Museums Banning Selfie Sticks

HughFreakingDillon
HughFreakingDillon Posts: 40,264
in A Moving Train
I was just reading an article in the Winnipeg Free Press that the Canadian Museum of Human Rights has banned selfie-sticks. And it goes on to say that many museums around the world (mostly prominent ones) are doing/have done the same. Some complain that it's too harsh. The museums say it could damage technology in use at the museum or art installations. I tend to agree. Thoughts?

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/no-selfie-sticks-museum-says-294785531.html

Winnipeg's Canadian Museum for Human Rights is joining a growing number of institutions worldwide by cracking down on selfie sticks, the camera extenders used by people for more flattering photos of themselves.

"We've decided that if it comes up, we would ask people not to use them because of safety concerns for our visitors and for our exhibits," said museum spokeswoman Maureen Fitzhenry.

"Some of the selfie sticks have very long extensions that could collide with some of our sensitive technology here if people were distracted."

Selfie sticks, which hold cameras or smartphones at one end and can be used to take selfies beyond arm's length, are growing more popular with people trying to take photos from up high, or get more people in their photos. They also mean tourists don't have to ask passersby to take their picture.

The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa also bans the selfie stick, grouping it with other banned camera equipment such as monopods and tripods. The museum says paintings could be damaged by patrons waving around their selfie sticks.

The MTS Centre says it doesn't allow any kind of sticks, including selfie sticks (walking sticks are fine).

In the U.S., selfie sticks have been banned at various prominent institutions, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, as well as the National Gallery of Art.

Jacqueline Verdier, CEO of Selfie on a Stick, a New York company that sells selfie sticks, said the sticks have several advantages.

"You can use the selfie on a stick when you're on vacation and if you are somewhere where you might not be 100 per cent confident handing over your phone, which contains all your personal information these days," Verdier said. "You can just take the picture yourself."

Selfies might sound like a millennial thing to do, but as Verdier said, "Everybody loves the selfie sticks."

She said selfie sticks are popular at weddings and parties.

"I think the demographic of people that are actually using the stick is probably going to be the millennial generation, but the people who are actually purchasing the stick is really quite broad," Verdier said.

Fitzhenry said it was important for the museum that people continue to take pictures and selfies and share them, but wanted visitors to avoid using selfie sticks or equipment such as tripods and monopods that could damage exhibits.


Your boos mean nothing to me, for I have seen what makes you cheer



«13

Comments

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,843
    I've always believed cameras have no place in a museum, selfie or not. Any distraction in a museum robs the individual and those around him or her of the immediate experience. To my way of thinking, the idea of a museum is to let the art or artifacts be the camera. Some pieces are better than others that way. For example, walking into SF MOMA one day I turned a corner and found myself staring strait at a Mark Rothko's painting, No. 14, 1960. The painting became the camera. I was the subject. It did not let me go. I was it's willing subject. It was benign, gracious, and soothing. Why would I want to be distracted from or lose that experience?
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    One could insert any other environment for museum.

    If you see, you don't need a lens. Your eyes ARE the lens and your brain is the darkroom and subsequent vision.

    Kind of like Nimoy's (somewhat) last words, about the garden, how it's fleeting even in bloom.

    Enjoy it, inhale it, preserve the memory and let it embed itself into your brain.

    All five horizons.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,843
    ^^^ Nice, post Hedo, NICE! :smiley:
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Annafalk
    Annafalk Sweden Posts: 4,004
    That was great Hedonist ! I would apply it on concerts as well : )
  • Last-12-Exit
    Last-12-Exit Charleston, SC Posts: 8,661
    First, what's a selfie stick? Second, why is it a big deal to take a picture at a museum? Is it really that big of a distraction?
  • bytterman
    bytterman Posts: 136
    hedonist said:

    One could insert any other environment for museum.

    If you see, you don't need a lens. Your eyes ARE the lens and your brain is the darkroom and subsequent vision.

    Kind of like Nimoy's (somewhat) last words, about the garden, how it's fleeting even in bloom.

    Enjoy it, inhale it, preserve the memory and let it embed itself into your brain.

    All five horizons.

    I found it sort of odd/funny watching people with their back to the Mona Lisa trying to take a selfie (stickless or not). I don't get it, but to each their own I guess.

  • backseatLover12
    backseatLover12 Posts: 2,312
    hedonist said:

    One could insert any other environment for museum.

    If you see, you don't need a lens. Your eyes ARE the lens and your brain is the darkroom and subsequent vision.

    Kind of like Nimoy's (somewhat) last words, about the garden, how it's fleeting even in bloom.

    Enjoy it, inhale it, preserve the memory and let it embed itself into your brain.

    All five horizons.

    YES!!!
  • callen
    callen Posts: 6,388
    Selfies, arghhhhh. Look at me look at me!!!!!
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • WhatYouTaughtMe
    WhatYouTaughtMe Posts: 4,957
    I tend to agree with most here. If you want a picture of the art, there are plenty to be found online. Inserting yourself in front of the Mona Lisa seems kind of lame.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,843
    Last-12-Exit said:

    First, what's a selfie stick? Second, why is it a big deal to take a picture at a museum? Is it really that big of a distraction?

    A selfie stick is a pole or wand to hold the camera or phone further away. There a picture of one in the article linked here. They are being banned because they can be a problem in a crowd (and most big museums are always crowded.) What gets me is this narcissistic obsession people have these days with taking their own picture. Just the name itself... selfie. Like Callen said, "Look at me!"

