myself and contribute to history,

science, and art

5. The institution is not a comfortable social place for me to talk about ideas with my friends and

strangers

Simon believes that when a museum becomes a participatory institution, the satisfaction rate

among visitors will rise. A museum can become a participatory institution by first to determine

who their public is and in addition to investigate how they are participating or wanting to

participate. Simon first answers the rate of participation of visitors by investigating internet

behaviour. For this, she uses the “social technographics” profiles of Charlene Li and Josh

Bernoffs’ Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. According to

the authors, participatory online audiences can be grouped into six categories

(forrester.com/Groundswell):

1. Creators make social content go. They write blogs or upload video, music, or text.

2. Critics respond to content from others. They post reviews, comment on blogs, participate in

forums, and edit wiki articles.

3. Collectors organize content for themselves or others using RAA feeds, tags, and voting sites like

Digg.com

4. Joiners connect in social networks like MySpace and Facebook

5. Spectators consume social content including blogs, user-generated video, podcasts, forums, or

reviews

6. Inactives neither create nor consume social content of any kind

For example, the authors give the percentages of ‘Social Technographic Profiles’ of online U.S.

adults (Li and Bernoff: chapter 3):

1. Creators: 18%

2. Critics: 25%

3. Collectors: 12%

4. Joiners: 25%

5. Spectators: 48%

6. Inactives: 44%

Note that individuals can be categorised in more than one group, because they may show

different behaviour in different settings. The ‘Social Technograhic Profiles’ are only related to

social content. The term ‘Social’ refers to people-to-people activities; ‘Technographic’ refers to

32

Forrester Research’s methodology for surveying consumers, but with a focus on technology

behaviour. Simon does not apply this methodology on museums or the museum visitor, but

introduces a plan for building a relationship with individual visitors:

1. Individual Consumes Content

2. Individual Interacts with Content

3. Individual Interactions are Networked in Aggregate

4. Individual Interactions are Networked for Social Use

5. Individual Engage with Each Other Socially

In addition to this plan, Simon pleads for approaching visitors as individuals. Therefore,

individuals should be able to express themselves in a museum. How should this be constructed?

What does is it mean for visitors to express themselves in a museum? An important

consideration is the way in which visitors can give information so that museums can recognise

them in a future visit. A museum should design tools to collect feedback so the contribution of

visitors could be used by the museum. How does this relate to the ‘Social Technographic

Profile’? Simon ignores this problem by suggesting that every individual will participate when

museums will stimulate this participation by giving them simply the opportunity to participate

and treating them like individuals.

It is questionable whether this really solves the problem of dissatisfaction among visitors. The

level of dissatisfaction depends on what museums do with the gathered information from

visitors/individuals and how they communicate this to their visitors. It is probably fair to state

that visitors, who provide the museum information to profile them, want something in return. A

reorganisation of the institution would have then to be considered if it can be based on the

provided individual profiles. Is this possible with the provided information?

Instead of answering the above questions, Simon continues with her plan for personalising the

museum. First, the museum should be audience centred. The I Like Museums campaign of

museums in North East England uses trails to encourage visitors to explore the collections of the

participating museums. Visitors can enter the website www.ilikemuseums.com and follow

different trails of both museums and other visitors or create their own trail

(participatorymuseum.org).

Visitors can give the trails a score (out of ten) so the best trails will be easy to find. For example,

the trail ‘I like… things to do with a hangover’ scores a nine and the ‘I like… science’-trail

scores a three (20 June 2010). When the trail is followed, the name of the creator and a list of

museums appear. The listed museums give little additional information, such as a quote of the

creator, address and website. More information about opening times and entry price is available

33

by clicking the ‘view’-button. Visitors can also add comments on trails and give feedback

(ilikemuseums.com).

It is not clear whether this campaign is encouraging enough to actually visit a museum. Simon

does mention a survey among the visitors, but this cannot be verified. In this survey 36% of the

visitors were aware of the campaign and it influenced their decision whether to visit a museum

or not.

Another approach is Tate’s ‘The ‘…….’ Collection’. On their website

(tate.org.uk/britain/yourcollection) visitors can experience six collections that have already

been created. They can also create their own collection and label/comment on their chosen

works. This initiative is very different from the I Like Museums and seems more personal.

However, visitors can only choose between 39 works that are divided in Pre-1900 and Post-

1900 artworks. This is a rather small selection, but the alternative is to write a caption for any

other work of art. The most interesting comments will be used as captions in the gallery. Tate

will contact the specific visitor whose comment is used and notifies the visitor when the

visitor’s comment is at Tate Britain.

4.4 Role of the visitor

In the previous sections the role of the visitor is discussed. For this thesis it is assumed that

interaction between museum and visitor is necessary in order to create a virtual museum. This is

primarily based on the idea of Huhtamo that a virtual museum always is in development.

Without interaction with the visitor, this process will end.

The participatory concept of Simon is interesting, but the rate of active participation is

questionable. Other research on online participation can be relevant regarding participating

virtual museum visitors, but this thesis will focus on the question of the role of visitors within a

virtual museum.

34

Chapter 5 Case studies

The previous chapters explored the idea of a virtual museum. In this chapter a framework for

identifying a virtual museum will be constructed. Within this framework, four museums will be

investigated after a short introduction. These museums are:

The Armando Museum

Graphic Design Museum

Anne Frank House

National Maritime Museum Amsterdam

These museums were also represented at the Virtual Museum meeting introduced in chapter two.

The results from this meeting is used in this chapter as a first comparison between theory, as

outlined previously, and the current Dutch practice. In this thesis, the Virtual Museum meeting

is understood as starting point for investigating various approaches of virtual museums and to

share knowledge on this subject. A discussion on what a virtual museum is, will take place for

each case studies based on the specific functions visible to the online visitor.

