Cited by 10Cultural Insights and Digital ImpactsDigital Humanities and ScholarshipCultural Heritage Management and Preservation

Canon, Value, and Cultural Heritage: New Processes of Assigning Value in the Postdigital Realm

Open access
Rodríguez-Ortega, Nuria·2018·Multimodal Technologies and Interaction

Abstract

The range of modes through which the new conditions of the postdigital society is leading to a redefinition of the processes of assigning value, and the values themselves, which have hitherto prevailed in the comprehension of cultural heritage, are diverse and broad. Within this framework of critical inquiry, this paper discusses the mechanisms of canon-formation in the context of the web as the new laboratory of cultural production. It is argued that the main dynamics observed can be elucidated under the form of a triad: hypercanonization, socialdecanonization, and transcanonization. These three processes operate simultaneously interlaced and unfold in dialectical tension between the rise of the new (practices, actors, values, ideas), and the maintenance of the old (those structures that already exist). This paper delves into the paths through which such interlace dynamics and tension might reshape the principles by which canonicity develops, as well as poses open questions about the challenges facing us, which should be discussed in further studies and approaches to the problem.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This conceptual paper argues that canon formation and value assignment in the postdigital realm can be understood through a triad of processes: hypercanonization, social decanonization, and transcanonization. It examines how these dynamics operate simultaneously in tension between new digital actors/practices and traditional cultural heritage institutions.

Key findings

  • The paper proposes three main dynamics: hypercanonization, social decanonization, and transcanonization. Hypercanonization maintains institutional authority but gains scale and scope through global digital infrastructures such as Europeana, the UNESCO World Digital Library, Google Arts & Culture, and ArtFacts.Net.
  • Social decanonization emerges from distributed user and community interactions that appropriate and resemantize cultural content, illustrated by examples such as Garapuá, Cabanyal Archivo Vivo, and De Kosnik’s *Rogue Archive*.
  • Transcanonization describes convergence between institutional and social forces in “interstitial” contexts, producing negotiated institutionalism, but the paper warns this may also involve appropriation, domestication, or subsumption of participatory practices by established institutions.
  • The paper reports illustrative figures: Google Art Project launched in 2011 and was relaunched on 17 July 2016 as Google Arts & Culture, including more than a thousand museums in 70 countries; its selfie-matching feature produced more than 30 million comparisons of selfies and artworks a few days after release; Cabanyal Archivo Vivo responded to a project that included demolishing more than a thousand houses.

Methods

  • Design: conceptual and critical inquiry within Digital Art History, not an empirical study.
  • Data/sample: no systematic sample or dataset; the argument draws on selected examples of digital cultural heritage platforms, rankings, participatory projects, and community archives.
  • Main analysis: proposes a triadic categorization—hypercanonization, social decanonization, transcanonization—and discusses how these processes reshape canon and value in the postdigital realm.

Limitations

  • The paper states that it is impossible to draw a complete picture due to the complexity of the matter and that its approach is based on a specific dimension: the web as the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • The paper states that its objective is not to establish closed conclusions but to propose open reflection and questions for further studies.
  • Evident from the text: the analysis is illustrative rather than systematic, and the paper notes that algorithms used by platforms such as ArtFacts.Net are generally not transparent because they are proprietary.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/mti2020025

Cites

11 of 11 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 25 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingcitation

    Through Cabanyal Archivo Vivo, the resistance fight was transformed into a propositive movement through which citizens contributed to identify and make visible the inherent values of the neighborhood based on their own experiences and memories.

    “In doing so, the resistance fight was transformed into a propositive movement through which citizens contributed to identify and make visible the inherent values of the neighborhood on the basis of their own experiences and memories.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [39] (2018, April 10). Cabanyal Archivo Vivo. Available online: http://www.cabanyalarchivovivo.es.

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Findingreasoning

    It was common to find museum websites pointing to the Google Art Project among their recommended and authorized information sources.

    “Not surprisingly, it was common to find museum websites pointing to the Google Art Project among their recommended and authorized information sources.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Findingcitation

    Cabanyal Archivo Vivo proposed a digital platform to channel collective actions devoted to bringing to light the cultural value of the neighborhood.

    “As a response, Cabanyal Archivo Vivo proposed a digital platform to channel a variety of collective actions devoted to bringing to light the cultural value of the neighborhood.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [39] (2018, April 10). Cabanyal Archivo Vivo. Available online: http://www.cabanyalarchivovivo.es.

