Philippines Ethnographic Weapons Museum

[Alam Shah]

For images, watermarking.. something like what Ashoka Arts is doing is good, www.ashokaarts.com

What ever method is used to capture the image, the watermark will remain. As users, you can still see the image properly. But if the image is used elsewhere the source would be known. Of course you can do a digital clean-up of the image, but it will be time consuming and traces of the watermark can still be found..

[t_c]

The image rights issue will definately take some working out, and there is apparently software that will stop image theft, but it requires a plugin so it may be of dubious value (who wants to install a plug-in to view a web page?). Also costs $500. More info on that here:
http://www.artistscope.com/copysafe_web.asp

For simplicities sake, I think the watermark might be the most reasonable option. There will always be some unscrupulus people, but I don't think we should let them ruin things for the rest of us.

I'd love to see an online museum and would gladly offer photos of my humble collection. I'd like to share an idea with you about an online "museum" of sorts in hopes of moving the conversation forward. I had this idea for a visual map interface a while ago and have spent some time sorting through the details, but I'll keep it brief here:

My idea was to have an online map of the Philippines where a user can hover over a region and see the local weapons there and follow links for more detailed information. Usage: you would hover your cursor over the map and you get a little pop-up window (or a sidebar display). In this pop-up you get a list of regional weapons. The user can select one of the weapons from the list and get a page that shows further examples (member provided) and has a little write-up on that style of weapon (bolo, kris, etc.). The write-up might be general or it could be region specific depending on the type. You could also include a link to search in the EEWRS forums.

I do have some experience doing this sort of thing and could offer some help (the idea was inspired by cubicle farm map I did for a former employer). I hope this gets those creative wheels churning and people offer their ideas as well.

[Rick]

I really like that idea tc .
With all the islands and tribes of the Philippines this feature would really tie the whole thing together .

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by Battara

A good point. I have seen my weaponry on many Filipino sites so far, even on the cover of a Filipino published book! (I got nothing, not even a mention on it ). Posting on the web means giving it free on the streets.

Battara, thanks for your comment

I was just thinking, could it be that sometimes people just don't know who to attribute the photo to? Also, I may own the sword but if somebody else took the photo, I think the intellectual property right of the photo would belong to the photographer and not to the owner of the sword.

But I'm not 100% sure about those subtleties, so please (anybody) correct me if I'm wrong.

For me in my website, I just adopt the practices under the "fair use" concept -- I create a link to the source webpage, and explicitly cite the website's name as much as possible.

I do know that for example if a certain photo (in the Macao exhibit website) has a file name "JCA-xxx.jpg", then that's Battara's. But since I'm not sure whether the sword owner wants his name mentioned (e.g., privacy issues), then I don't dare put the name of the owner.

On the other hand if the sword's pic will be given to me directly by the owner, then what I'll do is directly attribute the pic to the owner.

Just thought that I mention the thought process of any blogger whenever he encounters a picture he'd like to post in his website.

By the way, if I can go back to the US sometime late 2010 or early 2011, I hope you'll allow me to visit you for me to see your most excellent 'puppies'

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

For images, watermarking.. something like what Ashoka Arts is doing is good, www.ashokaarts.com

What ever method is used to capture the image, the watermark will remain. As users, you can still see the image properly. But if the image is used elsewhere the source would be known. Of course you can do a digital clean-up of the image, but it will be time consuming and traces of the watermark can still be found..

Thanks for the comment. I still feel that putting the watermark right smack on the image itself (vs. putting the watermark on the margin), makes the sword photo less attractive. But on the other hand, I also understand that it's an effective way of foiling the use for bad purposes. So yes, for me watermarking is the way to go, too.

Originally Posted by t_c

My idea was to have an online map of the Philippines where a user can hover over a region and see the local weapons there and follow links for more detailed information. Usage: you would hover your cursor over the map and you get a little pop-up window (or a sidebar display). In this pop-up you get a list of regional weapons xxx

Originally Posted by Rick

I really like that idea tc. With all the islands and tribes of the Philippines this feature would really tie the whole thing together.

I agree that it's a great idea. Maybe another website can be put up to have that user-friendly feature.

For the website I'm developing, I think such format will not be allowed as I'm using a blogging service (Typepad) which has a cut-and-dried template that does not allow great flexibility.

But it's also best that there are several websites on Filipino weapons instead of just one or two or three, etc. That way if one goes down, there will still be others who can continue to provide the service.

Just my two cents

[KuKulzA28]

Just a thought...

The Philippines currently also incorporates many Bangsamoro. Will Moro weapons be exhibited? Is this a museum of weapons from the Republic of the Philippines, or the "Filipino" peoples of Luzon and Visayas who were under Spanish rule and part of their empire? Any political or cultural undertones here? Just something to consider maybe?

Also, will this include armor, shields, spears, muskets, 'modern' guns, Hokkien weapons, Spanish colonial arms, American arms, and Japanese invasionary arms? Is this a blade-only thing? Is this all ethnographic arms? Is this all ethnographic arms of the Philippines?

[Nonoy Tan]

The Philippines currently also incorporates many Bangsamoro. Will Moro weapons be exhibited? Is this a museum of weapons from the Republic of the Philippines, or the "Filipino" peoples of Luzon and Visayas who were under Spanish rule and part of their empire? Any political or cultural undertones here? Just something to consider maybe?

Also, will this include armor, shields, spears, muskets, 'modern' guns, Hokkien weapons, Spanish colonial arms, American arms, and Japanese invasionary arms? Is this a blade-only thing? Is this all ethnographic arms? Is this all ethnographic arms of the Philippines?

In my opinion, one of the museum's primary objective would be to provide an idea of how the weapons looked like before the colonization of the Philippines, as manifested by weapons coming from all over the Philippine archipelago - axes, shields, blades, bows and arrrows, clubs, blowguns, etc.

I think the pre-colonial period in the Philippines ought to be highlighted in consideration of the fact that much information and material culture has been lost through centuries of colonization and "modernization." The resident Filipino would be the primary audience. At the end of the day, it would be he/she who will have to determine the relevance of the museum to his/her country's future.