Designing Authenticity in Virtual Museum Tours

The paper focuses on the virtual tours that major institutions feature as part of their sites. As these tours often promise an authentic experience, the question of what means here arises. Since such programs do not simply serve to show digital images of museum objects but also convey a quasi-presence, the paper proposes to examine the authenticity of the experience of the virtual tour in comparison to the physical one. On the other hand, it also looks at the possible authenticity of museum exhibits in the virtual space. To do this, not only the notion of authenticity needs to be clarified, but also that of the virtual. Following Walter Benjamin’s approach, the paper examines what conception of time can constitute authenticity. Upon the concept of authenticity remaining the same in the case of the virtual, the paper opposes two positions: one is the historian’s view, and the other is that of the postmodern cultural critic. A comparison of their possible arguments aims to show that whatever we bring up against the virtual can also be played off—at least partly—against the traditional museum. In conclusion, it argues that these two museum forms are still part of the same museum paradigm.