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Findingown data

    Clippings from the international press (Figure 1) evidence that being part of the Google Art Project or being selected by the Google Institute became a factor that in itself gave value to museum collections.

    “Clippings gathered from the international press (shown in Figure 1) clearly evidence how being part of the Google Art Project or being selected by the Google Institute became a factor that in itself gave value to the museum collections.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Findingreasoning

    The ArtFacts.Net algorithm does not measure the possible quality of an artist's art production in terms of artistic value as understood by the judgment of the art system, but the presence/visibility of the artist in exhibitions.

    “The ArtFacts.Net algorithm does not measure the possible quality the art production of a certain artist may have in terms of artistic value as it is understood by the judgment of the art system, but the presence/visibility of the artist in exhibitions.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 66
  • May combine two claims. 26
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The main dynamics observed in canon formation in the postdigital realm can be elucidated as a triad: hypercanonization, socialdecanonization, and transcanonization.

    “It is argued that the main dynamics observed can be elucidated under the form of a triad: hypercanonization, socialdecanonization, and transcanonization.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    These practices are simultaneously interlaced and in confrontation, so the discussion must be situated in the interplay between the new and the old.

    “Yet examining this tension is a complex task, since these practices are simultaneously interlaced and in confrontation; hence it is in the interplay between the new and the old where the discussion must be situated.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The advent of new cultural dynamics is always defined by a dialectical tension between the rise of new processes, actors, values, ideas, and structures and the maintenance of those that already exist.

    “In this regard, we must bear in mind that the advent of new cultural dynamics is always defined by a dialectical tension between the rise of new processes, actors, values, ideas, and structures and the maintenance of those that already exist that characterized previous orders and regimes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The hypercanonization process maintains the regime based on institutional authority, legitimizing power structures, and a top-to-bottom orientation.

    “Consequently, the hypercanonization process maintains the regime based on institutional authority, legitimizing power structures, and a top-to-bottom orientation [15].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [15] Actually, the field of digital humanities has become aware that there is a real risk of perpetuating in contemporary societies, and in the practice of digital scholarship, the same problems of power-relation structures and the prevalence of hegemonic discourse, with the consequences of marginality and subalternity, that characterized our predigital world. That is why the critical perspective of digital humanities encourages researchers to pay attention to the mechanisms underlying these processes as an inexcusable responsibility.

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The three processes of hypercanonization, socialdecanonization, and transcanonization operate simultaneously interlaced and unfold in dialectical tension between the rise of the new and the maintenance of the old.

    “These three processes operate simultaneously interlaced and unfold in dialectical tension between the rise of the new (practices, actors, values, ideas), and the maintenance of the old (those structures that already exist).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The processes of assigning value to cultural objects and establishing canons have been one of the intellectual, ideological, and political pillars in the development of Art History as an institutional discourse.

    “The processes of assigning value to cultural objects and establishing the canons that derive from those processes have constituted until today one of the intellectual, ideological, and political pillars in the development of Art History as an institutional discourse [1].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [1] Mansfield, E. (2007). The call of the canon. Why art history cannot do without. Making Art History. A Changing Discipline and its Institutions, Routledge.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The range of modes through which the new conditions of the postdigital society lead to a redefinition of the processes of assigning value, and of the values themselves, in cultural heritage is diverse and broad.

    “The range of modes through which the new conditions of the postdigital society is leading to a redefinition of the processes of assigning value, and the values themselves, which have hitherto prevailed in the comprehension of cultural heritage, are diverse and broad.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The notion of canon has represented a significant line of inquiry from postmodernism to recent postcolonial theories.

    “That is also why the notion of canon has represented a significant line of inquiry from postmodernism to recent postcolonial theories ( [2][3][4][5] among others).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [2][3][4][5]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The difference between hypercanonization and the previous institutional regime resides in two main factors: scale (ability to obtain a wider and global audience) and scope (ability to manage unprecedented amounts of cultural information).

    “The difference with respect to the previous institutional regime, explaining why I propose the name hypercanonization, resides in two main factors: the scale, or, in other words, the ability to obtain a wider and global audience, which makes these structures a much more powerful instrument in the process of modeling worldwide collective cultural values; and the scope, that is to say, the ability”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisenone given

    ArtFacts.Net has built a large database of exhibitions held around the world since the early twentieth century.

