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Illustration auf der eine Person Bilder aus einem Tablet zieht

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01.01.2021

Visual Arts’ Accessibility in the Digital Realm

Dissertation von Charlotte Reuß

Over the past years, long-standing discourses on the digital representation and visibility of art have emerged as more relevant than ever before—may it be for the purposes of research and education, from a museum perspective, or out of a simple desire to experience art. The demand for digital accessibility is evident, however, it is the barriers and opportunities to access that are crucial. Driven by deviating interests, the circulation of art in the digital realm is subject to different conditions and affected by multiple stakeholders. Thus, it is the aim of my PhD thesis to analyze the reasons that constitute visual arts’ digital accessibility or inaccessibility, in order to determine what factors contribute or obstruct their accessibility. Besides, the resulting impacts such as the varying visibility of visual arts, the underrepresentation of certain research topics, the predetermined digital embedding, or the increased user reach are of interest. In this sense, accessibility here is primarily understood as a condition that is shaped by various factors. Among them, the following are of particular interest: legal, economic, technological, and artistic preconditions and requirements. These factors regulate and determine the framing of access or non-access. On the basis of selected and current exemplary case studies, these different layers as well as their reciprocal effects will be examined in more detail. Within this range, I will address the perspective of the user, that is, researchers, artists, and the commons.

Betreuerin Univ. Prof. Dr. Eva Kernbauer