Interactive “Garden of Earthly Delights”

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch, the Netherlandish painter best known for his painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” And thanks to the work of a group of art historians, film-makers, and photographers, one no longer needs to travel to the Prado Museum in Spain to get a good look at this amazing painting!

Described as an “online interactive adventure,” the site  allows viewers to either freely move around the painting, zooming on details or take a guided tour. Additionally, there are some 40 recorded audio essays throughout the painting. Click on an icon, and you can zoom into a detail and listen to an explanation of what’s depicted and how it relates to the work overall.

In addition to the interactive painting, there is also a new app allowing viewers to see the garden in “virtual reality.” Bosch VR, produced by BDH Design agency, allows viewer to move through the garden by viewing the painting on an iPad or on an iPhone or Android phone using Google Cardboard.

Google Cardboard viewers are available for use from the VRC during normal operating hours.

Walters Art Museum Goes CCO!

One of the biggest concerns when using images in projects, papers, and presentations is copyright restrictions. That’s why it’s so exciting to report that the Walters Art Museum has made all their digital images, as well as the accompanying metadata, freely available via a Creative Commons Zero license.

What this means is that anyone can use any image from their website, for any purpose, without permission or fear of violating any copyright restrictions. The digital images are of high quality, easy to search, and simple to download. Those looking for higher-resolution images for publishing are encouraged to contact their photo services department.

The museum is encyclopedic in scope and offers thousands of images of artwork from the ancient world, Asia, Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and the Islamic world.

 

Saving Images in LUNA

For Saving Single Images in LUNA:

  • Once you find an image you want to save, click on the thumbnail. This will give you a larger-sized image with cataloging information.
  • Double-click on “Export” button in the upper right corner.
  • Select the desired pixel size
    • If the image is going to be displayed in PowerPoint, at least 1500 pixels is sufficient.
  • Save the file to a specified location.
  • Unzip the downloaded file. The image is inside the folder and can be dropped into PowerPoint at this point.

 

To Save a Group of Images in LUNA and Export to PowerPoint:

  • Either open a media group or create a new one. For information on media groups, see LUNA’s video tutorial here.
  • The entire set of images can be downloaded from here by clicking the “Export” button at the top of the media group.
  • Once the media group contains all the images you want, in the order you want, click on the “Export to PowerPoint” button.
  • This will bundle the set, open PowerPoint, and populate a new slideshow with both images and cataloging data.

 

Use F4 in PowerPoint to Simplify Formatting of Text and Objects

PowerPoint is great for putting together image presentations, but it isn’t the greatest design software. Having to apply the same set of commands to individual slides can get old fast, but that’s where the F4 key comes into play: it allows you to repeat the last command or keystroke you just did.

For example, if you wanted to italicize titles, or change the text to white, or change the justification of text boxes (or images!) you should highlight the first instance, open the font dialog box (Format > Font) and make all of the changes to the text at once. When you want to make the same changes in the next instance, highlight the text, press F4, and the same set of edits will be immediately applied.

Another useful PowerPoint tip: To quickly change the background to black and the text to white on your entire presentation, click on the Themes tab and choose the “Black” option, third in the list.

Feel free to contact us if you’re having difficulty formatting your PowerPoint or KeyNote presentations, or check out our page on Displaying Images to see some other resources about creating presentations.

Via Tech For Luddites

The Book of Kells for iPad

The Book of Kells was released as an iPad app last Friday, November 16. The app contains all 680 surviving pages of the manuscript as well as other special features and content. It is intended to replace previous electronic reproductions of the manuscript which had been released on DVD-ROM and CD-ROM.

The app features the entire manuscript in high resolution, with 21 pages viewable at up to 6 times their actual size and categories of decorative themes that users can browse through including letters, animals, and other symbols.

You can also stop by the VRC anytime to check out the “eBook of Kells” app! Best of all, the app can be projected from the iPad for use in classrooms and presentations.

For more information, view the Book of Kells website or the iTunes app store.

[Images: The Book of Kells, folio 7v and 8r, and an image group of initial letters for the letter “A”.]

 

New Media Cabinet Equipment in CWAC Classrooms

Our media equipment in CWAC classrooms is better than ever! Each classroom is now equipped with an HD projector, HDMI and VGA connections, and speakers.

Media cabinet keys no longer required! To turn projection on, simply hit the ON button. To connect your laptop to the projection, choose HDMI or VGA, connect your computer to the appropriate cable (newer Mac adapters now included), and press the appropriate button on the panel. You’re all set!