    “For that, ArtFacts.Net has built a large database of exhibitions held around the world since the early twentieth century.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Bottom-up social practices give rise to a new cultural axiology where social memory, subjectivity, emotionality, affectivity, dissension, resistance, criticism, and demystification become crucial factors in the resemantization of cultural objects and their relocation in new scales of value.

    “These sorts of bottom-up social practices give rise to a new cultural axiology where not only social memory, subjectivity, emotionality, and affectivity but also dissension, resistance, criticism, demystification, etc., become crucial factors in the resemantization of cultural objects and their relocation in new scales of value, while communal validation replaces institutional authority as a means”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Social decanonization operates as an ambivalent dynamic, putting into play decanonization, countercanonization, and recanonization forces.

    “Therefore, social decanonization operates as an ambivalent dynamic, putting into play decanonization, countercanonization, and recanonization forces.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    New macro and transnational repositories such as Europeana and the UNESCO World Digital Library can be thought of as a translation of traditional cultural institutions for the digital world.

    “Endorsed, promoted, and developed by metanational organizations as part of their long-term strategic policies, they can be thought as a translation of the traditional cultural institutions (archives, libraries, museums, etc.) for the digital world.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    ArtFacts.Net is a digital platform owned by a German company, ArtFacts.NetTM Ltd., based in Berlin, whose objective is to offer analytical computing services to actors in the art system.

    “ArtFacts.Net is a digital platform, owned by a German company, ArtFacts.NetTM Ltd., based in Berlin, whose objective is to offer analytical computing services to the different actors that make up the art system (artists, collectors, curators, museums, art historians, etc.).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Social decanonization emerges from social and distributed users' interactions with cultural content on the web or through digital means.

    “Social decanonization is the name that I propose for the second process, which emerges from social and distributed users' interactions with cultural content on the web or through digital means.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The algorithm does not operate independently from the critical valuations of the art system; its complexity as a discursive practice is synthesized in a measurable indicator (presence in or absence from exhibitions).

    “Strictly speaking, then, we cannot say that the algorithm operates independently from the critical valuations of the art system, but rather that its complexity as a discursive practice is synthesized in an indicator that can be measured (presence in or absence from exhibitions).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Social decanonization differs from other notions of decanonization proposed within the framework of digital developments of culture, such as those related to large-scale image databases that redirect attention toward a broader spectrum of cultural production than historical canons.

    “This idea of social decanonization is also different from other notions of decanonization proposed within the framework of the digital developments of culture, for instance, those related to the opening and expansion of the cultural universe that make possible large-scale image databases with the potential to redirect attention toward a much broader spectrum of cultural production than was con”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    Google Arts & Culture is a large-scale database of millions of images freely provided by cultural institutions, constituting an exceptional resource for experimenting with machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.

    “Google Arts & Culture is a large-scale database of millions of images freely provided by cultural institutions, constituting an exceptional resource for experimenting with machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Other ethical problems lie in the reuse of artifacts and documents belonging to different cultural legacies for the assemblage of certain discourses.

    “Other ethical problems lie in the reuse of artifacts and documents belonging to different cultural legacies for the assemblage of certain discourses.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The Google Earth Prado project entailed a negotiation process in which the Prado Museum's weight legitimized Google's technology as a valuable tool, and Google's technology placed the Prado as a pioneer of technological development applied to cultural legacies.

    “In the very beginning, the Google Earth Prado project, whose objective was to digitize specific masterpieces using high-resolution technologies, entailed a negotiation process: On the one hand, the weight of the Prado Museum as a universally acknowledged cultural institution legitimized the technology developed by Google as a valuable tool to access and enhance the user experience with the”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [23] (2018, April 10). The Press Release of the Project Clearly Evidences This Negotiation Process. Available online: https://www.museodelprado.es/actualidad/noticia/las-14-obras-maestras-del-museo-del-prado-en-mega/220f2fe9-beec-44a2-afdb-8c67ff37256c.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    In the new context of post-digital society, values accepted communally as a point of reference do not need anymore to be legitimated by the system.

    “My argument is that in the new context of the post-digital society, values accepted communally as a point of reference do not need any more to be legitimated by the”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The hypercanonization process must be put in relation to the rise of technological global actors of the digital economy, which belong to the same north-west ideological and economic-cultural context.

