Category: News

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Museums News

“New” Work by Pieter Bruegel the Elder Identified

The Wine of Saint Martin’s Day, currently owned by a Spanish private collector, has been now been identified as a work by 16th century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It has been attributed to the artist by the Museo del Prado following several months of study and the restoration (restoration work included a right to purchase option). If acquired by the Museo del Prado, this would double the number of works by Bruegel in Spain (the only other being Triumph of Death, located at the Prado).

Click here for more information.

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ARTstor Luna News Powerpoint Presentation Software Tech Support VRC

We’ve Moved!…

…back upstairs, and down the hall! Please come visit us in Suite 257 of the Cochrane-Woods Art Center.

The beginning of fall quarter is quickly approaching. Need help using ARTstor? Finding what you need in LUNA? Creating presentations? As a reminder, VRC staff are available for individual or group training sessions. We also provide in-class image searching orientation for students in the humanities. If you are interested in scheduling a session, please contact us.

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News Orders VRC

New! Online Order Form

Got too much paper? VRC orders can now be placed from the comfort of your own home or office, without printing. Please try the online digitization request form and contact us with any questions.

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Innovative Technology News Tech Support

THATCamp Chicago Now Accepting Applications

Northwestern University Libraries and Departments of Gender Studies and English in partnership with The University of Chicago Division of the Humanities and The Newberry Library are pleased to announce the first THATCamp Chicago. THATCamp Chicago 2010 will be held on Saturday, November 20 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Applications will be accepted until October 1, 2010.

Over the past few years, the Center for History and New Media has been helping to organize a series of “unconferences” called THATCamp (“The Humanities and Technology Camp.”)  These unconferences are based on the idea that some of the most productive work of conferences happens in the hallways and in more informal gatherings.  With this in mind THATCamp is based on conversations and not the delivery of papers.  They are “lightweight” and are paid for, in part, by attendee donations.

The structure of the conference is decided when everyone arrives, and applications do not include a paper proposal.  Instead, applicants explain why they want to attend and explain current projects on which they might like to collaborate.  In addition, some THATCamps include a “Bootcamp,” which is a series of workshops that teach concrete tools or skills.  These workshops are designed for beginners, and the hope is that attendees leave with something new to tinker with. THATCamp Chicago is planning a Bootcamp that may include workshops on Processing, Omeka, Geographic Information Systems, and Design Tools for the Digital Humanities.

Find out more at http://thatcampchicago.org.

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News

Archaeologists Discover Britain’s Oldest Home

As reported by NPR:

Archaeologists have uncovered the site of Britain’s oldest house, the waterside home of nomad hunters dating back about 11,000 years.

The dwelling, which has lake views, a thatched roof and very original features, predates the country’s famous Stonehenge monument by around 6,000 years and was built at a time when Britain was still connected to continental Europe.

Video footage captured at the site is available from BBC News.

Categories
Exhibitions Museums News

UofC Lantern Slides Featured in Milwaukee Art Installation

University of Chicago’s Theaster Gates currently has an installation in the Milwaukee Art Museum titled To Speculate Darkly: Theaster Gates and Dave the Potter. During Fall 2009, the Art History Department’s lantern slide collection was relocated to Gates’ Dorchester Project house for “reuse as performance material, research and speculation.” Part of that reuse includes the To Speculate Darkly installation, with the glass ceiling entrance as pictured above. For more information about the installation, see this article recently published by the Wisconsin Gazette.

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News Software VRC

Chapbook: Mobile App for Humanities Division News

Humanities Computing staff members have developed an application for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad called Chapbook. This “app” provides free access to all news, events, blogs, and podcasts currently available from the Division of the Humanities website (including our very own All Things Visual, as seen above). The program allows you to search the campus directory and view campus maps, as well as access articles from Tableau, the Humanities Division magazine.

To download the application from iTunes, click here.

Categories
American Modern - Contemporary News Photography

The Polaroid Collection Sold, in Part

On June 21st and 22nd, more than one thousand works from The Polaroid Collection were sold. Via Photo District News:

The court-ordered auction of portions of The Polaroid Collection, which took place Monday and Tuesday at Sotheby’s, raised nearly $12.5 million for the company formerly known as Polaroid Corp. The funds raised in the sale will be used to settle debts with the bankrupt company’s creditors.

…PBE Corp. became a victim of a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme by Minnesota businessman Tom Petters, whose Petters Group Worldwide bought it in 2005. Petters was convicted last year of fraud and money laundering, a sentence he is appealing while serving a 50-year prison term.

In the auction’s first session Monday evening, a buyer paid $722,500 for Ansel Adams’ “Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park,” which outstripped the previous record sale of $609,000 for an Adams photograph.

High profile artists including Chuck Close reached last-minute agreements with PBE Corporation (formerly Polaroid Corp.) to have their works (including the one above) removed from the sale. Some artists claimed that the auction violated the original terms of their donation agreements.

The Netherlands-based company The Impossible Project is close to a deal to purchase a portion of the collection which has been housed at the Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland since 1990. The Impossible Project previously made news for saving one of the last Polaroid instant film production plants.

Hear more about the history of The Polaroid Collection on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Categories
News Renaissance - Baroque

Caravaggio’s Bones

According to a recent BBC News article:

Human remains found in a church in Tuscany almost certainly belong to Renaissance artist Caravaggio, Italian researchers said… Researchers used DNA and carbon dating to make their findings.

Scientists now hope a proper burial will be provided for the Italian Baroque painter, but first the remains will be put on display. 2010 marks the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio’s death.

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News VRC

VRC Temporarily Relocated

The second floor of the Art History Department, including the VRC, is undergoing extensive renovation this summer. The first stages are well underway. Faculty offices and the “old” VRC have been emptied in advance of construction and asbestos abatement.

This means that after a several weeks of packing and preparation, the VRC has temporarily relocated to the first floor of Cochrane-Woods Art Center, Room 156. We will be open for the duration of construction (except for days when the building will be closed for abatement). Our summer hours are: Monday – Thursday, 8:30-5; Friday, 8:30-2. Please come see us!