The choice of case studies is based on the value of the discussion during the Virtual Museum

day. Despite the fact that only two cases are online each of the four theoretic approaches are

good examples for further discussion.

5.1 The Armando Museum (armandomuseum.nl and scheepvaartmuseum.nl)

This museum in Amersfoort (Netherlands) is dedicated to the work of the contemporary artist:

Armando. He works in different disciplines; he can be considered as a visual artist, a writer, a

violist and a film and documentary maker. He is inspired by his personal experiences during the

Second World War. Power and powerlessness as well as his fascination for violence and evil are

themes in his work.

The Armando Museum building was hit by a fire in October 2007 and for now a little part of the

collection is exhibited in a small annex. The reopening of the museum will be in 2011. The

planning of a virtual museum had already been started before the fire, although since the

museum burned down, the development of the virtual museum became more urgent. The launch

of the virtual Armando Museum is planned in October 2010. This shall be the only way to fully

experience the Armando collection until the reopening of the physical museum.

5.2 Graphic Design Museum (graphicdesignmuseum.nl)

This museum is the first museum in the world for graphic design. It is situated in Breda

35

(Netherlands). Graphic design has a rich tradition in the Netherlands and has been around for

about a century. The museum offers an international podium for both established designers and

new talent. Visitors get a deeper insight into the past and present of image culture and the

museum gives up to date information on the latest developments in visual communication. For

children there is a program in which they can become a designer.

5.3 Anne Frank House (annefrank.org)

The mission of the Anne Frank organisation is to inform the public and educate the public about

Anne Frank and the Second World War. The building plays an important role, because it shows

where Anne Frank lived during the war before her deportation. For the creation of a virtual

museum, the house was digitized and during a virtual tour visitors can learn about Anne and the

war.

5.4 National Maritime Museum Amsterdam (scheepvaartmuseum.nl)

The main goals of this museum are to let the visitor experience and explore the Dutch maritime

history. The museum has a diverse audience and wants to be accessible for all ages and different

interests. The building and the museum ship play an important role, because of the historical

value and representation of the past. The physical museum is closed, because of a major

renovation. It presumably will reopen in the summer of 2011. The virtual museum is in

development and will be launched at the end of 2010.

5.5 Framework of functions

The museums functions will be compared using the functions as defined in chapter one. The

comparison is based on the information available for visitors via the current museum websites

and also on the report of the Virtual Museum meeting (scheepvaartmuseum.nl). In this chapter

the table of functions is compressed, because for a detailed analysis there is too little

information available.

Functions Armando

Museum

Graphic Design

Museum

Anne Frank

House

National Maritime

Museum

ACQUIRE This museum is

completely

dedicated to the

work of one

person. All

objects and

content are

provided by

Armando. The

collection exists

of one core

collection owned

by the museum

and two

collections on

This museum

acquires new

content via the

Dutch design

database content

from designers

who can upload

their own work

with additional

information.

The core

collection

contains work

from Dutch

designers.

The main object

of the museum is

the annex in

which Anne

Frank and her

family were

hidden during the

war. This

museum provides

not only

information on

Anne, but it also

provides context

to understand the

content and story

The museum has

five main themes

for acquiring:

The Dutch and

the world – an

international

perspective.

Maritime Nation

– national

perspective.

Sea as inspiration

– Dutch maritime

history through

art objects.

Sea as challenge

36

Functions Armando

Museum

Graphic Design

Museum

Anne Frank

House

National Maritime

Museum

loan. of Anne. – relation

Netherlands and

the water.

Amsterdam –

maritime history

of port

Amsterdam.

The museum

finds it also

important to have

an active policy

on acquirement

and the

collection.

CONSERVATION No information

on this subject on

the website or

other information

directly available

for visitors.

No information

on this subject on

the website or

other information

directly available

for visitors.

For the museum

it is important to

preserve the

building, because

it is the key

object of the

museum. This

applies on the

interior as well as

the exterior of the

building and

original objects

from Anne or

related to Anne.

The information

plan of the

museum includes:

permanent access

to digital

collection;

relation between

physical and

virtual museum

and an

opportunity for

frequent

questions of

visitors.

RESEARCH The Armando

museum has a

documentation

centre on the

work and life of

Armando. It is

accessible for

researchers as

well as visitors.

The museum

offers visitors a

historical

overview of

Dutch design of

the last century.

No clear

statements found

on research

function. The

museum

publishes on

Dutch design.

The Anne Frank

foundation put a

lot of effort in

research to

conserve and

preserve the

house. They have

also a project on

monitoring

racism and

extremism. Its

aim is to define,

analyse and

document the

different forms of

racism and

extremism in

order to share this

knowledge and to

provide

contributions to

solutions and

policies.

Annual

publications on

maritime themes.

Research on

collection objects

is also accessible

for externals.

A joined digital

collection

database of the

Netherlands

maritime

institutions is

accessible

through the

museum website.

COMMUNICATE The museum

communicates

through the

website and in the

future through the

world of

Armando.

Visitors can

receive a news

letter to keep up

The museum

provides a news

letter as well as a

magazine which

is online

accessible.

Visitors can leave

comments and

the museum

wants to archive

The Anne Frank

foundation

communicates

through the

museum itself,

but also uses

different media to

reach her broad

public (e.g.

Facebook,

The museum

provides a news

letter, a blog on

the restoration of

the museum

building and it

communicates

through the

website. The new

museum will

37

Functions Armando

Museum

Graphic Design

Museum

Anne Frank

House

National Maritime

Museum

to date with

activities and

news of the

museum.

these comments. YouTube and

Guestbook on

website).

The virtual tour

through the annex

is a new way to

communicate

with visitors

abroad and to

provide them

with a way to

experience the

house and the

historical

background.

offer more

opportunities for

visitors to share

comments on the

collection and the

museum.

EXHIBIT The exhibition is

only physically

accessible. The

new virtual

museum shows

works of

Armando online

and this will be

thematically

structured.

