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Technology in Excess
Not all the museum's works are online, notes Allegra Burnette, creative director of digital media at MoMA. "We have a lot of relationships with living artists, and they have concerns about how we use their images," she says. "There are a lot of constraints. How do you make things available to the public and respect the wishes of the artists? It's a balance. [The public wonders], 'Why don't you just put it all online?' We're the caretakers of the rights, not the owners. We may own the work, but not the right to show the work."
When it comes to technology, digital images aren't the only consideration. When MoMA re-opened, the museum offered visitors PDAs that enable them to take a self-guided architectural tour of the building and download text as they strolled around.
Three months into the program, the museum tried to buy more devices from the vendor, only to discover that it wasn't selling the same model anymore. In the end, MoMA gave up on the idea. "Now we know how much time and effort it takes and the logistical challenges," says Peltzman. "We could make it successful if we wanted to. With limited resources, it wasn't that much bang for the buck."
The experiment persuaded MoMA to re-think its approach to bringing technology into the galleries. "How do we give them the material on a device they already have rather than adding devices?" wonders Burnette.
Too much technology can detract from the artistic experience. "You can ruin the experience of someone who comes a long way to the museum," adds Peltzman. "There's what you can do with technology and what you should do. It's a temptation. Every now and then, I succumb. You don't bank on hardware solutions. You bank on your data."
And Peltzman's data just happens to be a fantastic collection of art. "I love the fact," he says, "that it's part of my job to walk around the galleries."
Michael Ybarra was a senior features writer for CIO Decisions. Write to him at editor@ciodecisions.com.
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