The Bulletin of Japan Art Documentation Society No. 7 (September 1999)
RESUMES
The Retrieval Items for Costume Image Database
Haruko Takahashi - No.7,p.3-12. 1999.
RESUME: This paper describes the retrieval items for Costume Image Database. Eleven retrieval items were produced as follows (1)ID number (2)original model, original work and source for image (3)existence of combination for images (4)quality of image (5)OWC(Outline of World Cultures) (6)an epoch (7)position1-scene (8)position2-body and dressing condition for individual (9)position3-the name of costume (10)free keyword (11)caption of image. (7), (8) and (9) are specialities for this retrieval items. In conclusion, various kinds of figures of so many people in any images can be retrieved and grasped quite obviously and clearly by using (7) position1-scene. And if necessary, retrieving can be made by combing (7) with (8) and (9).
These position-1,2 and 3 are also indispensable for analyzing content of image, and thesaurus for the above three positions has been prepared.
On the Classification System in Museum of Art in Japan: Its Historical Background and Ideorogical Meaning
Hitoshi Mori - No.7,p.12-18. 1999.
RESUME: The Japanese art has been established as a system by the Japanese government since 1868. Recently, the historical fact has increasingly been paid attention to and has been implied in some exhibitions held in Japanese art museums. The recognition of art itself, however, has not changed so much as the interests in the art system. This study tries to consider the recognition of the art system and the historical background, taking the classification rule in Japanese public art museums as an example. Although Japanese art museums were established after the World War II, they are mostly confined to the pre-war art system. The author clarifies that their recognition is getting rid of such a restriction and they are improving the system of art collections.
Distribution of Museum Information through the Internet: The Model of Dr. Stam and the Information System on Cultural Properties and Art in Japan
Yukihiro Hamada, Shigenori Hiroe, Akira Itani, Hiroshi Naitoh, Noboru Sakamoto, Mei Shishido, Yukimoto Suzuki, Haruko Takahashi, Naoki Takubo - No.7,p.19-27. 1999.
RESUME: Dr. Deirdre C. Stam has presented a web-based model for providing access to multi-institutional museum information. In this article on the model is introduced. And secondly, her model and the Information System on Cultural Properties and Art in Japan provided by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, both use the WWW, are compared.
An Example of Filing for Photograph Documentation in Art Restoration
Kumi Masuda - No.7,p.28-32. 1999.
RESUME: Artworks may be restored repeatedly to preserve them for a long time. Recorfs of its restoration are useful when an artwork is retreated thereafter. The Sokei Institute of painting Technology has made a research report of each artwork when it is restored. The report includes the descriptions and photographs which show the condition of the artwork and restoration process in detail. Each restorer carries out entire process: restoration and keeping a record of the treatment. Therefore, the photograph file should be able to be organized by more than one restorer, and to be available to all staff members of the Institute. The method for organizing the photograph file has benn established since the Institute was founded, by the staff who recognized the importance of photographs in restoration artworks. A future problems is how to keep an increasing number of photographs. Digitization is considered to be the most promising way to save the space and to make these materials more accessible.
Photographs,Microfiches,MIDAS,and DISKUS: The Bildarchiv Foto Marburg as German Center for the Documentation of Art History
Fritz Laupichler - No.7,p.33-45. 1999.
Translated into Japanese by Masako Kawaguchi
RESUME: The "Bildarchiv Foto Marburg" in the Art History Department of the Philipps-University Marburg (Germany) was founded in 1913 with the aim of collecting pictorial material for art historical research. Having been designated by the German Council for the sciences as the Federal German Center for the Documentation of Art History, it is publishing for many years photographs of works of art on microfiche, above all the "Marburger Index-Inventory of Art in Germany". Moreover, for the indexing of the photographic sources the Bildarchiv has developed the information system MIDAS (the Marburg Information, Documentation and Administration System), which allows with its integrated database system HIDA (Hierarchical Information and Documentation Administrator) structuring of art historical information with the aid of electronic data processing. On this basis some cooperative projects for cataloguing of works of art have been carried out, and as a result a regular data-exchange between the participants, several art historical institutions in Germany and some European neighbour countries, has been established. The common database and the cooperative information system called DISKUS(Digital Information System for Art and Social History) are still extending and offer some products, such as series of illustrated museum catalogues on CD-ROM.
The following article explains the history of the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg and describes its information system, projects, publications and other activities. The most fascinating of these projects could be the pilot project of the image database "BKA" in World Wide Web. (A translation from Fritz Laupichler's "Fotografien, Microficheas, MIDAS und Diskus: Das Bildarchiv Foto Marburg als "Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum fur Kunstageschichte,") in: Im Bann der Medien: Ein elektronisches Handbuch, edited by Kai-Uwe Hemken, Weimar: Verlag und Datenbank fur Geisteswissenschaften, 1997. This article is a revised and enlarged version oh the author's essay "Photographs, Microfiches, MIDAS, and DISKUS: The Bildarchiv Foto Marburg as German Center for the Documentation of Art History", in: Visual Resources, 12, 1996, pp.157-176.)