The museum

aims to link the

physical with the

virtual

experience.

Interactivity with

the visitor is

interpreted as a

personal tour

through the

museum as well

as applications

for visitors to

comment on the

objects.

The Anne Frank

house is an

exhibition itself,

but the museum

also uses the

virtual museum

to present parts of

the collection.

The physical and

virtual museum

(both not

accessible) will

be structured on

three levels:

experience &

endure; discover

& experience;

discover & enjoy.

The design of the

exhibitions are

based on three

persona’s. [4]

EDUCATE This is a key

function of the

museum. The

new website,

‘The world of

Armando’, is

designed with an

educational

background.

This is a key

function of the

museum. It

provides

workshops for

children to

introduce them to

design as well as

lectures on

graphic design

and its function in

every day life.

This is a key

function of the

museum. It wants

to teach visitors

the horror of the

Second World

War as well as

making them

aware of racism

and extremism

today and its

consequences.

This is a key

function of the

museum. The

target groups are:

families with

children;

traditional

museum visitors;

maritime

enthusiasts and

schools.

SERVE The website gives

visitors little

space for

comment. The

design of the

virtual museum is

collection

orientated.

The visitor has an

important role in

the museum,

expressed in the

personalised tour

through the

museum and the

activities to

introduce visitors

to Dutch design.

The role of the

visitor is mainly

passive, but

visitors can share

their personal

relation with

Anne Frank (see

introduction on

Anne Frank

House).

The role of the

visitor will be

more active in the

new museum.

Figure 3 Functions of the case studies

5.6 Comparison of the virtual museums

The comparison of the above four museums is based on the websites and other information

derived from the Virtual museum meeting at the National Maritime Museum Amsterdam (25

March 2010). For this thesis the focus is on presentation and visitor experience as shown in the

38

table below. Museums face also challenges such as rightful ownership and copyright. The

museums expressed their concern on these matters during the meeting.

Type of

museum

Armando Museum Graphic Design

Museum

Anne Frank House National Maritime

Museum

Brochure All current websites (based on the information at July 28 2010) contain basic

information. The presentation of the information will not be discussed.

Brochure The homepage

offers a choice

between

information on

Armando or the

museum to plan a

visit. The

information on the

museum is

structured as

follows:

introduction,

visitors’

information,

coming events,

documentation,

centre,

collection,

tours,

shop, The part of the

website with

information on

Armando contains

the following

subjects:

introduction,

paintings,

drawings,

sculptures,

prose/poetry,

films/documentari

es/theatre.

The website

structures the

information as

follows:

the museum,

exhibitions (‘current’,

‘upcoming’ and

‘past’),

events (‘calendar’,

‘tours’,

‘workshops’,

‘children’s parties’

and

‘booking/contact’)

education (‘basic

info’, ‘elementary

schools’, ‘high

schools’, ‘college’

and

‘contact/booking’),

partners (‘introduction’,

‘funders’,

‘collaborators’,

‘businessclub’,

‘friends’,

‘arrangements’ and

‘donations’).

The website

structures the

information as

follows:

home (…), Anne

Frank’s History (‘Life in Germany’,

‘Emigration to the

Netherlands’, ‘The

Nazi occupy the

Netherlands’,

‘Going into

hiding’, ‘Discovery

and arrest’, ‘Otto

returns alone’,

‘Reactions to the

diary’, ‘A diary as

best friend’, ‘All

people’, ‘From

hiding place to

museum’),

Museum (‘Practical

information’,

‘Group visits for

schools’, ‘Group

visits for adults’,

‘Exhibitions’),

Worldwide (‘News’,

‘Education’, ‘The

Anne Frank

Collections’,

‘Racism &

Extremism

Monitor’,

‘Library’,

‘Newslettes

Subscription’),

Inspiring (‘Guestbook’,

‘Anne Frank Tree’,

‘Facebook’, ‘Photo

competition’,

‘YouTube’).

The website

structures the

information as

follows:

on the museum (‘organisation’,

‘news’, ‘agenda’,

‘press’,

‘newsletter’), visit

(‘museum ship’,

‘de plantage’, ‘sail

2010’, ‘event

location’), news on

renovation (‘renovation’,

‘blog’, ‘vision new

museum’,

‘exhibitions’,

‘museum as

meeting place’,

‘library’,

‘restoration

objects’, ‘building

‘s Lands

Zeemagazijn’),

collection (‘masterpieces’,

‘Christiaan

Brunnings’,

‘maritime

calendar’,

‘articles’, ‘photo

orders’, ‘strategy’,

‘research’,

‘curators’, ‘map’,

‘loan requests’,

‘collection on

tour’), donations

(‘private’,

‘business’,

‘funds’), contact

(‘mail-telphone-

email’, ‘visit ship’,

‘visit office’,

‘parking’, ‘press

contact’,

‘collection

information’ and

‘photo orders’),

storehouse (‘objects’, ‘online

gift’)

Content The website

provides some

Via the current

website the

The Anne Frank

House launched an

The current website

of the museum

39

Type of

museum

Armando Museum Graphic Design

Museum

Anne Frank House National Maritime

Museum

information

(mainly text) on the

collection (see

above). The new

website, ‘The

world of

Armando’, has no

homepage, but

varying themes in

which all works of

Armando fit.

highlights of the

collection are

presented with only

basic data. Visitors

can leave comment

on the objects.

This museum is

developing

applications for the

iPhone with

additional

information on the

objects and a Dutch

design database

where designers

can store their own

objects with

additional data.

online version of

Anne’s annex on

April 28 2010. The

house is the object

and the visitor can

make a virtual tour

through it. There is

also additional

information

provided in

different forms

(text, audio and

image).

contains the master

pieces with some

additional

information. The

objects can be

sorted on theme.

The new museum

will present more

digital accessible

objects.

