Last week’s post dealt with how new technology facilitates direct encounters with masterpieces of art. But the whole reason the discipline of Art History exists is that there’s always much more to a work of art than meets the eye.
Enter smARThistory, a “free multi-media web-book” created by two art historians: Dr. Beth Harris, Director of Digital Learning at The Museum of Modern Art, and Dr. Stephen Zucker, Dean of Graduate Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Here’s a nice explanation, in their own words, of what smARThistory is trying to accomplish:
In smARThistory, we have aimed for reliable content and a delivery model that is entertaining and occasionally even playful. Our podcasts and screen-casts are spontaneous conversations about works of art where we are not afraid to disagree with each other or art history orthodoxy. We have found that the unpredictable nature of discussion is far more compelling to our students (and the public) than a monologue. When students listen to shifts of meaning as we seek to understand each other, we model the experience we want our students to have—a willingness to encounter the unfamiliar and transform it in ways that make it meaningful to them. We believe that smARThistory is broadly applicable to our discipline and is a first step toward understanding how art history can fit into the new collaborative culture created by web 2.0 technologies.
So if, for instance, you took a look at Leonardo’s The Last Supper after last week’s post and want to know a bit more about it (this being Holy Week and all), you can check out Beth and Stephen’s nifty screencast on the work.
Another fabulous online resource is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. It’s a little more staid than smARThistory, and not quite as user friendly, but there’s some fascinating content there. There are, as you may have guessed, art history timelines for all regions of the world, which include links to representative pieces from each era (and area). You can also search an image database of 6,000 works of art from the Met’s extensive collections and read succinct, informative essays on everything from Egyptian amulets to Japanese incense to my beloved Georgia O’Keeffe.
Oh, my, look at the time! Let’s continue our online art history discussion next week, shall we?
Post a Comment