    “The hypercanonization process must also be put in relation to the rise of the technological global actors of the digital economy, which, not by chance, belong to the same north-west ideological and economic-cultural context.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    These technological global actors control the infrastructures, algorithms for data processing and retrieval, channels for content distribution, and social interaction platforms used by cultural actors to interrelate.

    “They control the infrastructures, the algorithms for data processing and retrieval, the channels for content distribution, and the social interaction platforms that are used by cultural actors to interrelate among them.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Easy-to-use digital devices make it possible for anyone to digitally convert the environment around them: distribute it, share it, remix it, and re-edit it.

    “Likewise, easy-to-use digital devices make it possible for anyone to digitally convert the environment around them: distribute it, share it, remix it, and re-edit it.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In this new cultural axiology, communal validation replaces institutional authority as a means of legitimacy.

    “while communal validation replaces institutional authority as a means of legitimacy.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The web offers many examples of appropriation and resemantization of cultural legacies and makes available multiple mechanisms for them to be validated by social communities.

    “The web offers us a large number of examples that illustrate these processes of appropriation and resemantization of cultural legacies, and it makes available multiple mechanisms for them to be validated by social communities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The ranking makes it possible to detect market trends while determining an order of relevance for artists.

    “The ranking makes it possible to detect market trends, while determining an order of relevance for artists [31].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [31] (2018, April 10). ArtFacts.Net. Available online: https://www.artfacts.net/about_us_new/.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The network system notion would explain the massive presence of museums in social networks of every nature: it is not a question of choice but an inexcusable issue to be part of the system.

    “It also would explain the massive presence of museums in social networks of every nature: this is not a question of choice, it is an inexcusable issue to be part of the system.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    These repositories continue to perform as power structures that hold political, economic, and ideological discourses through aggregating, recording, classifying, and displaying cultural legacies, with the difference that they can manage larger amounts of cultural information worldwide to produce narratives reaching a global audience.

    “Therefore, they continue to perform as power structures that hold political, economic, and ideological discourses through the practice of aggregating, recording, classifying, and displaying cultural legacies, with the fundamental difference that they can manage larger amounts of cultural information worldwide to produce any narrative or representation, which, in turn, has the capacity to reach a”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Such signs of museum identity could have dissolved if collections had been accessible only through the Google Art Project as the main gateway.

    “However, such signs of identity could have dissolved if collections had been accessible only through the Google Art Project as the main gateway.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Multiple initiatives have been, and are being, carried out by museums to promote participation and engagement by citizens.

    “Multiple initiatives have been, and are being, carried out by museums to promote participation and engagement by citizens [42].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [42] McSweeney, K., and Kavanagh, J. (2016). Museum Participation. New Directions for Audience Collaboration, MuseumsEtc.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    Hypercanonization and social decanonization processes operate as driving forces in themselves.

    “Although hypercanonization and social decanonization processes operate as driving forces in themselves, a sign of our hybrid time is the convergence of both dynamics in rebuilding traditional and historical canons and narratives.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    Generally, the algorithms used are not transparent, as they are proprietary.

    “However, this inquiry is not easy to carry out, since generally the algorithms used are not transparent, as they are proprietary.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The position of relevance and visibility of expert groups is liable to be dismantled in the new postdigital scenario, with positive and negative effects.

    “This position of relevance and visibility is also liable to be dismantled in the new postdigital scenario, with its positive and negative effects.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The negotiation and discursive practices on which artistic relevance is considered, previously the base of values in the art field, are transformed into a quantification and ranking process performed by an algorithm that conveys its own argument in its model.

    “Therefore, the negotiation and discursive practices on which it is considered artistically relevant, that had been the base of the values operating within the framework of the art field, are transformed into a quantification and ranking process performed by an algorithm that in its model conveys its own argument.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The construction of the canon becomes a decentralized and plural practice characterized by discontinuity, fragmentation, difference, dissonance, and contradiction.

    “The construction of the canon thus becomes a decentralized and plural practice, characterized by discontinuity, fragmentation, difference, dissonance, and contradiction.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    All museums, as differentiated institutions, are defined by certain discursive strategies, intellectual positions, and art criticism perspectives, expressed on their websites and through their digital narratives.

    “As is very well known, all museums, as differentiated institutions, are defined by certain discursive strategies, intellectual positions, and art criticism perspectives, which are expressed on their websites and through their digital narratives.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The Google Art Project has become Google Arts & Culture, expanding its objectives and scope.