Digital Images and Art Museums
Report from the JADS 28th Meeting held at the Tokyo National Museum on June 6th, 1998.
Yoichiro Ide, Kenjiro Okazaki, Makoto Itoh, Takeshi Mizutani[Introduction] - No.7,p.46-47. 1999.
RESUME from Introduction: As image processing technology 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 alternative 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 public, 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 go we provide, or what do people see, though 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 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 artwork?
(Reproduced from Newsletter of Japan Art Documentation Society, No.37, April25, 1998 )
Image data service at art museums: a curator's viewpoint
Yoichiro Ide - No.7,p.48-51. 1999.
Summary of the speech: I had been a curator in an art museum for about ten years. Now I work at a university gallery and sometimes supervise art exhibitions. Here, I will try to consider the problem of providing (reproduced) image data from a curator's viewpoint.
(1) What is the purpose of image data service at art museums?
I think that, at the present day, the difference between real and digital objects is only in information quantity. The reason is that today's art museums are often so crowded that visitors can not appreciate, but just see real artworks. Unless they are satisfied with an aura radiated by real objects, it would be much better to show them image data on a large screen or monitor. Curators should not only use image data as substitutes for the objects which can not be exhibited to the public, but include them in the exhibitions.
(2) What do digital image data bring to museums?
Image data change the custom to respect real and famous works. It will be commonly recognized that judging whether a work is beautiful or ugly is different from judging whether it is genuine or fake, and that a nice replica is better than a dull original work. People who have some connection with art museums should remember that an artwork is not a historical monument, but provides information like something alive.
(Reproduced from Newsletter of Japan Art Documentation Society, No 37, April25, 1998)
Image data service at art museums: for an artist's viewpoint
Kenjiro Okazaki - No.7,p.52-56. 1999.
Summary of the speech: George Kubler, an archeologist, wrote in his book The Shape of Time: remarks on the history of things that "Let us suppose that the idea of art can be extended to embrace the whole range of man-made things, including all tools and writing in addiction to the useless, beautiful, and poetic things of the world. The book had great influence on artists of those days. Man-made things are related each other to from a continuum beyond the area we perceive as their meanings and functions. As long as there are innumerable networks connecting these things, their influence, once created, does not fade out, even if their meanings and functions deteriorate gradually. The continuum also can not be divided at any point by the concept of level. There is an understanding that 'assemblage' is a unique type of art objects created by a system, called art museum. The reason is that the characteristic of this method merging all kinds of things regardless of their origins is intrinsic in art museums, Certainly, it appears to be similar to the Kubler's image of an art museum. An ideal museum should collect everything men have made. Kubler, however, was well aware that such a museum is nothing but an abstract concept, which can be, realized only if human view is excluded. As long as humans are actually concerned with, a museum can neither collect nor exhibit everything. What we can see in a museum is only a group of objects selected from numberless things. Kubler thinks. Although only a series of objects selected from a virtually infinite number of possibilities are sanctified in art museums, nothings is generated there. A new object can be generated (or invented) only if a network connecting potential or hidden objects is come to the front. Kubler was more interested in a host of objects stored in museum warehouses than museum exhibitions. He also showed interest in objects buried underground.
(Reproduced from Newsletter of Japan Art Documentation Society, No.37,April 25, 1998, first appeared in his article, 'Other art museum: the Memorial Exhibition of Rauschenberg', Ronza, Jan..,1998)
Image data service at art museums and copyright
Makoto Itoh - No.7,p.57-63. 1999.
Summary of the speech: Art museums provide various kinds of image data services, such as interactive information service, video or film show service. Technologically, it has become possible to link multiple image data services and to provide these services wherever customers are. In this speech, I will talk about the following:
(1) Copyright problems related to various kinds of image data services. In addition to reproduction rights and showing rights for a video or film, new rights related to multimedia and databases, such as broadcasting rights on the Internet, have been granted on January 1, 1998. I will also briefly mention what meaning these right bring to us.
(2) The meaning of image data services at art museums to information providers, authors/ copyright holders and users. Their interests conflict on some matters. There are also some misunderstanding and useless worries about illegal reproduction. In this context, I will mention how these issues can be dealt with by the legal system mentioned above, with my personal opinion included. I will also refer to the establishment of a copyright clearance center, like JASRAC in the field of music, now being considered from various points of view.
(Reproduced from Newsletter of Japan Art Documentation Society, No.37, Apr.25, 1998)
List of Articles on Art Documentation in Japan 1997
Comp. by JADS Clearinghouse - No.7, p.64-71. 1999.