Students in Art History classes will definitely want to become familiar with Artstor, our fantastic subcription-based image database. It's very user friendly and fun to explore.
For students in classes that presently have image study folders (Intro: Image, Object, Text, Art Since 1945, Intro to Asian Art, and Art of China):
You will have received- or will soon receive- some flyers describing how to register for an Artstor account, how to unlock the course folders, and one advising you to adhere to copyright restrictions.
If you need guidance through the sign up process (and video is a better tool for this than a textual flyer), here is an official Artstor video demonstrating the process:
Be sure to check out ArtStor's Youtube Channel for more.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Fall 2009 Course Blogs Active
A small view of this semester's offering of course blogs:
Since our successful pilot project with putting up individual course blogs last semester seems to have been well received (i.e. I heard no vocal complaints), we will continue with them this year. They will essentially provide small versions of the class powerpoint lectures for the students to review online at their convenience, made possible through applications such as Slideshare and iMovie.
For students who are enrolled in courses with private blogs, instructions from your professor will be forthcoming. Essentially, as blog administrator, I will email everyone registered for the course inviting you to view the blog. To do so, you need to set up a free and easy Google account. If you already use Gmail or any other Google applications, you can just use your existing password and user name.
This video from Atomic Learning guides you through the Google account signup process:
New content will be added to the blogs as we progress through the semester. As always, they are limited to students actively enrolled in the course so as to respect copyright concerns.
Save the UCLA Arts Library
Another distressing sign of the economy, and the disturbing trend that it seems the Arts are the first to be sacrificed in hard times.
UCLA, like many entities in the struggling state of California, is having severe financial problems and has responded to a need for budget cuts by proposing to close the entire Arts Library. Much like this summer's sudden closure of the Image Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, this decision seems to have been made in haste and without the knowledge of the people the decision will affect the most; the collection's staff and the students and faculty that depend on its resources to learn and teach.
There is now a formal petition to stop the library's closure. (Link below). Here is its official statement:
"UCLA Library Management, behind closed doors and without consultation with the UCLA community has decided to close its Arts Library, potentially as soon as January 2010.
For decades, the Arts Library has served faculty, students and the Southern California community as an essential cultural resource. In terms of research and scholarship it supports some of the nation's best programs in the arts, architecture, art history, film, television, theater and the humanities. With over 270,000 volumes and unique collections, the Arts Library is a singular institution in Los Angeles, a burgeoning center for the arts. It must be preserved.
We understand that the UCLA Library must meet a nearly $2 million shortfall. However, the permanent elimination of a critical UCLA institution must not be the solution to a short term budget crisis."
I encourage anyone to sign the petition to stop the Arts Library's closure.
UCLA, like many entities in the struggling state of California, is having severe financial problems and has responded to a need for budget cuts by proposing to close the entire Arts Library. Much like this summer's sudden closure of the Image Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, this decision seems to have been made in haste and without the knowledge of the people the decision will affect the most; the collection's staff and the students and faculty that depend on its resources to learn and teach.
There is now a formal petition to stop the library's closure. (Link below). Here is its official statement:
"UCLA Library Management, behind closed doors and without consultation with the UCLA community has decided to close its Arts Library, potentially as soon as January 2010.
For decades, the Arts Library has served faculty, students and the Southern California community as an essential cultural resource. In terms of research and scholarship it supports some of the nation's best programs in the arts, architecture, art history, film, television, theater and the humanities. With over 270,000 volumes and unique collections, the Arts Library is a singular institution in Los Angeles, a burgeoning center for the arts. It must be preserved.
We understand that the UCLA Library must meet a nearly $2 million shortfall. However, the permanent elimination of a critical UCLA institution must not be the solution to a short term budget crisis."
I encourage anyone to sign the petition to stop the Arts Library's closure.
There is also a Facebook group you can join: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132785048409&ref=nf
Perhaps I am especially biased because the closure of resources such as this library indicates that my own job security could be in question. But any member of our Southwestern University community ought to recognize this as an alarming situation. If reputable Academic institutions are desperate enough to shut down invaluable resources- Art related or otherwise- where does that leave students, teachers, and even society in general?
Perhaps I am especially biased because the closure of resources such as this library indicates that my own job security could be in question. But any member of our Southwestern University community ought to recognize this as an alarming situation. If reputable Academic institutions are desperate enough to shut down invaluable resources- Art related or otherwise- where does that leave students, teachers, and even society in general?
Realistically, I understand that something does have to give so that UCLA as a whole can continue to exist. But the utterly final closure of an entire library collection just doesn't seem reasonable. Obviously I don't know any of the real details, but it would seem less drastic cuts and scaling-back across the board- i.e. extending beyond just the arts- would be advisable in the long run.
