Building museums as protagonists of Virtual Reality exhibitions
Organizer: Marco Merlini, EURO INNOVANET - Prehistory Knowledge Project, Rome, Italy, marco.merlini@mclink.it
Co-organizers:Lolita Nikolova, International Institute of Anthropology & The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Salt lake City, Utah, USA lnikol@iianthropology.org.
Diana Gergova, National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria, dianagergova@gmail.com
Session abstract:
A study published by the European Commission “The economy of culture in Europe” includes museums into the not-economic and not-profitable sector. They can generate employment and business only for what concerns their real, physical existence, mainly when they renovate their buildings.
Against this too restrictive vision, this roundtable intends to collect, present and discuss best-practices according to which museums are protagonists of innovative synergies between cultural heritage and Internet-digital multimedia devices as to generate social-economic benefits able to trigger local economic development.
A special focus will be put on skills and tools needed to develop Virtual exhibitions that are manageable, delivered on Internet and envisaged as e- services. Key criteria will be explored such as development of tools that require limited additional training, inexpensive software or hardware, and conceived as components of museum daily work - not externally outsourced.
Consistently, it will be discussed how to create an international interacting and learning community where museums develop capacity building and technical cooperation on the subject of robust digital representation methods, exhibitions online and 3D virtual reality.
The organisers of this round table intend to solicit specific case studies relating to topics such as management of Web exhibitions and 3D virtual reality, courses online as tools to build virtual museums, supporting digital archaeological libraries, educational programmes, and 3D representations.
Paper abstracts:
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT, WEB EXHIBITIONS AND 3D VIRTUAL REALITY
Marco Merlini, EURO INNOVANET - Prehistory Knowledge Project (F-MU.S.EU.M.), Rome, Italy, mi9887@mclink.it
Merlini will deliver an introductory presentation aimed at setting the ground on conservation management, web exhibitions and 3D virtual reality. The progress of digital imagery and Internet are offering museums useful tools to develop new modalities for supplying their cultural heritage to a potentially global audience and for providing high quality e-services. However, the new opportunities are not fully exploited due to inadequacy of social and technical competences and resources in this field.
The presentation will explore – through a SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of different museum cases in managing multimedia/virtual fruition via Web. Consistently, it will propose some suggestions to be discussed in the roundtable on how to strengthen museums as protagonist in the online display of cultural heritage through virtual technologies.
archaeologICAL Internet and virtual museums
Lolita Nikolova, International Institute of Anthropology & The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, lnikolova@iianthropology.org
The development of the 21st century archaeology requires changes not only in the general understanding of archaeology as a discipline about Past, based on the material culture, but also in the way the archaeologists communicate their knowledge on Past.
Internet is still a field of technology and universal knowledge that has been not using the most efficiently from archaeology. Although there are numerous websites, not many include rich information and the basic archaeological achievements are scanty represented. Nevertheless, the archaeological Internet is a specific field of knowledge communication in which are involved archaeologists who mostly feel as a social duty to work on making archaeology closer to public through volunteering on Internet. Their work should be highly appreciated. In many cases, it is beneficial not only for the visitors of the websites but also for the webmasters even when the websites do not have a commercial character.
The virtual museums on Internet give a great opportunity the wealthy of the archaeological finds and features to be represented in the most sophisticated way. Cross-national, national institutional, non-for-profit, private or individual projects will be discussed in our presentation together with the general academic and humanistic benefit of the Internet virtual museums, exhibits and thematical websites. We will try to trace possible directions for their future development as an essential archaeological expression attempting to connect archaeological discoveries with both, professionals and just interested in archaeology.
The dynamics between actual museums and virtual museums in Bulgaria
Diana Gergova, National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria, dianagergova@gmail.com
Lyudmila Doncheva-Petkova, National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria, maya@flora-bg.net
Anna Haralambieva, Archaeological Museum, Varna, Bulgaria, annahara@hotmail.com
Galena Radoslavova, Museum in History in Razgrad, Bulgaria, galena_rz@abv.bg
Following the traditions of the country, the new law for protection of cultural heritage in Bulgaria gives a wide scope of prerogatives to museums. They do not only concern the traditional competence of these institutions on movable heritage. Being national, regional, local or private, Bulgarian museums have the obligation/right to take care also of the immovable cultural heritage and, first of all, the archaeological heritage. The right to open archaeological excavations to the public, in a country with many problems concerning their preservation, gives predominance to activities mainly connected with scientific approaches to registration, preservation and excavation of the archaeological heritage.
The authorisation given to museums to manage archaeological sites and the possibilities to have financial gains out of it (mainly from cultural tourism) is in many cases decisive for the still limited interest to the modern presentation of the museums finds, the advertisement of their collections and the creation of new products for educational and other programs. Several museums in Bulgaria are already participating in European projects connected with the creation of Virtual museums.
The Neolithic sanctuary from Parta: from the excavation to the reconstruction in the Timisoara Museum AND IN 3D
Gheorghe Lazarovici, Lucian Blaga University - IPCTE, Sibiu, Romania (F-MU.S.EU.M.), ghlazarovici@yahoo.com
The presentation will focus on the challenge to reconstruct the most spectacular Neolithic temple found at Parţa (Banat, Romania) physically in the Museum of Banat at Timisoara as well as in 3D video format. Both reconstructions include not only the general architectural frame, but also internal elements such as the monumental Goddess/Bull statue, altars, columns with ox heads, ovens, place for burning offerings, benches, tables, partitions or special places, thrones and giant offering and storing vases.