Learning The new website,

‘The world of

Armando’, will

present most (or

all) works of

Armando in

themes. Visitors

can start at any

point, but the

museum has as

goal to provide a

learning

experience. There

will be little space

for visitors to

create something

themselves.

The applications

are in development

and will give

contextual

information. The

museum building is

the object and it is

expected that the

visitors can

navigate through

the museum with

the iPhone. If

visitors do not have

an iPhone they can

lent one of the

museum.

During the summer

holidays there are

workshops for

children in the

physical museum.

This museum

presents the hiding

place of Anne

online with

contextual

information. Anne

Frank is also active

on other platforms

such as the Anne

Frank channel on

YouTube. Anne

Frank has her own

page on Facebook

and visitors can

place their own leaf

under the Anne

Frank tree to

express their

personal relation

with Anne Frank.

The main goal of

the Maritime

Museum is to

educate. Contextual

information on the

objects will be

presented on the

new website and in

the virtual

museum.

MijnScheepvaart.nl

will provide a

personal

experience.

Visitors can create

their own

collection and

maybe this can be

displayed in 3D in

the physical

museum.

Participatory Not all of these museums provide a personal space for visitors. Most museums give

visitors the opportunity to leave comments on objects or the museum. However, it is

not clear what happens with these comments.

Participatory It is not clear how

visitors will

participate in the

museum. They will

probably have a

minor role. The

main goal is to

teach the visitor

about Armando.

Visitors can leave

their comment at

the virtual

museum. In this

way the museum

wants to investigate

what their visitor

like.

Visitors can leave

comment, add a

personal story or

add Anne Frank on

Facebook. In this

way visitors create

the museum and

personalise it.

The museum

questions itself

presently the

following: ‘How

should the museum

handle the

comments of

visitors? And how

can they

participate?’.

Figure 4 Type of museum (case studies)

5.7 Relation between functions and virtual museum

In the previous tables the functions and the virtual museums are analysed with the available

information derived from the museum websites and from the presentations at the Virtual

museum meeting. Unfortunately, only two museums were online during the writing of this

40

thesis. The analysis is therefore not complete. However, with the available information, as

presented in both tables, it is possible to compare the functions of the museums with each other

as well as to compare the different virtual museums. In addition, an answer can be formulated to

the question how the function of museum relates to the presentation through a virtual museum.

All museums consider education as a key function of the museum and the design of the virtual

museum is structured around this function. Visitors are guided through the museum and the

museum (will) provide(s) contextual information on the exhibition. The other functions are less

visible for visitors, unless the museum fully publishes its mission and functions on the website.

Do the museums also bear in mind the other facets of a virtual museum as defined in chapter

three? [5]

The virtual museums are accessible online, except the applications of the Graphic Design

museum. For this virtual museum it is necessary to be physically present in the museum

building and an iPhone is needed to display the virtual part of the museum. All museums want

to interact with the public, but on different levels. The Armando museum has no personal space

for visitors in contrast to the Anne Frank House that actively interacts with visitors and develops

interactive tools. The Maritime Museum develops a personal space for visitors to let them

interact with the collection.

However, the virtual Anne Frank House is not a truly interactive; it merely offers an online tour

through the museum. This tour is designed to give visitors an original experience, another aspect

of the virtual museum. All museums aspire to facilitate an original experience with as much as

possible contextual information. The presentation differs from high resolution digital

representations of objects (Armando museum, Graphic Design Museum) to the construction of a

personal environment (Maritime Museum) or the reconstruction of a historical environment

(Anne Frank House).

Visitors are not always the key actor, but their role is growing. How these virtual museums will

evolve over time still has to be investigated. This thesis assumes that the visitor has a large part

in the evolution of the virtual museum.

41

Chapter 6 How to survive?

‘As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there

is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any

manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better

chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected

variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.’ – Charles Darwin The Origin of Species

The ‘survival of the fittest’ is a famous phrase that refers to Darwin’s theory of natural selection,

but he never used this phrase in his own work. Darwin calls it struggle for existence and this

struggle acts in natural selection. Darwin only mentioned living beings, but could this theory

also be applied to museums? Richard Dawkins interpreted Darwin and his struggle for existence

as a gene pool, in which genes are replicators. In his theory life, like the human body, has to be

seen as a ‘survival machine’. The replicator can also be translated into a cultural form and

Dawkins introduces the term ‘memes’ as new replicators.

6.1 Memes

Richard Dawkins argues in The Selfish Gene that humans function as survival machines for

genes. Genes participate in the struggle for existence; Charles Darwin explains this as a

competition between species. Dawkins believes that it is the genes which are competing with

each other. This gene survival of the fittest is what makes genes selfish, although, Dawkins

doubts this is the right term for gene behaviour.

Genes survive by replicating themselves; according to Dawkins’ theory genes are replicators.

Dawkins also introduces another kind of replicators: memes. He understands memes as ideas

that exist in the human brain. Memes and genes both act as replicators and therefore, they must

have the same characteristics. Dawkins distinguishes three characteristics:

1. Longevity: the longer the lifetime of a replicator, the more numerous the

replicator can become;

2. Fecundity: the more fertile a replicator is the highest the speed of replication will be;

3. Copying-fidelity: the less mistakes during the copying, the more numerous the

replicators will be.

How do these characteristics affect memes? Dawkins argues that longevity is the less important

characteristic, because it implies that a meme only exist as long as the lifetime of a human being.

The second characteristic (fecundity) is more relevant. Dawkins designates three causes which

effects the fecundity of a meme: acceptation of a (scientific) theory; the popularity of an act of

culture; existence of written records. The third and last characteristic of a meme is, according to

42

Dawkins, the most important one. When the copying-fidelity is applied on ideas, they seem to

be a process of continuous mutation and blending.