    “Finally, the Google Art Project has become Google Arts & Culture [26], expanding its objectives and scope.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [26] (2018, April 10). Google Arts & Culture. Available online: https://artsandculture.google.com.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    These experiments allow for the creation of applications that amuse users and generate an exceptional research field for code artists and computer creativity advancements.

    “These experiments allow for the creation of applications that amuse users-who cooperate with Google without being aware of it every time they play to search for a pictorial portrait that looks like their own selfie [27,28]-and generate an exceptional research field for code artists and computer creativity advancements [29].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites [27] (2018, April 10). Google Arts & Culture. Available online: https://artsandculture.google.com/camera/selfie.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [28] A Few Days after the Release of This Application, More than 30 Million Comparisons of Selfies and Works of Art Were Made, According to the Company. “Google Said the Experimental Feature Uses Computer Vision Technology to Scan Facial Features and Extract Data to Match with Paintings. The Company Said It Won’t Use Data from Photos for any other Purpose but to Match it with Images in Its Catalog. It Only Stores Selfies for the Time It Takes to Find Matches, Google Said”. Larson S. Google Apps Matches Your Face to a

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [29] (2018, April 10). Arts & Culture Experiments. Available online: https://experiments.withgoogle.com/arts-culture.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    These infrastructures raise ethical issues concerning transparency in the production of narratives.

    “Therefore, these infrastructures raise ethical issues that have to do with practices of transparency in relation to the production of narratives.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Processes associated with the social appropriation of technology and co-creation inter pares bring to light the notion of shared and egalitarian authority that dismantles the idea of hierarchical arrangement of knowledge and values.

    “Taking as base the idea of cultural heritage as common ground, these processes, associated with the social appropriation of technology and co-creation inter pares, bring to light the notion of shared and egalitarian authority that dismantles the idea of hierarchical arrangement of knowledge and values.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Cultural heritage is common ground.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    These macro and transnational repositories build narratives about the canon on the basis of the cultural legacies recorded and how they are ordered, represented, and displayed.

    “They also build narratives about the canon on the basis of the cultural legacies recorded and how they are ordered, represented, and displayed.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The imbalance caused by digital divides is one of the determining forces in the construction of canons (present and future) in the digital sphere.

    “The problem of the imbalance caused by digital divides is not new, but it cannot be overemphasized that this fact is one of the determining forces in the construction of canons (present and future) in the digital sphere.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The traditional concept of canon itself is in crisis because the dehierarchization process and horizontal bottom-up orientation dissolve the idea of canon as the institutionalization of specific values representing the ideas and interests of those with privileged authority.

    “From my perspective, what is in crisis here is the traditional concept of”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Social decanonization practices involve new ways of understanding the canon as a mechanism of legitimizing certain values.

    “Yet these practices of social decanonization involve new ways of understanding the canon as a mechanism of legitimizing certain values.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    Like Europeana, the WDL establishes a framework of common codification and structuring, and the main actor in elaborating these rules and norms has been the Library of Congress.

    “It should also not be forgotten that, like Europeana, the WDL establishes a framework of common codification and structuring, and that the main actor in the elaboration of these rules and norms has been the Library of Congress, one of the main legitimizing institutions in the field of cultural documentation, the promoter, in the end, of the WDL project.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    This convergence emerges within an interstitial context: open spaces where institutions, social communities, individuals, and cultural and political agents interact, debate, and negotiate on how and where to identify shared cultural values and new forms of legitimacy.

    “This emerges within an”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    A sign of our hybrid time is the convergence of hypercanonization and social decanonization dynamics in rebuilding traditional and historical canons and narratives.

    “Although hypercanonization and social decanonization processes operate as driving forces in themselves, a sign of our hybrid time is the convergence of both dynamics in rebuilding traditional and historical canons and narratives.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Social decanonization is interlaced with the unprecedented empowerment of citizens and social communities to interact with and give new meanings to cultural legacies through their multiple, heterogeneous, global, and distributed digital activity.

    “This process, therefore, is interlaced with the unprecedented empowerment of citizens and social communities to interact with and give new meanings to cultural legacies through their multiple, heterogeneous, global, and distributed digital activity, all of which configures a scenario also unprecedented with respect to other decanonization processes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The apparent philanthropic mission of providing comprehensive and free access to museum collections worldwide underlay a form of cultural monopoly that threatened museum identity and diversity in the comprehension of culture and deployment of narratives.