The Parţa temple is characterized by the Sun and Moon cult connected with measurement of time and seasons. The actual and virtual reconstructions apply archaeoastronomical study to re-enact how the Sun, before sunset of September 23, passes through the corner of the Moon (identified with the Sun Light), comes into the temple, passes through an orifice from the two rooms (B in A), and falls on the back of the double statue where an amphora with sacred liquid is located.
Plan for a DIDACTIC virtual museum of the Cucuteni spiritual life
Magda Lazarovici, Institute of Archeology, Iaşi, Romania (F-MU.S.EU.M.), magdamantu@yahoo.com
The Ariuşd-Cucuteni-Tripolie culture has evolved in the period 4600-3500 CAL BC within Romanian, Moldavian and Ukrainian territory. It is very well known for the rich spiritual life expressed on pots through wonderful painted decorations, as well as on the numerous plastic representations.
The presentation will discuss a feasibility plan to establish a virtual museum of the Cucuteni magic-religious approach. It will be a didactic 3D museum able to communicate not only the ancient knowledge regarding decorative and shape patterns, but also the communitarian sanctuaries (with a specific architectures and different inner arrangements), household shrines, or cult complexes, involving diverse pots, as well as anthropomorphic and zoomorphic statuettes, reflecting mainly the cult of the Great Goddess.
A Model of virtual presentation of cemetery finds
Done Serbanescu, Muzeului Civilizatiei Gumelnita, Oltenita, Romania, acomsa2003@yahoo.com
Alexandra Comşa, Archaeological Institute, Bucharest, Romania, acomsa2003@yahoo.com
Our case study is the cemetery of Sultana (Romania). It was discovered in 1974 and consists of 243 inhumations. The typical body position is on left with head towards East, with some deviations. The standard burial inventory consists of tools, seldom of bone idols and adornments, as marks of prestige.
The necropolis was assigned to the early phases of the Boian Culture (Bolintineanu and Giulesti phases), namely from the first half of the 5th millennium BC.
Being the largest Boian necropolis investigated by now, it provides a significant material for anthropological studies that indicates, for instance, that the average duration of life reached 37 years and 9 months.
We will introduce a model of the contextual virtual presentation of the finds and will discuss some problems emerging from our effort to integrate archaeology, osteology and digital technology.
Virtual presentation of FRAGMENTED finds
Ashley Williamson, The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Draper, Utah, USA, willysfillyonly@yahoo.com
Jennifer Monitoken, The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Draper, Utah, USA, jen.manitoken@gmail.com
In our presentation, we will discuss principals and cases of virtual presentations of small finds, in particular the interrelation between shape, material, space and color. We will also focus on the similarity and differences between the museum space and the virtual space.
The archaeological finds had been characterized by the fact that many of them are fragmented. The virtual technology gives opportunity to model different variants of reconstructions and to present virtually the complete find without trying to attach missed parts to the fragment, as the guess can be wrong or the material can damage the original find. Although the reconstructed fragmented finds have important educational and enculturation roles in the museums, the virtual technology expands the opportunity for interconnecting the direct and virtual communication of the archaeological heritage.
Further, we will employ some of the principals of the interior design to the virtual presentation of small objects and will give examples of variety of their arrangements – individually and in groups. These principals can be applied during the contextual presentation of finds by modelling features like pits, houses, ditches, etc.
The interrelation between archaeology, ethnography and design will be also discussed as an opportunity to bridge different disciplines in communication of the wealth of cultural heritage.
SETTING A VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OF ITALIAN EPIGRAVETTIAN FINDS
Paola Ucelli Gnesutta, Indipendent scholar, Pisa, Italy, paola.gnesutta@fastwebnet.it
The contribution of Information technology to innovate and improve the transmission of cultural heritage is particularly appreciable in case of an exhibition of Italian Epigravettian finds. These remains are often fragmentary or in miniaturize scale. Therefore, it is very difficult to exhibit them through eye-catching effects. However, the same objects can conquer the interest of audience, if they are shown in detail and in wide size and if they are presented at the same time with proper explanations concerning functions, technique of production, and spiritual implications.
The hub of the virtual exhibition that I present is organized echoing a website in which every artifact is represented in three-dimensional view. If it is fragmented, it is completed by the reconstruction of the original shape. Through links, it is possible to see the objects in relating geographic, environmental, archaeological, and anthropological contexts. Rendering techniques are used to give life to the matter.
Different levels of information are set up. As an example: manufacturing techniques such as flaking and polishing stones or decorating and firing ceramics interest everybody. Instead, a deeper level is needed to convey technological scrutiny of markings on stone and bone tools or geological and biological analysis on the composition of ceramic.
Digital creative activity for THE development of tourism
Stiliyan Stanimirov, Central Archaeological Council, Sofia, Bulgaria,
s_prista@abv.bg
According to the Bulgarian normative, in 2001 digital creative activity was added to the official definition of museum. It involves “electronic museum”, “online museum”, “digital museum”, etc. These terms focus on the technological aspects, the connection with Internet and the interactive access to the museums knowledge.
The “virtual museum” offers easy access to information through a specific technology. It offers fast and easy opportunity to communicate cultural heritage.
Visiting actual museums, tourists expect to interact with the most attractive sights, have a view on culture, and get a feeling about living in the past epoch. Virtual museums give some insight that actual museums cannot – the visitors can choose their direction of journey, stop and increase the scale of the images, see details, feel the social space in its completeness, etc.
The high-quality, attractive computer graphics and the virtual reality of an exposition may trigger the online visitors to organize a tourist trip to the actual museums. From this perspective, together with their own value virtual museums have a complimentary role to actual museums in our global culture as essential means of cross-cultural communication.
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