Appreciation through Information

Objects are only valuable when the information about the object becomes known (preferably in an interactive way)  and appreciated by the viewer/user.  I came to this conclusion during the two hour tour at the Musee d'Osay with a tour guide.  Of course, at many museums there is plenty of written material and even audio headsets that can be used to obtain information about the object, yet these two methods are not nearly as interesting as a human that describes his/her knowledge about the object and can respond interactively to questions with successive levels of detail in dialogue about the object. Also the ability to relate objects (compare and contrast) by the informant provides an even richer set of information in which to appreciate each object individually and collectively.

The filter of information through the lens of the knowledgeable tour guide (with their biases and imperfect knowledge base) gave me a much richer experience within the Art Museum.  Without this knowledge the Museum tour would have been just another experience of going to the Zoo (without the random action of animals). 

Clearly art appreciation (for me) requires interactive information.