    “However, the apparent philanthropic mission of providing comprehensive and free access to museum collections around the world underlay a form of cultural monopoly that threatened, among other things, the museum identity and, consequently, diversity in the comprehension of culture and deployment of narratives.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    ArtFacts.Net's ranking is an instrument that accumulates symbolic capital and performs a legitimizing function.

    “In other words, it is an instrument that accumulates symbolic capital and performs a legitimizing function.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Europeana is a political project aimed at building a shared European identity, taking as a base a diverse cultural heritage inscribed in a common framework of organization, access, and representation, and stands as protective guardian of European cultural heritage against external forces such as the market.

    “Europeana is an example of a political project aimed at building a shared European identity, taking as a base the richness of a very diverse cultural heritage that is inscribed in a common framework of organization, access, and representation: Europeana [17,18], which also stands as protective guardian of the European cultural heritage against external forces, such as those of the market.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [17] (2018, April 10). Europeana Started Five Years Ago with the Big Political Idea to Unite Europe through Culture by Making Our Heritage Available to All for Work, Learning or Pleasure. Available online: http://strategy2020.europeana.eu.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [18] (2018, April 10). That’s Why We’re Seizing This Opportunity to Reaffirm our Shared Commitment to a Vision of Europe That Is United in Its Cultural Diversity and Strives to Increase Our Collective Welfare through Smart and Inclusive Growth. Available online: http://strategy2010.europeana.eu/update.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    All of this is part of Google's strategy to expand the venue by which to improve the technologies that support its business model, gain more data input, and boost its income.

    “All of this is not free; obviously, it is part of Google's strategy to expand the venue by which to improve the technologies that support its business model, gain more data input, and, in the end, boost its income.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The WDL policies include actions aimed at strengthening the digitizing and technological capacity of potential partners.

    “It is important to note that the WDL policies include actions aimed at strengthening the digitizing and technological capacity of potential partners.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The declared objective of the Google Art Project when launched in 2011 was to become the global gate for accessing the entire collections of museums worldwide.

    “The declared objective of the Google Art Project when it was launched in 2011 was to become the global gate for accessing the entire collections of museums worldwide.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The WDL explicitly assumes the role of decision-making body over the recorded contents.

    “The WDL explicitly assumes the role of decision-making body over the recorded contents.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Gaps related to rights issues of digital images reveal a complex scenario where different power structures conflate.

    “At the same time, gaps related with right issues of digital images reveal a complex scenario where different power structures conflate.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Appropriation practices are never reproductive but are creating, recreating, and co-creating, and tend to respond to interests and motivations different from those of traditional institutions.

    “These appropriation practices are never reproductive, but are creating, recreating, and co-creating ones, and they tend to respond to interests and motivations that differ from those of traditional institutions.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationcitation

    ArtFacts.Net represents a model in the development of an axiological quantification, intimately imbricated in the contemporary culture of rankings and impact indexes that measure value and establish orders of relevance through metrics.

    “I will use ArtFacts.Net [30] as an example to illustrate some of the phenomena associated with them, since ArtFacts.Net represents an interesting model in the development of an axiological quantification, which is intimately imbricated in the contemporary culture of rankings and impact indexes that measure value and establish orders of relevance through metrics.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [30] (2018, April 10). ArtFactsNet. Available online: http://homepage.artfacts.net.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • The authors state this as an assumption: The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The scenario of social decanonization is unprecedented with respect to other decanonization processes.

    “all of which configures a scenario also unprecedented with respect to other decanonization processes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Institutions, individuals, and communities from both outside and within the cultural heritage domain come together to articulate a hybrid epistemology and axiology and produce a new kind of negotiated institutionalism.

    “Institutions, individuals, and communities, from both outside and within the cultural heritage domain, come together with the purpose of articulating a hybrid epistemology and axiology and producing a new kind of negotiated institutionalism.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisenone given

    Social tagging emerged as a decentralized and distributed activity by which users tag digital content according to their own interests.

    “An example of this might be the practice of social tagging, which emerged as a decentralized and distributed activity by which users tag digital content according to their own interests.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Hybridity is the sign of our time.

    “What is more, taking into consideration that the hybridity is the sign of our time,”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The competition of museums to obtain more audience and users might have the effect of transforming popular judgment into the arbitrator who leads the making-decisions of cultural institutions.

