When I started as the Editor in the Publications Department at the end of 2020, much of the groundwork had already been laid for creating digital catalogs at the museum: research about tools and technology, conversations with colleagues at various institutions about their workflows and experiences, and considerations about accessibility and sustainability. Since becoming the Managing Editor at the beginning of 2022, I’ve had the privilege of shepherding our first forays into digital publishing, and more digital catalogs are already in the pipeline.
One of the museum’s core values is our belief that art has the power to forge connections, bridge differences, and transform lives. All of our publications, whether exhibition catalogs or companion guides, strive to do exactly this, but our digital catalogs have the unique potential to amplify these goals. Hopefully, they reach a much larger audience beyond our visitors and other art aficionados and offer alternative ways of presenting information. They allow us to be a bit nimbler and experimental, allowing us to include interactive features, such as videos, zoomable images, 3-D models, and virtual tours. We can also update content when pertinent information becomes available. We’re reducing our carbon footprint with the elimination of physical copies and shipping emissions, and using Quire, an open-source platform developed by the Getty Museum, will ensure a digital product that will survive long into the future.
Our first digital catalog accompanied the exhibition Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection. In addition to the important essay by scholar Patricia Fister and an introduction and overview of the Fong-Johnstone Study Collection by Einor Cervone, the catalog includes short synopses of talks given by symposium participants, and eventually, we were able to include the videos of the talks themselves. It also includes a video tour of the exhibition for those who weren’t able to visit the exhibition and for those who’d like to refresh their memories of their visit.
Perfectly Imperfect: Korean Buncheong Ceramics showcases the partnership between the Denver Art Museum and the National Museum of Korea and details the history and legacy of buncheong ware in contemporary culture. Most exciting are the 3-D images that accompany several of the essays, allowing readers to rotate and explore the objects in a virtual space.
Biophilia Nature: Reimagined considers the various strategies designers, architects, and artists employ to explore and reimagine our deep and various relationships with nature. The catalog includes videos and audio recordings, zoomable images, and installation photography that would not have been possible to include in a print catalog.
Our latest digital catalog accompanies The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama and presents the first overview of Ueyama’s life and his time at the Granada Relocation Center, now known as the Amache National Historic Site. Its detailed timeline of Ueyama’s life will be an invaluable resource for future scholars and those interested in Ueyama.
In collaboration with our colleagues in IT, curatorial departments, photography, and marketing and communications, our tiny but mighty Publications team has produced what I hope are just the first attempts at digital publishing at the Denver Art Museum. And you can find all of them on our new Publications page.
