Category: Subject Areas

Harvard’s Islamic Heritage Project Now Online

Post author By arybin
Post date January 8, 2010

“Through a new collaboration among Islamic-studies scholars, librarians, and curators, Harvard University has cataloged, conserved, and digitized Islamic manuscripts, maps, and published texts from its renowned library and museum collections. The result is a new online collection comprising more than 145,000 digital pages available to Internet users everywhere.”

The collaboration, known as the Islamic Heritage Project, includes materials that date from the 13th to the 20th centuries CE and include various regions, languages, and subjects. More informaton about the scope and content of the project is available here.

The Bayeux Tapestry Comes Alive

Post author By arybin
Post date November 23, 2009

The Bayeaux Tapestry, one of the most important chronicles of its day, offers a vivid depiction of the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. A video available on YouTube from PotionGraphics brings the tale to life through animation and sound effects. The clip begins about halfway through the tapestry, at the appearance of Haley’s Comet, and ends at The Battle of Hastings.

Video discovered via Open Culture. The entire scroll is available to view here.

Tags animation, Bayeaux Tapestry, video

East Asian Images on the Web

Harvard and National Library of China to Digitize Rare Books

Post author By arybin
Post date October 15, 2009

One of the most extensive collections of rare Chinese books outside of China will be digitized and made freely available to scholars worldwide as part of a six-year cooperative project between Harvard College Library (HCL) and the National Library of China (NLC)…

…The first phase, beginning in January 2010, will digitize books from the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, which date from about 960 AD to 1644. The second phase, starting in January 2013, will digitize books from the Qing Dynasty, which date from 1644 until 1795. The collection includes materials which cover an extensive range of subjects, including history, philosophy, drama, belles letters and classics.

For more information, visit Harvard College Library’s article describing the project.

Tags China, Chinese, Harvard, Image Quality, National Library of China, rare books

ARTstor Images by Subscription Modern - Contemporary Museums

ARTstor Launches MoMA Painting and Sculpture Collection

Post author By arybin
Post date September 30, 2009

ARTstor and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) have just launched more than 1,400 images of works from the MoMA’s permanent collection in the Digital Library. The images have been selected from the museum’s unparalleled collection of modern and contemporary painting and sculpture. The works in the Department of Painting and Sculpture represent a comprehensive overview of major artists and artistic movements from the late 19th century to the present.

To view the collection after logging in, search for: moma “painting and sculpture”

Tags ARTstor, contemporary, modern, MoMA, museum of modern art

Images on the Web Innovative Technology Modern - Contemporary Moving Images VRC

Database of Virtual Art

Post author By arybin
Post date September 24, 2009

The Database of Virtual Art seeks to document and ultimately preserve the evolving field of digital installation art. The database is intended for both researchers and artists, and digital media artists are encouraged to post content themselves. The web-based resource is free and allows browsing by artist name as well as keyword. Works, literature, people, events and institutions may also be searched.

Pictured: The Living Web by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, 2002.

Tags artists, databases, digital art, digital media, installation art

American Images on the Web Museums Photography

Historical Images of New York

Post author By arybin
Post date July 27, 2009

NewYorkHeritage.org is a research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and others who are interested in learning more about the people, places and institutions of historical New York State. The site provides immediate free access to more than 160 distinct digital collections that reflect New York State’s long history. These collections represent a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, newspapers, books, and more.

A list of participating institutions may be found here; for more information about the project, click here.

Tags diaries, digital collections, digital library, genealogy, letters, maps, New York, newspapers, photographs, postcards

American Innovative Technology Moving Images

Vintage Television Commercials on iTunes U

Post author By arybin
Post date July 24, 2009

More than 1,500 historic American television commercials from the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in the Duke University Special Collections Library are now available on iTunes U. This collection is called AdViews. Videos are free to download, and can be viewed at the computer or on video-capable iPods.

Most of the 1,500 currently available videos date from the 1950s and 1960s. A keyword search for “coffee” brings up eight albums, including a Yuban Coffee ablum with more than seventy commercials.

The total collection comprises 12,000 commercials and librarians at Duke hope to finish digitization by the end of 2009. Click here for more information.

Tags advertising, American, commercials, iTunes U, television, video

Architecture Images on the Web Innovative Technology Photography

Photography Tool: Tourist Remover

Post author By arybin
Post date July 2, 2009

Have you ever found yourself waiting for passersby to move out of your viewfinder? Perhaps while trying to photograph architecture or other works of art? A free web-based filter allows you to remove tourists and other unwanted moving objects from your photographs. The aptly titled Tourist Remover even allows up to 100 MB of storage (and more with a paid upgrade).

Read more about how the tool works here. Happy 4th of July picture-taking!

African Images on the Web Photography VRC

Historic African Photographs Available Online

Post author By arybin
Post date June 30, 2009

The Humphrey Winterton Collection of East African Photographs includes 7,610 photographs, 230 glass lantern slides, and various other materials depicting life in Africa from 1860-1960. For the first time, thousands of these images are now available for free online, thanks to Northwestern University Library.

The collection chronicles Europe’s colonization of East Africa, including the work of explorers, colonial officials, settlers, missionaries, military officers, travelers and early commercial photographers. The collection’s website also includes information for educators, including image galleries of political leaders, animals, monuments, and more.

Exhibitions Modern - Contemporary Museums

Debut of the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago

Post author By arybin
Post date May 19, 2009

The much-anticipated Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago is now open. Enjoy free admission through Friday, May 22, and don’t forget to contribute to the Greater Chicago Food Depository by bringing a canned good or nonperishable item along.

Click here for a peek at current exhibitions in the museum’s newest space, including recent work by artist Cy Twombly.