Smothers says the Internet needs to be more advance to really help art galleries. It can take several minutes for a painting to enlarge itself on a computer screen depending on modem speed. We're like in the dark ages. Not all galleries are interested in the web. Patti Pogan of Pogan Gallery doesn't see her clientele looking for an original painting on the web.
Art is a very personal thing.
Watson, too, doesn't think a web site could ever replace a gallery. He notes that when VCRs first came out, the doomsayers predicted the end of the movie theater. Larry Ortiz, the director of the Arts Council of Placer County, said nothing can replace seeing an original. However, he believes so strongly in technology's impact on the arts that he is leaving the Arts Council to start his own business in June. The focal point will be an upscale gallery, but the gallery will be surrounded by the technology side of the business.