    “Just on the other side, the competition of museums to obtain more audience and users might have the effect of transforming popular judgment into the arbitrator who leads the making-decisions of cultural institutions.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    In interstitial contexts, canonization is a horizontal negotiation process among the different structures of civil society.

    “In the so-called interstitial contexts, canonization is a horizontal negotiation process among the different structures of civil society.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Many initiatives of convergence are led and designed by museums, organizations, and technological global actors with institutional legitimizing power in the cultural field, a circumstance that could compromise the negotiation process on which a new institutionalism should be built.

    “Nevertheless, while recognizing the clearly positive components of this convergence movement, some critical questions arise, especially if we bear in mind that many of these initiatives are led and designed by museums, organizations, and technological global actors with an institutional legitimizing power in the cultural field, a circumstance that could compromise the negotiation process on which”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Museums began to design guidelines and protocols to orient taggers, which resulted in reshaping the social practice from institutional parameters.

    “In a short time, and to put order to the noise that an excess of labels could imply, museums began to design guidelines and protocols to orient taggers in their activity [46], which resulted in reshaping the social practice from the institutional parameters [47].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [46] Trant, J., and Bearman, D. (2011). Can Social Tagging Be a Tool to Reduce the Semantic Gap between Curators and Audiences? Making a Semantic Structure of Tags by Implementing the Facetted Tagging System for Online Art Museums. Museums and the Web 2011: Proceedings, Archives & Museum Informatics. Available online: https://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2011/papers/can_social_tagging_be_a_tool_to_reduce_the_sem.

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [47] Bellido Gant, M.L. (2013). El museo y su problematización digital: epistemologías en transición. Arte y Museos del Siglo XXI. Entre Los Nuevos Ámbitos y las Inserciones Tecnológicas, Editorial UOC.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    Incorporating social valuation as a parameter for reputation indices does not imply the production of a hybrid knowledge, but an appropriation of such social knowledge to generate a new knowledge with pretensions of institutional legitimacy that afterward is sold in the form of services to third parties, including the users themselves who contributed the social knowledge.

    “Likewise, incorporating”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    This circumstance might undermine the notion of institutional authority and might influence the conformation of the narratives of the canon.

    “This circumstance, besides undermining the notion of institutional authority, might influence the conformation of the narratives of the canon, as pointed out by the young researcher Dorothy Howard [48]:”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [48] Howard, D. (2018, April 10). The Social-Mediafication of Museums. Available online: https://canadianart.ca/issues/winter-issue-2017/.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationcitation

    The incorporation of knowledge dimensions, values, and actors historically underestimated in the canon-building process has the capacity to dissolve the notion of epistemic hierarchy, the prevalence of the monofocal point of view, and the pervasiveness of unidirectional discourse.

    “Certainly, the incorporation of knowledge dimensions, values, and actors, historically underestimated in the canon-building process, has the capacity to dissolve the notion of epistemic hierarchy, the prevalence of the monofocal point of view, and the pervasiveness of unidirectional discourse [45].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [45] Arciniega, L. (2013). Mediación digital en los procesos de recepción, construcción e interpretación de la herencia cultural. Memoria y significado. Uso y Recepción de los Vestigios del Pasado, Universitat de Valencia.

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Social empowerment, participatory cultures, scale, globality, technology-driven actors, and algorithmic-generated knowledge are the main features that reshape the canon-building processes within the context of the postdigital society.

    “Social empowerment, participatory cultures, scale, globality, technology-driven actors, and algorithmic-generated knowledge are the main features that reshape the canon-building processes within the context of the postdigital society.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). The quote only partly states this claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In the inter-canonization process, negotiation is not the result of dynamics that converge in an inertial manner, but rather a conscious project of collective building for reimagining the present and the future.

    “As mentioned in the previous section, Simone Winko also recognizes the double dynamic (micro-macro) in canon-formation, but the concept that she develops of”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    At the Centre Pompidou, the tagger must comply with words previously systematized in an established thesaurus, and including social tagging among the museum's own practices has reduced spontaneity and potential creativity, becoming subsumed as another vector of the institutional strategy.

    “The example of the Centre Pompidou, where the tagger must comply with words previously systematized in an established thesaurus, also showcases how including social tagging among the museum's own practices has reduced spontaneity and potential creativity, becoming subsumed as another vector of the institutional strategy.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
73 of 73
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The web is the new laboratory of cultural production.

