Gallery Labels — Permanent object documentation vs. Event-specific interpretive content

[sheharbano96]

We have a question about how to model galleryLabels that are tied to specific exhibition or gallery contexts, rather than being general or permanent descriptions of the object itself.

Here’s an example of a galleryLabel from our data:

      { 
        "text": "Prehistoric and archaic antiquities from graves. Before 3000 BC.\r\n\r\nSlate palettes, flint arrow heads and knife, stone toggles. Slate palettes are a common feature in prehistoric tomb groups, and are made in the form of various birds, fish and other animals. They were used for grinding the malachite and galena for kohl which was the chief cosmetic of the period, and was also employed, as it is still, to-day, for darkening the eyelids as a protection against the glare of the sun.\r\n\r\nGiven by University College, London.\r\nCIRC.26-1935", 
        "date": { 
          "text": "1935", 
          "earliest": "1935-01-01", 
          "latest": "1935-12-31" 
        } 
      } 
    ] 

And this is how we have mapped it:

            "type": "LinguisticObject", 
            "classified_as": [ 
                { 
                    "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300312074", 
                    "type": "Type", 
                    "_label": "wall labels", 
                    "classified_as": [ 
                        { 
                            "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300418049", 
                            "type": "Type", 
                            "_label": "Brief Text" 
                        } 
                    ] 
                } 
            ], 
            "content": "Prehistoric and archaic antiquities from graves. Before 3000 BC.\r\n\r\nSlate palettes, flint arrow heads and knife, stone toggles. Slate palettes are a common feature in prehistoric tomb groups, and are made in the form of various birds, fish and other animals. They were used for grinding the malachite and galena for kohl which was the chief cosmetic of the period, and was also employed, as it is still, to-day, for darkening the eyelids as a protection against the glare of the sun.\r\n\r\nGiven by University College, London.\r\nCIRC.26-1935", 
            "created_by": { 
                "type": "Creation", 
                "timespan": { 
                    "type": "TimeSpan", 
                    "_label": "1935", 
                    "begin_of_the_begin": "1935-01-01", 
                    "end_of_the_end": "1935-12-31" 
                } 
            } 
        } 

However, we’d like to clarify: this label is not a general object description. Instead, it's a contextual description — written specifically for a gallery or exhibition setting in 1935. It was part of a presentation of objects, not an inherent statement about the object itself.

Is there a recommended way in Linked Art to distinguish between permanent object documentation vs. event-specific interpretive content?

[azaroth42]

There is a verbose method to keep them separate and connected to the right context: https://linked.art/model/assertion/#context-specific-assignments

But your data doesn't have a specific exhibition or other context, just a date range ... do you know the context from other data?

[Habennin]

Hi Rob,

So basically what's up is that they know that this information is valid for a period of time, that this description holds within the context of this exhibition (but not for all and every time).

The usual attribute assignment trick over burdens the attribute assignment and doesn't follow the meaning of the attribute assignment class which is in fact about a moment of assigning not a time of validity.

I would propose a AAAo model for 'Reference Status' which would connect the thing that has a statement about it to the statement via a 'Reference Status' node which can then take the date information if that is all that is known but then could be enriched by a connection to a full blown exhibtion record as the context of that reference status if/when it is ever known.

This is the class reference and its related properties:

https://ontome.net/class/750/namespace/336

This is super important for capturing the change of interpretation and meaning of an object over time, that when a reference is meant within a context that we capture that and then can see how descriptions change over time according to different contexts, groups etc.