As image processing technologies have progressed and electronic devices have become less expensive, the possibilities for art museums to provide, outside and inside the museums, a variety of image data have been expanded. The discussions on image data service at art museums, however, have mainly centered on the technological standpoints. Their purpose and effect, though essential issues to art museums, have not been fully discussed. Instead, image data have still been regarded as the alternatives for accessing artworks that can not be exhibited in museums. It is also argued that hi-vision image of an artwork is not necessary to be shown along with the real object The permanent exhibition of a museum has only a part of the museum collections. Generally, an art museum exhibits works which meet the museum's criteria for the permanent exhibition, in a certain (for example, chronological) order. On the contrary, when an image database is open to the pubic, all image data in the database are equally accessible. What does the coexistence of two types of objects (real and digital) bring to museums? We had a panel on the following subjects with a former museum curator, a plastic artist and an attorney as the panelists:
(1) What relations are there between a real artwork and its image data? What do we provide, or what do people see, through the monitor?
(2) What does an artist think about that his/her work is collected, exhibited by museums and its digital image is provided to the public? Or, how would he/ she like to be committed in these activities?
(3) Can a consensus be formed among artists, image data producers and providers, and the general public about the copyright problem of making and providing image data of artworks?
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