    “my approach is based on a specific dimension of the problem, related to a conceptualization of the web as the new laboratory of cultural production”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    New actors, in some cases completely unrelated to the traditional ecosystem of cultural heritage institutions, arise and perform on the web, fostering a paradoxical redefinition of the traditional concepts of canon and value.

    “where new actors, in some cases completely unrelated to the traditional ecosystem of cultural heritage institutions, arise and perform, fostering a paradoxical redefinition (paradoxical due to its ambivalence, as will be explained in next paragraphs) of the traditional concepts of canon and value.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Cultural heritage is common ground.

    “Taking as base the idea of cultural heritage as common ground,”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The internal diversity of canon-formation processes is very significant and there are multiple overlapped and intersected pathways.

    “even assuming that the internal diversity is very significant and that there are multiple overlapped and intersected pathways.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The web has become a social web and technology empowers individuals and communities with new tools in order to be heard.

    “Yet, this certainly acquires an interesting dimension when the web becomes a social web and when technology empowers individuals and communities with new tools in order to be heard.”
5 of 5

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Existing scholarship on Google Arts & Culture has tended to analyze it through snapshots at particular moments in time, focusing on its interface, narratives, or partnerships as they appear in a given iteration.

    “Existing scholarship on the platform has tended to analyze it through snapshots at particular moments in time, focusing on its interface, narratives, or partnerships as they appear in a given iteration (Kizhner et al., 2021; Pesce et al., 2019; Rodr´ ı guez-Ortega, 2018; Valt´ ysson, 2020; Wilson-Barnao, 2017).”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Garapuá initiative dated 2011 in text but 2010 in cited source

    Minor

    The text dates the Garapuá community initiative to 2011, while the cited work by its organizers identifies the Garapuá workshops as taking place in 2010.

1 of 1

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 12 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Mansfield, E. (2007). The call of the canon. Why art history cannot do without. Making Art History. A Changing Discipline and its Institutions, Routledge.
  2. Perry, G., and Cunningham, C. (1991). Academies, Museums, and Canons of Art, Yale University Press in Association with Open University.
  3. Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York University Press.
  4. (2018, April 10). The Press Release of the Project Clearly Evidences This Negotiation Process. Available online: https://www.museodelprado.es/actualidad/noticia/las-14-obras-maestras-del-museo-del-prado-en-mega/220f2fe9-beec-44a2-afdb-8c67ff37256c.
  5. Brunet, K., and Freire, J. (2018, April 10). Digital Narratives for Community Participation on Coastal Ecosystem Management Workshops Held in Garapuà and Aguiño (Brazil, 2010). Available online: http://karlabru.net/site/publicacoes/data-visualization/ and http://ecoarte.info/narrativas/.
  6. Winko S. Literatur-Kanon als invisible hand–Phänomen Literarische Kanonbildung Arnold H.L. Korte H. Text und Kritik Munich, Germany 2002 9 24 as cited in Backe H.-J. The Literary Canon in the Edge of New Media Poetics Today 2015 36 10.1215/03335372-2879757 Available online: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.853.701&rep=rep1&type=pdf (accessed on 10 April 2018) · DOI · Paper page
  7. Trant, J., and Bearman, D. (2011). Can Social Tagging Be a Tool to Reduce the Semantic Gap between Curators and Audiences? Making a Semantic Structure of Tags by Implementing the Facetted Tagging System for Online Art Museums. Museums and the Web 2011: Proceedings, Archives & Museum Informatics. Available online: https://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2011/papers/can_social_tagging_be_a_tool_to_reduce_the_sem.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Rodríguez-Ortega, N.
Affiliations
Historia del Arte, Universidad de Málaga, 29016 Málaga, Spain
Venue
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2018-05-11
Volume
2
Issue
2
Pages
25
ISSN
2414-4088 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2799277874
Cited by
10
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1
FWCI
0.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga (University of Málaga) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España (HAR2014-51915-P)
  • Centro de Estudios Andaluces. Agencia Pública de la Junta de Andalucía (PRY128-17)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Cultural Insights and Digital Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Digital Humanities and Scholarship
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
Keywords
canon formation, cultural heritage, postdigital society, value assignment, canonicity, digital culture

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-08.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-08.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

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