2005/03/17
Too many hours of my time has been spent working on Iconclass- the art classification system. Sometimes I wonder why I still keep on going.
It started when I was employed at the University of Utrecht as a programmer in the 'Computer & Letteren' department. At that time they were in the last days of wrapping up a number of years of hard work on the computerisation of the Iconclass system. For the time some very advanced software had been written, and a series of CDROM applications produced showcasing the power and versatility of Iconclass. Somehow the Art History, Iconography and other worlds that should have been raving about the possibilities and rushing to use Iconclass, never quite latched on. My opinion has always been that the intended users simply never understood it. It was too visionary and thus was dismissed as too limited or blasted for some of the more glaring mistakes or problems that do exist in the system. Be that as it may, I became enchanted with Iconclass and kept working on it even after I left Utrecht University.
I started a small company, Mnemosyne with two other people. They have spent way too much time on Iconclass. In fact they have spent much more time, sweat and tears on it than me. Hans Brandhorst and Peter van Huisstede were the people who for many years have pushed the usage of Iconclass and were instrumental in creating the computerised version. I have (re)written several versions of the system. First as an interface to the original C library, then as a Java version while employed in Utrecht. Since starting Mnemosyne several versions completely done from scratch in Python. We have also created some fine examples of the application of Iconlass, among which the subject access to the Illuminated Manuscripts of the Dutch Royal Library and Museum Meermanno in Den Haag.
For the past few years Iconclass has officially been 'managed' by the KNAW. Unfortunately it hasn't exactly bloomed there either. One could not keep it under wraps and out of reach of potential users better if you actually tried. The system lives a life of quiet desperation in supposedly hallowed halls. Once again I don't think they understand the system very well either. Not sure why, I wish it was different. We had offered our help several times, and I had very much hoped to be able to provide my new versions to be used. This cooperation never got off the ground, and communication with the KNAW was very difficult and almost non-existent.
So I have ended up becoming an expert in an incredibly esoteric and niche product, used ostensibly world-wide, but having an extremely low buzz-factor. Why do archives, libraries, museums and academics not go absolutely ga-ga about the potential of Iconclass? Why does no-one else seem to grasp the brilliance of classifying your material once in a language-neutral manner and then having it browsable and searchable in 5 different languages with absolutely zero extra effort? Why aren't more people using it, and more people contacting us to help them use it?
Buggered if I know. Nothing left but to show them some more interesting goodies, and hope the word spreads eventually.
Hold on to your hats, the Image Index is coming.
