Something
for Everyone: Online Museum Exhibitions
by Kathleen Lang
Thanks to the Internet,
most potential museum visitors don't have to travel to every museum
in the country to see the vast assortment of exhibitions available.
Now, in the comfort of your own home (possibly in your pajamas
with a cup of coffee) you can browse through a growing number
of museums web sites that have modified some of their exhibitions
for online viewing.
Some of the museums
present only portions of their exhibitions and others are truly
web projects that are far more experimental in nature. The best
thing to do is to read the summaries below and then visit a few
of the sites that interest you.
The
National Museum of American Art
As part of the Smithsonian
Institution, this museum has a lot of material to showcase. Of
the 16 virtual shows to visit, you can choose between an Edward
Hopper scrapbook to American photography, posters, prints, and
sculptures. This is a well- organized and easy to use site. You'll
find the Online Exhibitions located within the Collections and
Exhibitions link.
National
Gallery of Art
The National Gallery
of Art has several virtual exhibitions from past exhibitions that
include Van Gogh, Alexander Calder and sculpture from ancient
Cambodia. Each one is extremely informative, entertaining, and
has audio and video clips available.
Anatomy
of an Exhibition, Art Nouveau, 1890-1914
This recent and very
popular exhibition at the NGA is one of the most complete presentations
on the Art Nouveau movement ever organized.
Philadelphia
Museum of Art
The exhibitions included
here are a great way to share current and past museum shows with
everyone. These exhibitions are all very different but highly
interesting, too. There is a truly eclectic mix of art to choose
from here.
The
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
You have a choice of
three exhibitions to view.
Restoring
a Masterwork explains all the complex conservation steps taken
to restore a 300 year-old painting. This scientific area is vitally
important to preserve older paintings for others to enjoy in the
years to come.
Modernism
highlights the art of design from the Arts and Crafts movement
to Art Deco.
Most intriguing is
The Foot in
the Door 2000 exhibition that invited 1700 Minneapolis artists
to participate provided they use only one cubic foot of gallery
space! I'm sorry I missed this one.
|