In addition to these characteristics, the struggle for existence is also an essential aspect in

Dawkins’ theory. Memes also have to compete with each other. To survive, a meme has to

dominate the attention of the human brain at the expense of ‘rival’ memes. How does this relate

to museums?

Memes are intangible and are best regarded as ‘ideas’. As Dawkins points out, memes exist in

the human brain and humans are survival machines. Museums can also be seen as survival

machines. The idea of cultural heritage survives in museums. Therefore, a museum should not

only be defined as an abstract institute, but it is intertwined with the human survival machine.

Humans actually carry the memes and decide which of the memes will survive.

First, the characteristic longevity can be applied to the collection of a museum. The objects

within the museum collection make a museum valuable. They are also the reason to preserve

cultural heritage, because the objects, and sometimes also the museum building, carry the

memories of cultural heritage. What should be preserved or not depends on the strategy of a

museum and the conservation plan (see paragraph 1.2).

The second characteristic fecundity is interrelated with longevity, because fecundity influences

the lifetime of a museum strategy. The key aspect of fecundity is the popularity of an object.

What does Dawkins mean with popularity? Popular can be understand as low brow culture and

museums are mostly considered as institutions that present high brow culture. Popularity can

probably be interpreted as the future value of objects of culture. The visitor has a role in this

popularity as well as the museum professionals. However, it is difficult to determine which

object is popular and therefore important to preserve for the future. Some objects are not

popular, but could be important for the future (see Delta Plan and the conservation function in

paragraph 1.2)

The most important characteristic of memes, according to Dawkins, is copying-fidelity.

Therefore, permanent access to digital content is important for virtual museums. Dawkins

describes the copying-fidelity of ideas as a continuous mutation and blending. This resembles

the ideas of Erkki Huhtamo (see p. 22). In this thesis a virtual museum is also considered as a

continuous process.

6.2 Rules for the (r)evolution of museums

Elizabeth Wood formulates ‘rules’ for museums to change museum practice in this era (Wood

43

“Rules for the (r)evolution of Museums”). This is another way to interpreted the evolution and

the survival of museums. Wood focuses on the social role museums have. The first rule is to ‘let

everyone have their say’. With everyone she means both museum staff and community

members (i.e. active museum visitors). Museums should interact with their community. They

have to show that the feedback they receive is used to improve the museum.

Rule two is to ‘don’t be a know-it-all’, but use the knowledge of the community. This rule can

be compared with Parry’s ‘variability’; who has the authority or authorship considering

exhibitions? In Wood’s view, the museum is responsible for creating an exhibition, but they

should invite the visitors into the process.

The third rule: ‘look at all sides of an issue’ applies to the different opinions of museum objects

and content. Museums should demonstrate these different views and in order to do so they

should use the different views within the community as well as the perspectives outside this

community. Rule four is closely related to the third: ‘don’t be afraid to name the problem’.

Wood concentrates mainly on social history. In her opinion museums should investigate social

issues, especially injustice, and they should bring them out in the open. To follow the third rule,

museums should tell all sides of the story; in other words, they should be neutral. However,

Wood is not clear on this neutrality. An exhibition has to question certain issues and visitors

should be encouraged to think these issues over and discuss them.

The fifth rule ‘look for the possibilities, invite change’ relates to the creation of another reality.

In Woods opinion this should be a world without injustice, but in general it could be any other

imagined world. Museums have the responsibility to let visitors think and reconsider their daily

life. For the best results rule six ‘keep it local’ has to be applied. What are the local interests?

When museums focus on the local, the relationship with the local visitors will improve. People

recognize themselves in the stories the museum tells and this should help the museum to evolve.

Communication is an important element in this relationship with the local community. Wood’s

rule number seven ‘objects are given meaning by everyone who encounters them’ implies that

objects are means to communicate. This last rule shows that interaction with museum visitors

through objects is important, because every visitor will give a different meaning to objects.

6.3 Transcoded museum

Manovich argues that new media objects differ from old media objects and he presents these

differences as five principals of new media (see Appendix II). What are the influences of new

media on museums? Ross Parry uses these principals to both examine these influences and

recode museums.

44

6.3.1 Numerical representation

Parry considers Numerical Representation (Parry chapter four) as a digitisation of museum

objects and the main concern for museums is authenticity. The general view on digital copies is

that they threaten the ‘value’ of original objects. The doom scenario is that no one will visit the

museum physically when everything is accessible through internet. (See also Latour and Lowe

paragraph 3.5)

For ‘authenticity’ Parry refers to Walter Benjamin:

‘The authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging

from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced. Since the

historical testimony rests on the authenticity, the former, too, is jeopardised by reproduction

when substantive duration ceases to matter. And what is really jeopardised when the historical

testimony is affected is the authenticity of the object.’ (Parry: p. 64)

Parry states that digitisation affects the authenticity of an object. He sums up all the fears that

exist in the museum field and he uses the following diagram to distinguish the different types of

digital content:

Digitally born

A recorded interview

for a museum’s

oral history archive

A ‘learning object’

created by a

museum

A government Web page

collected by a national

archive

A piece of net art

commissioned and

acquired by a gallery

Created Acquired

A video taken in the

gallery of a ritual or

rite performed on an

object

A captured image of

an object generated

by a digitisation

project

A digital photograph

submitted by a local

visitor to a museum’s

community history

project

Digital surrogate

Figure 5 "The technology cube" (Parry: p. 106)

Digital objects can be both originals and representations and Parry observes that museums

embrace the digital content. Making collections accessible through the internet is interesting for

museums. It spreads the awareness of the museum among the public and it also attracts visitors

to view the ‘original’ in the museum. Another aspect is the growth of multi media art, which

raises questions about authenticity and representation. ‘Value’ (Parry does not explain this term)

seems to be similar to ‘authenticity’. Parry argues that the ‘aura’ of an object will disappear

45

when it becomes a representation. This ‘aura’ gives an original object value and a representation

lacks this ‘aura’ and therefore the value of original objects.