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31736314

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    I hate selfies that are about "look at me!"... But I take selfies regularly that are about capturing a moment.
    For instance, Brian the picture you liked the other day on my Facebook.... My wife caught the happiest moment of my life on camera and now I have the opportunity to see my face in that moment. It floods me with the memory of how I felt.
    The way memory works is brilliant but tricky. Each time you recall an event or image, your brain remakes it like a copier and stores the new version. Memories change over time and pictures halt the process. Everyone has looked at a pic from the past and thought..geee he was skinny, or I look so young! That's because the memory process buries that information and replaces it with an updated version.
    So don't hate on photography too bad folks, even if the selfie crowd is INCREDIBLY ANNOYINGL!
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • muskydan
    muskydan Posts: 1,013
    Try going to Asia and not see a Selfie stick every 2 seconds. They SUCK!!!…selfie stick's, not Asians
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,843
    rgambs said:

    I hate selfies that are about "look at me!"... But I take selfies regularly that are about capturing a moment.
    For instance, Brian the picture you liked the other day on my Facebook.... My wife caught the happiest moment of my life on camera and now I have the opportunity to see my face in that moment. It floods me with the memory of how I felt.
    The way memory works is brilliant but tricky. Each time you recall an event or image, your brain remakes it like a copier and stores the new version. Memories change over time and pictures halt the process. Everyone has looked at a pic from the past and thought..geee he was skinny, or I look so young! That's because the memory process buries that information and replaces it with an updated version.
    So don't hate on photography too bad folks, even if the selfie crowd is INCREDIBLY ANNOYINGL!

    That's such a great picture, Gambs! But it doesn't have that "look at me" feel that most selfies do, at least to me anyway. If it's just the two of you or even by yourself and you want to capture a scene pr place, that makes sense. But so may selfies are obviously the "see me" type.

    If my wife and I want a picture of the two of us together we'll ask complete strangers if they will take the picture for us. And we do the same for others or even have offered to do so.

    No "hate" here, Gambs. That's twice this morning I've seen that word used to describe me (although I doubt you really mean that about me) so maybe I need to take a better look at how I word things. So just for the record:

    I don't hate people who take selfies.

    I don't hate Canadians.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    Hahaha "hate" is just a word that people use because it's shorter than "criticize". Nowadays hatin on something just means saying something negative. Nobody thinks the Luxmaster has real hate.
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • Last-12-Exit
    Last-12-Exit Charleston, SC Posts: 8,661
    brianlux said:

    Last-12-Exit said:

    First, what's a selfie stick? Second, why is it a big deal to take a picture at a museum? Is it really that big of a distraction?

    A selfie stick is a pole or wand to hold the camera or phone further away. There a picture of one in the article linked here. They are being banned because they can be a problem in a crowd (and most big museums are always crowded.) What gets me is this narcissistic obsession people have these days with taking their own picture. Just the name itself... selfie. Like Callen said, "Look at me!"

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31736314

    I had never heard of a selfie stick before I saw this thread. That would cause a problem in a crowd. Why is arms length not good enough for people?
  • jeffbr
    jeffbr Seattle Posts: 7,177
    I don't really get the selfie thing in a museum, and certainly don't understand why someone would feel the need to even take pictures in a museum. One should be there to experience the moments and soak up the images as Brian and Hedo so eloquently posted. If someone really wants a picture, there are professional photographs of just about every piece you could want available on the Internet. There is no need for anyone to take their own, crappy, poorly lit picture. They should not only ban selfie sticks, but cameras and cell phones.
    "I'll use the magic word - let's just shut the fuck up, please." EV, 04/13/08
  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    jeffbr said:

    I don't really get the selfie thing in a museum, and certainly don't understand why someone would feel the need to even take pictures in a museum. One should be there to experience the moments and soak up the images as Brian and Hedo so eloquently posted. If someone really wants a picture, there are professional photographs of just about every piece you could want available on the Internet. There is no need for anyone to take their own, crappy, poorly lit picture. They should not only ban selfie sticks, but cameras and cell phones.

    I assume you are one of the few that don't hold up a cell phone and watch a PJ concert through a cell phone.
  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    Last-12-Exit said:

    First, what's a selfie stick? Second, why is it a big deal to take a picture at a museum? Is it really that big of a distraction?

    1. A selfie stick is an extension.
    2. It is a big deal to some but not others.
    3. I think selfies ruin the moment for others around.

  • jeffbr
    jeffbr Seattle Posts: 7,177
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    jeffbr said:

    I don't really get the selfie thing in a museum, and certainly don't understand why someone would feel the need to even take pictures in a museum. One should be there to experience the moments and soak up the images as Brian and Hedo so eloquently posted. If someone really wants a picture, there are professional photographs of just about every piece you could want available on the Internet. There is no need for anyone to take their own, crappy, poorly lit picture. They should not only ban selfie sticks, but cameras and cell phones.

    I assume you are one of the few that don't hold up a cell phone and watch a PJ concert through a cell phone.
    You would be correct!
    "I'll use the magic word - let's just shut the fuck up, please." EV, 04/13/08
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,843
    edited March 2015
    I had a nightmare yesterday where everywhere I went everyone was talking incessantly on their cell phones. I kept hearing about all this mundane petty shit everyone was talking about like any of it mattered and people talking about what they did five minutes ago and were presently preparing to do next. And then I found myself jumping in and saying things like, "Oh yeah, man that sucks!" or, "Good fucking idea Bob!" and then I... no... I ... was awake... holy shit. It really happened.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

Categories