As always, please be sure to turn projectors OFF when your class is finished.

For more information about Mac projection settings in CWAC classrooms, see instructions here. Feel free to contact VRC staff for an orientation.

ARTstor OIV for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Now Available

From ARTstor:

We are pleased to announce that a version of the OIV for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is now ready and available for download through the ARTstor Digital Library.  To download this file, please log into the ARTstor Digital Library using your ARTstor registered user account.  In the ARTstor navigation bar at the top of the screen, please click Tools > Download offline presentation tool (OIV).  Select the radio button next to “OIV 3.1.2 for Mac (Java 6.x; Mac OSX 10.7),” and the download will commence.

University of Chicago users, please contact the VRC with any questions or comments. You may also contact ARTstor directly.

ARTstor OIV Not Compatible with Mac OS 10.7 (Lion)

November 14, 2011 update:

ARTstor released a Lion-compatible version of OIV today. For more information please click here.

November 14, 2011 update:

Many thanks to ATV reader Charles Choi, founder of YummyMelon software, for sending us a workaround to run OIV on Mac OS X Lion. After a brief local test (thanks, Peter Leonard!), it does seems to work:

Hello –

I’m writing to you in letting you know of a workaround to get your OIV app to work on OS X 10.7 (Lion). The short of it is to get replace the file “JavaApplicationStub” within the app with the one existing on Lion as described in this link:

http://informagen.com/JarBundler/StubFile.html

Please refer this procedure list to one who is conversant with the Unix command line:

Run Terminal and change to the directory holding OIV.app
cd OIV.app/Contents/MacOS
rm JavaApplicationStub
cp /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Resources/MacOS/JavaApplicationStub .

This procedure was successful in getting OIV.app to run on Lion. That said the app is not fully tested as that’s your responsibility. But in the interim, you can let your users know that this workaround exists.

Best regards –

-Charles Choi

Charles Y. Choi, Ph.D.
Founder – Yummy Melon Software LLC
charles.choi@yummymelon.com | http://www.yummymelon.com

 

Original Post:

ARTstor’s Offline Image Viewer (OIV) is not yet compatible with the newest Mac operating system, OS 10.7 (OS X Lion). From ARTstor:

At ARTstor we strive to make both the ARTstor Digital Library and the OIV compatible with as many different browsers and operating systems as possible. We are only able to begin the process of making the OIV compatible once a new operating system is released. We received OS X Lion when it was released to the public and have been working to make the OIV compatible with it.

Currently, we have a version of the OIV with our Quality Assurance testers but I am unable to provide a firm date for the release of the OS X Lion compatible version of the OIV. Please know that we are working to get a compatible version to our users as soon as possible.

For more information about ARTstor OIV system requirements, click here. University of Chicago community members who have questions or need suggestions for working around this problem should contact the VRC. Others should contact ARTstor directly.

PowerPoint Shortcut: Loading a Folder of Images

On a PC, it’s easy to load a folder of images directly into PowerPoint. With your presentation open, click on Insert in the menu bar, then click on Picture, then New Photo Album… This option lets you select an entire folder of images to add to your presentation. To learn more, download the VRC’s Powerpoint Manual for PC (pdf).

Macs do not have a built-in photo album option. You can, however, install a simple program to import a folder of images. For a free version of this program, please contact the VRC. Let us know what version of PowerPoint you are using (i.e. PowerPoint 2007, 2008, 2011) and what operating system you have (i.e., Mac OS 10.5).

 

How to Sync Presentations to iPad

Are you teaching or presenting with your iPad 2? Want to avoid e-mailing large PowerPoint or Keynote presentations to yourself? It’s easy to to sync presentations to iPad using iTunes and your Keynote app.

First, connect your iPad to your computer. iTunes should launch automatically (if not, open iTunes from your dock or Applications folder). On the left panel in iTunes, under Devices you should see your iPad. Click to highlight it.

Next, navigate to the menu tab for Apps.

Scroll down to see File Sharing options. On the left you will see any apps that allow file sharing between your computer and iPad.

To sync presentations, select Keynote. At right you will see the list of Keynote Documents that have been synced to your iPad. To start loading presentations (in either PowerPoint or Keynote format), click “Add…” then navigate to wherever you’ve saved the presentations on your computer. Then select Open. The presentation will be added to your list of documents.

After adding your presentations, click Sync at bottom right in iTunes. Your presentations will now be available in your Keynote app on iPad.

Please contact the VRC with any questions!