Returning to the recoding of museums, this Numerical Representation shifts the perspective of

museums from object-centred to experienced-centred. This is similar to the ideas of Wood, Falk

(see paragraph 4.2) and the museum directors (see paragraph 1.3). In this thesis the visitor has

an important role, thus the experience-centred idea is a first step to recode a museum.

6.3.2 Modularity

Manovich understand modularity as fractals; Parry uses the metaphors ‘building’ and

‘architecture’ (Parry chapter five). Fractals and a building or architecture are not quite the same,

because the structure of a building differs from that of a fractal. Fractals have one specific

theme that is repeated in such a way that the theme on each level is always the same. When you

zoom in or out on a fractal it always represents the same image. Furthermore, he defines

museums as spaces, using the concept of Lefebvrean spaces [6]. Parry understands modularity

of museums as ‘rescripting the visit’, because visitors can enter a museum whenever they want.

This is the most important change concerning the museum visit.

Parry uses modularity as a means to explain spaces, but in his view this repeated pattern is not

the essence. In his view, a museum has different modules, with as the most important ones the

building and the objects of art. The building stays in one place, the objects can move around.

This applies on virtual museums in displaying digital content. A virtual museum has a specific

structure that is repeated throughout the whole museum on different levels. Manovich describes

modularity as a structure of modules of bits, pixels, characters and scripts. It is a technological

matter and if one level of this structure is left out, the museum cannot be displayed.

The use of technology is not the real essence of a virtual museum, as explained in chapter three,

but the presentation and display of a virtual museum affects the experience of a visitor.

6.3.3 Automation

The display and presentation of a virtual museum relates to automation. Parry links automation

in museums at standardisation, especially considering the creation of computerised collection

databases in which information about the museum collection is digitally structured (Parry

chapter three). He wonders if museums are databases. In his opinion, a database is the

‘rationalising system for the modern world’. The logic of a database is embedded in the

organisation of a (modern) museum. This database structure for collections is also used for the

online presentation of objects.

46

Parry believes that this does not concern the museum visit or the virtual museum considering

the expectations the museum audience has. The automation of a visit to a virtual museum is

different to the automation of the catalogue of a museum.

For museums it is interesting to see how these standards can be implied to save time, but for

visitors automation is different. How can their computer remember certain things of a virtual

museum in anticipation of a next visit? Or otherwise: how can the museum anticipate on the

next visit of the audience? In the previous chapter four case studies of Dutch virtual museums

show that museums struggle with the role of visitors. When creating a virtual museum,

standardisation is a minor problem. Museums have to determine the needs of visitors regarding

the museum experience. If a museum puts effort in investigating those needs, the more likely a

virtual museum succeeds.

6.3.4 Variability

This characteristic of new media includes authorship and the authority of the curator (Parry

chapter six). A museum used to be a fixed location in which curators show their preferences and

opinions. Parry observes that museums are letting go of the idea of their exclusive authority.

This is particularly the case in the personal museum concept. Visitors can participate and can

create their own exhibition. Examples of this new authority are the tagging of objects, but also

the opportunity to add information to objects.

What does this mean for curators? Do they lose their authority or is their authorship changed?

Parry states that authority should be shared. The authority of a curator will change, he has no

monopoly anymore and he also has to consider the authorities of the visitors. On the other hand,

some visitors will appreciate the authorship of the curator, because he is an expert of the

collection. Museums acquire the objects in order to display them and to offer visitors the

opportunity to add an object to their personal museum. If an object is not in the museum

collection, than it cannot be a part of a personal museum.

This personal museum is a museum within a museum. Parry does not propose that a personal

museum should consist of objects collected from different museums and thus different

collections. If this would be true, then location and space really do not matter at all. For example,

Europeana (europeana.eu) is an initiative to construct this kind of personal museums; several

cultural heritage institutions agreed to make their collections digitally available for the public.

Although the collection of Europeana is growing, it seems to be a difficult process to promote

this idea of cultural heritage for everyone and every personal museum. The project faces

different challenges to open up one online accessible (European) cultural heritage collection.

47

Another question is whether the public really wants to create their own museum or collection

that consists of objects from different cultural heritage institutions. For this thesis, it goes too far

to explore this initiative, but the idea of personal museum is taken into account as an aspect of a

virtual museum.

6.3.5 Transcoding

This last principle of new media is used by Parry to explore the influence of technologies within

a museum organisation (Parry chapter seven). First, Parry explores the risks of new technologies.

Museums struggle with the impact of computers within their organisations in different ways.

Digital databases are today common in museums, but they are not always reliable and the ideal

database does not exist (yet). Even today, several projects are ongoing in order to develop

databases for museums.

Digital information is inevitable, specifically for virtual museums. It takes time to digitise

information and objects as well as to develop a system and database in which this information is

structured. Parry remarks that museums have underestimated this process. Museums have to

invest large sums in these projects and they have no guaranty that the outcome is perfect and

permanent. Permanence is another concern, because technologies are developing quickly. This

means that digital information has to change quickly as well regarding accessibility and

presentation. It is a challenge to digitise without losing information in the future.

These aspects have to be taken into account and it is a difficult process to draw up a plan for

standards on this matter. Furthermore, museums face another challenge regarding skills and

training for museum staff. When everything is digital it is important that people can work with

the new technologies. These new technologies brings along a new vocabulary and another way

of working. This is not always an improvement when the new tools are ‘hard to understand’ and

‘difficult to use’. The profession of a museum employee has changed. Knowledge of museum

objects is not enough; technical skills are also required.

Parry’s conclusion is that new media and technologies have a great influence on museum

organisations, but museums are still experimenting with new media. They accept using these

technologies; however, there is no perfect system that can be applied to all institutions. It takes

time to develop this, but the fact that museum are willing to invest in this development is

encouraging.

