Daily Art Fixx

visual arts blog, painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration and more!

Steampunk Art: PBS Arts Off Book

By

Steampunk in the arts – Check out this interesting video from PBS Arts Off Book. “Steampunk art evokes an alternate reality where steam is the primary source of power. Technology, though highly advanced, has taken on a very different look and feel, and fashion is heavily influenced by Victorian styles.”

Featuring Joey Marsocci aka Dr Grymm, Third Rail Projects, Composer David Bruce, and the Ensemble ACJW.

Check out more art videos at PBS.org.

Watch Off Book: Steampunk on PBS. See more from Off Book.

ArtBabble.org: Jackson Pollock’s Painting Techniques

By

ArtBabble.orgArtbabble.org has grown quite a bit since we last reported on them in 2009. Launched by  the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Art Babble  showcases video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives.

Currently, Art Babble partners with Art 21, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MOMA, The MET, San Francisco MOMA, Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Van Gogh Museum,  the New York Public Library and others to provide videos on a wide range of topics (aka channels). Browse by Series, Channel, or Artist.

Check out this video from MoMA on the painting techniques of Jackson Pollock and be sure to visit Artbabble.org for more art education resources.

E-Learning: MoMA

By

Most art fans know that the Museum of Modern Art in New York City has one of the richest collections of modern art in the world.  Sometimes, I actually wish that I lived in New York City so that I could visit MoMA on a weekly basis. But did you know that the MoMA also has a fantastic online learning section via its website?  Their “Online Activities” section under the LEARN category directs you to a vast number of audio, video, and interactive resources.  There really is something for everyone – from young children to adults of all ages.  Find out about the MoMA’s special exhibitions, watch artist interviews, learn about specific artists or art techniques with their dedicated mini-sites, and much more.

Check out this wonderful resource yourself at MoMA.org.

Google Art Project: E-Learning

By

Introducing Google Art Project – unique collaboration between Google and some of the world’s most acclaimed art museums to enable people to discover and view more than a thousand artworks online in extraordinary detail.  Using Google Street View technology, visitors can move around the museum’s galleries, selecting works of art that are of interest and navigate though interactive floor plans and learn more about the museum.

Features include:

Artwork View: discover featured artworks at high resolution and use the custom viewer to zoom into paintings. Expanding the info panel allows you to read more about an artwork, find more works by that artist and watch related YouTube videos.

Create your own collection: the ‘Create an Artwork Collection’ feature allows you to save specific views of any of the 1000+ artworks and build your own personalised collection. Comments can be added to each painting and the whole collection can then be shared with friends and family.

Museums are included in the project:

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin – Germany
Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian, Washington DC – USA
The Frick Collection, NYC – USA
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin – Germany
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC – USA
MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art, NYC – USA
Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid – Spain
Museo Thyssen – Bornemisza, Madrid – Spain
Museum Kampa, Prague – Czech Republic
National Gallery, London – UK
Palace of Versailles – France
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam – The Netherlands
The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg – Russia
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow – Russia
Tate Britain, London – UK
Uffizi Gallery, Florence – Italy
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam – The Netherlands

Some of the paintings and features captured with Street View were required to be blurred by the museums for reasons pertaining to copyrights.

To see Google Art Project in action, visit GoogleArtProject.com.

E-Learning: smARThistory.org

By

For anyone that is continually searching for new and interesting ways to learn about art, the smARThistory  website is for you. smARThistory.org is a free, award-winning, multi-media web-book designed as a dynamic enhancement for the traditional art history textbook.

Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker began smARThistory in 2005  by creating a blog featuring free audio guides in the form of podcasts for use in The Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Soon after, they embedded the audio files in their online survey courses.

Their aim is to create reliable content and a delivery model that is entertaining and occasionally even playful. The podcasts and screen-casts are spontaneous conversations about works of art where they don’t hesitate to disagree with each other or art history orthodoxy.

For me, this website is a great way to introduce myself to an artist and then decide if I want to do further research based on my level on interest.  The organization of the site makes it easy to find what you’re looking for and the videos are informal, yet informed and thoughtful. To begin your own e-Learning, visit smARThistory.org.

Play Art Loud: Artbabble.org

By

artbabble-badge-782x90Every once in a while, I like to share outstanding websites I come across in my art-web travels.  Recently, I discovered ArtBabble.org, a website dedicated to spreading the word of art through video.  Launched by  the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Art Babble  showcases video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives.

Currently, Art Babble partners with Art 21, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MOMA, The MET, San Francisco MOMA, Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Van Gogh Museum,  the New York Public Library and others to provide videos on a wide range of topics (aka channels). Browse by Series, Channel, or Artist.

In the short video below, Jenny Holzer discusses the programming of her LED sculptures during the installation of the exhibition PROTECT PROTECT at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Check out this great resource yourself at Art Babble.org

E-Learning: Tate Shots

By

I feel very fortunate to live during a time where access to information to just about anything is available with the click of a mouse.  I have been traveling around the world the last few years and have seen many great works of art. A big chunk of my time these days though is dedicated to learning the history of the works I’ve seen and also to discovering what is going on in the art world today. To do this, I turn to the vast amount of quality information that’s out there on the web.

Recently I discovered a great monthly art series from Tate Online called “TateShots”.  TateShots presents a selection of short videos highlighting activities going on at the four Tate locations.  The videos include artist interviews, conversations with art experts, artist performances, and behind the scenes with artists and curators.

You can access TateShots on their website (watch live or download), via RSS, or on iTunes.  Enjoy!

tateshots

TateShots

On-line Picasso Project

By

Pablo Picasso is one of my favourite artists and I plan to do a more in-depth profile of him in a later post.  But if you’re a Picasso fan, the On-line Picasso Project is a website you shouldn’t miss.

The On-line Picasso Project is non-profit project that catalogues an amazingly large number of Picasso’s works and a timeline of the artist’s life. It was created in 1997 by Dr. Enrique Mallén from Sam Houston State University. The website contains over 16,000 catalogued artworks, over 6,000 notes, and thousands of commentaries, biographical entries, and archived news articles.

The interface allows the user to easily browse through images and files according to date.  Clicking on an image from the summary page will bring up a small window – a sort of mini web page that details the artwork being viewed. Clicking on the image in the mini page enlarges the work so the viewer can see the finer details.

You can literally spend hours on this site (I have), and the chronological organization of the project allows you to witness Picasso’s development as an artist over the course of his life. The sheer volume of his work is staggering and this database represents about only a third of his estimated 50,000 works. The Guinness Book of Records actually named Picasso as the most prolific painter in history. So set some time aside and check out the On-line Picasso Project, you won’t be disappointed.