True this is not a case of fascist book burning, but the end result is the same- resources and information in them are fully taken away from those who would use them. It might save some money, but at what real cost?
Update: I've just found a very eloquent and moving open letter by a student named Wesley Pinkham that sums everything up beautifully. Read it if you've got a moment.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Chuck Close Exhibit at AMOA
Austin Museum of Art has a new Chuck Close show opening this weekend. It's called 'A Couple Ways of Doing Things'.
Self portrait of Close and also cover of the exhibition catalog:
In typical Close fashion, the show will feature ultra realistic portraits, in this case of notable contemporary artists such as Cindy Sherman and Andres Serrano. But this time the chosen media is a very old and traditional one, the daguerreotype (which someday I will learn to spell without looking). These same portraits are also done in a variety of media like photogravures, digital pigment prints, and large-scale tapestries- thus the show's title. Finally, each portrait is accompanied by the poetry of Bob Holman.
The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs through November 8th. AMOA charges admission but I can't seem to figure out how much from their website. Looks like you can see the show for free though on Austin Museum Day, September 20.
And because it's Friday, here's a short and cute video of Chuck Close hanging out with Big Bird on Sesame Street. Why not?
Self portrait of Close and also cover of the exhibition catalog:
In typical Close fashion, the show will feature ultra realistic portraits, in this case of notable contemporary artists such as Cindy Sherman and Andres Serrano. But this time the chosen media is a very old and traditional one, the daguerreotype (which someday I will learn to spell without looking). These same portraits are also done in a variety of media like photogravures, digital pigment prints, and large-scale tapestries- thus the show's title. Finally, each portrait is accompanied by the poetry of Bob Holman.
The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs through November 8th. AMOA charges admission but I can't seem to figure out how much from their website. Looks like you can see the show for free though on Austin Museum Day, September 20.
And because it's Friday, here's a short and cute video of Chuck Close hanging out with Big Bird on Sesame Street. Why not?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Our Department is Growing!
Excellent news for SU's Art History department and the campus community in general. After having success with last semester's search for a Latin Americanist we are very proud to add a full-time tenure-track professor to our program, bringing our number up to 4.
Dr. Hajovsky at back right, along with SU new faculty members, from left, Dustin Tahmahkera (Communication Studies), Kenneth Mello (Religion and Philosophy), Reggie Byron (Anthropology and Sociology).
Many of you may remember Dr. Patrick Hajovsky from the 2007-2008 academic year when he was a visiting professor. Students consistently spoke highly of his enthusiasm and passion for his topics, so we are all very glad to have him back permanently.
His official blurb:
"Dr. Patrick Hajovsky came to Southwestern for the 2007-2008 academic year as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Sarofim School of Fine Arts - Art and Art History Department. He joins Southwestern this fall as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Art History after serving on the faculty of The University of Texas at San Antonio for the 2008-2009 academic year. Patrick earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in art history from the University of Chicago, his B.A. in art history from Tulane University and B.A. in anthropology/drawing from the University of North Texas."
This fall he'll be teaching a class on ritual landscapes in Meso- and South America, and another focusing on audience and spectatorship in colonial Spanish America.
The official SU News story is here.
Dr. Hajovsky at back right, along with SU new faculty members, from left, Dustin Tahmahkera (Communication Studies), Kenneth Mello (Religion and Philosophy), Reggie Byron (Anthropology and Sociology).
Gearing Up For the New Semester
Campus has sprung back to life as this year's batch of new students- roughly 379- moved onto campus last Friday. It's Southwestern's largest group ever and we welcome them all!
(you can view the course offerings in a more attractive format by clicking the video on the sidebar to the left)
Today marks the 60th day this summer to meet or top 100 degrees; unbelievable. During this oppressive heat the Visual Resources Collection has tried to stay busy. This summer saw the scanning of materials pertaining to Chinese painting, Colonial Latin American painting, Garden designs, and Mesopotamian art, among others.
In other news, Dr. Howe was quoted in a USA today article: "Digging Deeper: Archaeologists race to show Pompeii Daily Life". Kodak announced that it would cease production of Kodachrome film after 74 years; sorry Paul Simon :(. And a crazy woman literally hurled a mug at possibly the most famous mug in art history, the Mona Lisa.
The coming semester looks to be a good one. We excitedly welcome the 4th full-time tenure-track faculty member to our department (more details in separate post). November will see a gallery installation of some of our fantastic facsimile Chinese painting scrolls, curated by capstone students. If you missed the similar exhibit a few years back you really should check it out; the large scale and intricate details of the scrolls are quite impressive.
Here's our fall class lineup:
(you can view the course offerings in a more attractive format by clicking the video on the sidebar to the left)
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