Finally, Parry wonders where the museum stops and the computer begins. The growing amount

of digital information demand more functionalities and memory of the computer. Does this

really matter? The principle of transcoding concerns the translation of numerical or digital

48

content to a human level. The computer is a means to translate this, but museums make the rules

how to translate this in an understandable way.

49

Conclusion

This thesis aims to explore the virtual museum. The first question is: Do museums have clarity

on the difference between being physical, digital and virtual? It seems there is no question for

museums identifying the difference between being physical or not. But how to deal with digital

and virtual? This thesis points out that digital is not similar to virtual. The virtual museum is

composed of different forms of digital content as defined by Digital Heritage Netherlands

(DEN). They distinguish three forms: digitised, digital born and digital structured information.

The visitor is the key actor in the composition of the different digital content. Interactive tools

and a dialogue with the visitor are the surplus value for museums in order to design a virtual

museum and to support change in the museum. The latter is also of importance. A virtual

museum is an evolving process that never ends and requires a different view on museum

functions. This is the second and last question this thesis wants to answer: Do museums have to

reconsider their function in order to survive?

In the previous chapters it is made clear that most museum functions are interrelated. The

consequence is that if one function has to be reconsidered, all functions have to be reconsidered.

When designing a virtual museum institutions face several challenges. The rules Wood

summarises are a tool for some museums to construct their mission and thus their function. It

has to be noticed that these rules mostly apply to local museums. When the target is a national

or international audience this local focus may not be enough. It has to be clear which visitors a

museum has in order to serve them.

The museums compared in chapter five focus on education, but the service function is found the

most important one. Does a virtual museum serve all visitors? A virtual museum can be

developed with a focus on a certain group of visitors. What is the surplus value of the virtual

museum to the physical museum? Does it provide additional information? What is the goal of

designing a virtual museum? A virtual museum has a surplus value if it is designed for a

specific target group or for all visitors with additional information not available in the physical

museum. For both groups interaction is important, because of the evolving element of a virtual

museum.

Then, how to survive? Unfortunately, there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategy. The case studies

show that museums differ from each other. Survival requires a clear focus on the mission and

functions of the museum, interaction with the visitor and knowledge sharing on designing

virtual museums with other institutions. Most importantly, survival depends on accepting that a

virtual museum is a continuous evolving process.

50

Endnotes

1. Alexander and Alexander distinguish six museums: art museum; natural history and

anthropology museums; science and technology museums and centres; history museum;

botanical gardens and zoos; children's museums.

2. Alexander and Alexander (2008): p. 195-196. The six elements for an effective

collection planning:

‘1. Identify the museum’s audience(s) and how their needs will be served by collections.

2. Review the strengths and weaknesses of the existing collections.

3. Include a “gap analysis” contrasting the real and ideal collection.

4. Set priorities for acquisition and de-accessioning based on the needs assessment and

gap analysis.

5. Identify “complementary collections” held by other museums or organizations that

may affect the museum’s collections choices.

6. Take into account existing or needed resources (funds, space and staff).’

3. Description of the purposes used in this thesis are derived from the purposes of

Alexander and Alexander.

4. The persona’s used for this museum are: Dick, a regular museum visitor with a

preference for maritime objects; Simone, she wants to be entertained and has a young

family; Micky, has an international scope and visits exciting and innovative exhibitions.

These persona’s are derived from the presentation of the Maritime Museum during the

Virtual museum meeting. See also the website for the presentations (in Dutch) :

scheepvaartmuseum.nl/over-het-museum/nieuws/studiemiddag-virtueel-museum-

succes!/presentaties

5. ‘A virtual museum is a digital presentation of objects accessible through the internet

and it provides interactive tools as well as contextual information in order to give

visitors the experience of the original object. The form of the digital objects (digitised,

digital born or database) does not affect this experience. The visitors are the key actors

in a virtual museum which is an always evolving space.’

6. Parry (2007): p. 88-92. Henri Lefebvre explained social spaces as mirrors. These

mirrors requires members of a society an image of their membership. This space can be

regarded as an hyperspace (i.e. a space in which the modes of spatial production are

focused and intensified). This hyperspace is comparable with Baudrillard’s hyperreality;

a reality in which everything is larger than life. His favourite example of hyperreality is

51

Disneyworld. Is it a real world? Yes, we can see, touch and experience it. Why is it

hyperreality? Disneyworld does not represent the real world in which people normally

live, but it is a utopian world in which (some) people want to live. Everything is real,

but it is a virtual real; in Disneyland do not live real people, the citizens of this world

are all played characters. When the park is closed, the reality of Disneyworld is over,

Snowwhite and her seven dwarves go home, but the utopian idea lives further in the

visitors. In Disneyworld the reality of everyday life can be forgotten and everyone goes

along in the utopia of Disneyworld. Lefebvre’s hyperspace is a space in which society

is so intensified that all different realms in which people’s life is divided: Material space

(i.e. everyday world); representational space (i.e. construction of space with language,

logic, techniques and knowledge); space as it might be, fully lived (i.e. the ideal world).

The essence of Lefebvrean space is the continual interplay between these realms.

52

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55

Appendix I Definition conservation ICOM-CC1

(“What is conservation?” icom-cc.org)

Terminology to characterize the conservation of tangible cultural heritage

At the 15th Triennial Conference held in New Delhi in September 2008, ICOM-CC adopted a

resolution on a terminology for conservation to facilitate communication in the international

professional and public fora and in the literature, since the same word may currently have

different meanings in different places. The resolution was adopted in English and in French, and

translated into Spanish. A commentary describing the approach and methodology used to decide

on a terminology is also available in English.

ICOM-CC adopted the following terms: “preventive conservation”, “remedial conservation”,

and “restoration” which together constitute “conservation” of the tangible cultural heritage.

