Is the future of art history 'digital?'
June 14 2012
Picture: NoMatter/Freakingnews.com
The fabulous Kress Foundation has published a new report; Transitioning to a Digital World - Art History, its Research Centers, and Digital Scholarship. Alas, it isn't particularly well written (for example, it would be helpful if it started with a definition of what it is meant by 'digital art history'), but a central summary reveals:
The findings reveal disagreements in the art history community about the value of digital research, teaching, and scholarship. Those who believe in the potential of digital art history feel it will open up new avenues of inquiry and scholarship, allow greater access to art historical information, provide broader dissemination of scholarly research, and enhance undergraduate and graduate teaching. Those who are skeptical doubt that new forms of art historical scholarship will emerge from the digital environment. They remain unconvinced that digital art history will offer new research opportunities or that it will allow them to conduct their research in new and different ways.
Who are these art history Luddites?! I'm guessing none of them read this blog. Can anyone seriously think art history will not be advanced by 'digital' means - ie, the ability to find information quickly, and use high-resolution images? Or am I just being a geeky art history blogger?
