The goal of this blog, Whither the Book, is to break new ground regarding how fine art is presented in the digital age. This includes research and reports on the efforts by publishers, artists, museums and websites, tools, applications, and digital devices to adapt and present Fine Art in the New Media, and suggest new ways in which this may be done. The blog includes a Matrix which will catalogue and comment on these developments. It is hoped that the Matrix will become a major resource and reference tool. You may read more under the Purpose tag.
The Van Gogh Museum and the Van Gogh Letters are two spectacular responses to the use of the new media for the display of fine art. Both sites, the Museum, and the Letters, take full advantage of the innovations of the new media to exceed all expectations, including embedded videos with clear explanations of Van Gogh’s composition and technique. Each site is accessible, interactive, viewer directed, can be manipulated, allows each viewer to use their creativity, is comparative, and presents art as a continuum of the artist’s efforts to use his art as a means of communication.
Self-Portrait with Felt Hat, 1887
Van Gogh’s work in categories
Van Gogh’s work in periods
Other artists in the collection
Self-Portrait with Portrait of Gauguin, 1888
In addition to work by Van Gogh, the museum has a rich and varied collection of other 19th century artists in the collection. The artists represented include Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and others: Van Gogh’s friends and contemporaries, those who inspired him, and those who drew inspiration from him. Two examples are Signac and Seurat, which allow the viewer to compare the work of the three artists.
Whither the Book 
[…] blog also has posts on the Van Gogh Museum, the Van Gogh Letters, and the Museum of Modern Art Australia. as outstanding examples of the use […]