These terms are distinguished according to the aims of the measures and actions they encompass.

The definitions of the terms are as follows: Conservation - all measures and actions aimed at

safeguarding tangible cultural heritage while ensuring its accessibility to present and future

generations. Conservation embraces preventive conservation, remedial conservation and

restoration. All measures and actions should respect the significance and the physical properties

of the cultural heritage item.

- Preventive conservation - all measures and actions aimed at avoiding and minimizing future

deterioration or loss. They are carried out within the context or on the surroundings of an item,

but more often a group of items, whatever their age and condition. These measures and actions

are indirect – they do not interfere with the materials and structures of the items. They do not

modify their appearance.

Examples of preventive conservation are appropriate measures and actions for registration,

storage, handling, packing and transportation, security, environmental management (light,

humidity, pollution and pest control), emergency planning, education of staff, public awareness,

legal compliance. - Remedial conservation - all actions directly applied to an item or a group of

items aimed at arresting current damaging processes or reinforcing their structure. These actions

are only carried out when the items are in such a fragile condition or deteriorating at such a rate,

that they could be lost in a relatively short time. These actions sometimes modify the

appearance of the items.

Examples of remedial conservation are disinfestation of textiles, desalination of ceramics, de-

acidification of paper, dehydration of wet archaeological materials, stabilization of corroded

metals, consolidation of mural paintings, removing weeds from mosaics. - Restoration – all

actions directly applied to a single and stable item aimed at facilitating its appreciation,

understanding and use. These actions are only carried out when the item has lost part of its

significance or function through past alteration or deterioration. They are based on respect for

1 http://www.icom-cc.org/242/about-icom-cc/what-is-conservation/ Consulted on: 04-07-2010

56

the original material. Most often such actions modify the appearance of the item.

Examples of restoration are retouching a painting, reassembling a broken sculpture, reshaping a

basket, filling losses on a glass vessel. Conservation measures and actions can sometimes serve

more than one aim. For instance varnish removal can be both restoration and remedial

conservation. The application of protective coatings can be both restoration and preventive

conservation. Reburial of mosaics can be both preventive and remedial conservation.

Conservation is complex and demands the collaboration of relevant qualified professionals. In

particular, any project involving direct actions on the cultural heritage requires a conservator-

restorer (see ICOM-CC's The Conservator-Restorer: a Definition of the Profession and ICOM's

Code of Ehics for Museums.

57

Appendix II Manovich five principals of new media

Lev Manovich points out that there are several differences between ‘old’ and ‘new’ media. New

media are characterized by presenting any of the following principals (Manovich “The language

of new media”).

1 Numerical Representation

All new media objects (digital-born or converted from analogue to digital) are composed of

digital code. In other words: new media objects are numerical representations. This has two key

consequences. First, new media uses mathematical functions as language instead of human

language. There is only one way to interpret mathematical language. If the reader (computer)

cannot interpret the mathematical language, then it cannot display the new media object. Second,

‘new media object is a subject to algorithmic manipulation’. Manovich aims at the

programmability of media the way it is used to manipulate or clean up photos or other objects.

2 Modularity

Manovich compares new media objects with fractals. Where a fractal has the same structure on

each level, new media objects have the same modular structure throughout. Manovich considers

them as a collection of bits, pixels, characters and scripts. This collection is needed to produce

the formal language for numerical representation. This has its limitation, because when one of

the modules is erased then the object cannot be read.

3 Automation

The first two principles, numerical representation and modularity, allow to automate operations

involved in media creation, manipulation and access. Manovich makes a distinction between

‘low-level’ and ‘high-level’ automation. Low-level automation uses templates, for example

image editing programs which automatically corrects scans or word processing programs with a

standard lay-out. High-level automation requires a computer which understands semantics. This

means that, to a certain level, a computer can interpreted information that is generated from the

new media object. It is able to learn and remember certain information in order to anticipate to

the object or similar objects.

4 Variability

New media objects are not fixed, but can exist in different versions. Manovich considers this as

a consequence of the Numerical representation and Modularity. He discusses several

consequences of this principal. First, the storage of media elements in media database(s) causes

variety in resolution, form and content of the objects. Consequently, they can be generated at

any time, thus the objects are independent of time.

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Second, the levels of data and interface of new media objects can be separated. The same data

can have different interfaces which are stored in one database. A third consequence is stored

information on the user. This information can be used by a computer program to customise the

media composition. For example, the recognition of an internet browser leads to customisation

especially for the user’s type of browser for an optimal presentation of the site for a particular

browser.

The fourth consequence is actually a particular case of user information. Manovich names this

‘branching-type interactivity’ in which the program presents various possibilities in a branching

tree structure and lets the user choose between the opportunities.

Hypermedia is another media structure where multimedia are linked through hyperlinks.

Consequently, the elements are independent of each other. The World Wide Web is, according

to Manovich, a particular implementation of hypermedia.

Periodic updates are the sixth consequence in Manovich theory of principals. Networks update

their content while keeping the structure of the network intact. Updates from internet for

programs used on your computer are an example of this periodical updating. A last consequence

of variability is scalability. Different versions of sizes and levels of the same media object can

be generated. Manovich compares this with a map. The possibility to zoom in and move around

provides details on different levels.

5 Transcoding

The last principal is the most substantial consequence of the computerisation. New media

objects are Numerical representations and therefore written in a digital code. The digital code

has to be transcoded to human level in order for users to be able to make sense of it. Manovich

distinguish two levels of which new media consists: ‘cultural layer’ and ‘computer layer’. The

cultural layer can be compared with short stories of categories in an encyclopaedia. The

computer layer includes computer language, data structure and storing and matching of data.

The core of transcoding, is the blend of the two levels and the influence they have on each other.

In other words, to transcode something is actually to translate it into another format. In

particular the translation from cultural to computer level and in reverse.