British tourist attraction visitors figures: who's up and who's down?

The Guardian has published a list showing the most visited tourist attractions in the Britain and whether those sites were up or down from last year. And, it included this pretty cool visualisation which can be interacted with!

It's the interactive chart that got my attention. It's a creative way to get vital information across. If technology is used in this manner, it really engages the readers and informs them without bogging them down with too many numbers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/feb/23/british-tourist-attractions-visitor-figures#data

The Virtual Orchestra Project

I believe that one of the greatest fears of social technology is its ability to potentially alienate people from an authentic artistic experience. However, the Virtual Orchestra Project shows that technology has an ability to connect musicians across nations, ethnicities and musical disciplines. With lots of planning Emmy nominated composer Glenn Rhodes was able to make the Virtual Orchestra Project a virtual success.

http://www.technologyinthearts.org/?p=1776#more-1776

Checking into the neighborhood

I recently read an article about Eva Bornstein, the executive director of the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts located in the Bronx burrough of New York City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/nyregion/27lehman.html?_r=1&ref=davidgonzalez

It describes how Ms Bornstein took the opportunity to go out into the actual streets of the neighborhood surrounding the arts center to get to know what the residents were actually like. She found a neighborhood of made up mostly hispanic people; a culture she admittedly knew very little about. So she began her cutural education with a trip to Puerto Rico. Ultimately, her familiarization with her neighborhood has led her to make programming decisions that have made the Lehman Center a success.

I found this to be an interesting article because it shows how getting to know your environment can really influence the way you go about presenting your art to the community; how your choices can more directly benefit your community. By focusing on the community, we can better support them and they, in turn, will better support us.

The Google Art Project

A few years ago Google Earth and Google Street View technology shocked the world with up-close, 360-degree satellite footage of cities and neighborhoods all over the globe. Now, the Google technology is taking to the arts. The Google Art Project uses Google Street View Technology to give viewers a look inside eighteen museums (and counting) from New York to Moscow.

The Google Art Project is a sophisticated tool that can bring countless benefits to the arts and culture sphere. As leisure time becomes more precious and people turn to the internet as a use of their time, innovations like Google Art Project allow opportunities to experience new things virtually. A free learning tool, the project supports self-learning and is a creative way to supplement school curriculums. The project also acts as a marketing tool, showcasing a museum’s works and venues and enticing those viewers with the ability to visit a museum in person to do so.

One of the most interesting elements of the project is the viewer’s option to create a collection.This feature allows a viewer to compose his or her own virtual art collection, which can then be shared with friends. This feature takes the project one step further by adding a relevant social networking component while keeping the project focused on the art world.

For every benefit the project brings there are also uncertainties. Making specific artworks available virtually could negatively affect the participating museum’s visitorship. Copyright and legal issues cannot be overlooked. Also, many images will not be available for view in high resolution, making the presentation less than desirable. While the project provides exposure to number of works, the experience is not the same as a true museum visit, causing a skewed reality.

Although there are many technical bugs and informational gaps to be worked out, the project is still very much in its beginning stages. As it continues to expand its number of museums, the tools, features and technicalities of the site will also improve. The uncertainty of the project’s effects on the art world are unsettling and will prevent some institutions from joining until the consequences are fully explored. This should be not viewed negatively though. Taking the time to explore a technologically advanced idea like the Google Art Project, which is sure to have overarching effects of the entire sector, can only be viewed as a responsible decision on behalf of the institution.

The Google Art Project is a huge step forward in self-education and virtual tour technology, but it is still a work in progress and institutions must be cautious. As long as the project is approached with vigilance and observed by the arts and culture sector, it is sure to have positive and lasting effects.

The Google Art Project: http://www.googleartproject.com/

For sale: baby shoes, never worn

I had a conversation the other day with a co-worker about e-books. It started off on the topic of libraries and their reluctance to get into the sharing business. Now, apparently, there is a little more to this situation than I knew about - for instance, many publishers will not grant libraries licenses to e-books. Here's an article on the topic:

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library_babel_fish/a_library_written_in_disappearing_ink

But then the conversation turned to pondering how e-books and recent technology will change how many writers construct their stories and novels. Or even how playwrights will write their scripts. If any of you are familiar with Annie Baker, I think her dialog is a remarkable depiction of present-day language for an internnet-consumed generation.

But after a bit of internet surfing, I came across this story about how Rick Moody wrote a short story on twitter:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/11/30/are-tweets-literature-rick-moody-thinks-they-can-be/

Of course, critics were all over it, refusing to acknowledge it as an actual short story. My response? See the title of this blog. Ernest Hemingway was light years ahead of all of us.

Opera Filmed In 3D: It Could Redefine The Art

The title above was used as the subject line for my RSS Feed - and I think it might be a little too wide-eyed. "Redefine"? I doubt it. I think everyone can agree, whether you're a huge fan of Opera or not, that nothing will ever beat a live performance. But for those many who find the artform inaccesible due to the cost of a ticket, filmed versions have been the only way to see a perfromance of "Carmen" and others. I can see the die-hard fans scoffing at the idea of a Hollywood "gimmick" being applied to Opera, but it's not for them. It's also not the right approach to attract new audience members, either. If you've decided Opera is not for you, I don't think 3-D is going to change that. For those people who may only get a chance to see filmed versions, this is a way of hinting at the larger experience.

I'll be interested to see whether this take off or flops. It seems to benefit only a small group of people. You be the judge.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11061/1128892-388.stm#ixzz1FSY47Mae

Mobile App Development at the Warhol

In this podcast episode, the Web and Digital Media Manager and the education curator of the Warhol museum discuss their new mobile apps and the development process behind them. In conjunction with the museum they worked with companies such as Brunner Digital and Toura that focus on advertising and tourism.

http://www.technologyinthearts.org/?p=1751