Fred Showker takes you on a visual extravaganza to help sharpen your creative edges, and introduce you to the pleasures of discovering art.
Looking for Art in all the right places
Fred Shokwer
Although this doesn't seem to be a Design and Publishing topic, it really is. Your visual experience should always be digesting new and different input. You need visual stimulation to maintain your creative edge. Looking at art is one way of doing this -- and the web offers an unlimited wealth of visual wonders. Pull out your daytimer, or your palm, and make an appointment with yourself. Take one or two hours each month and discover new visual landscapes. It will serve you well, and you'll come to look forward to those little jaunts into the visual web.
. . . here are just a few of my favorites
The Museum of Modern Art
No article about finding art on the web would be complete without at least mentioning The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA.org). If you cannot get to New York to visit this world-famous museum, then the next best thing is their constantly evolving site. Here is featured MoMa's information on exhibitions, online art projects, images from its collection; plus, The MoMA Online Store, free E-Cards and E-News.
http://www.moma.org/
WebMuseum Network
This is probably one of the best places to start learning about fine arts and modern arts on the web. If this is one of your first trips out, you may want to start exploring a tiny subset of the collections first: try out the medieval art exhibit. However, most artworks are exhibited in the Famous Paintings section. One final word: if you ever get lost, feel free to experiment the endpage navigation panel. http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/
Artnet
Artnet.com is the world's leading source for art market and contemporary art information. With up-to-date and comprehensive searchable databases of auction records, gallery exhibitions and artists' portfolios, artnet.com offers powerful tools and extensive up-to-date resources. The artnet.com magazine features the latest art world news, exhibition reviews, columns, and feature articles by top art critics and columnists. http://www.artnet.com/.
The Alternative Museum that had no alternatives
The Alternative Museum was founded in 1981 to present socially and politically charged work, often by minority artists who could not find other outlets. Today, there are many more options for presenting such work. After 25 years of showing art in its downtown-Manhattan galleries, the "Alternative" museum has relocated to cyberspace. http://www.alternativemuseum.org/.
Regional Art trips
The National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, Washington houses one of the finest collections in the world illustrating major achievements in painting, sculpture, and graphic arts from the Middle Ages to the present. http://www.nga.gov/
Phoenix Art Museum
Looking for art with a Western flavor, try the official site of Phoenix Art Museum. Western art is not all you'll find here however. The Phoenix Art Museum features works from the Collection, exhibition schedule, events, Museum Store, and much more." http://www.phxart.org/
Cincinnati's Modern Art Museum
The Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati is the region's only museum dedicated to Modern and Contemporary art. The CAC focuses on recent developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media. http://www.spiral.org/
Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl 2000
The mission of Art-A-Whirl and the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association is to promote and support the quality and diversity of artistic resources based in Northeast Minneapolis for the benefit of the greater community. What you'll find there is a lot of fun, and probably even a few eye-openers! http://art-a-whirl.org/
Something a bit more exotic?
While we're talking about 'regional' or even local art, The University of Memphis proves that some rather exotic works can be seen without going too far. The Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology, founded in 1984, is a component of the Department of Art of The University of Memphis, in Memphis, Tennessee (USA), and is a Tennessee Center of Excellence. It is dedicated to the study of the art and culture of ancient Egypt through teaching, research, exhibition, and community education. As part of its teaching and research, the Institute conducts an epigraphic survey in the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt. http://www.memphis.edu/egypt/main.html
Native Canadian Indian art
For an even deeper trek into the wilds try the Native Canadian Indian Art site. Even though it's not a huge site, this grass roots site displays some wonderful native art and crafts -- even its name, "northern whispers," suggests it's worth the trip. http://www.freespiritgallery.ca/gallery.htm
Art you can eat? You are what you eat?
If you're like me -- sweet tooth and all, you're going to like the International Cake Exploration -- truly an art in itself... Icing Art! Here is the home of all the information you will ever need on Cake Decorating and Sugar Art. Sugar Art at its Finest, Cake Decorating Techniques, World Renown Cake Decorators display beautiful desserts, cakes, and other edible sugar art. http://www.ices.org/submit.htm
Teach your kids about Art
KinderArt is one of the largest collection of free online art lesson plans and art education information on the Internet. Not only are there lots an lots of ideas as well as inspiration for artists, there's a complete all-in-one resource for parents and teachers who want to help their children learn about the arts. http://www.kinderart.com/
To round out your own experience
If you want to expand your awareness of art and art galleries on the web, then you'll want to bookmark this one. AccessPlace.com has a respectable collection of good links to art news, museums, exhibits, schedules, artists, dance, theater, literature, photography, architecture, paintings, sculpture, art stores and a lot more. Thanks, Bryce Westover, media@accessplace.com -- http://www.accessplace.com/arts.htm
Keep a sharp edge on your creative eye by seeking out new visual horizons on a regular basis. Of course, if you find particularly good art and art gallery experiences, please pass them along to me
Thanks for reading...
Editor / Publisher, DT&G Magazine
Important Resources
- Design School? Training? Let's Go... How do you like to learn? Books? CD-Videos? DVD? Or surfing the web? There are hundreds of ways to learn graphic design, Photoshop and other facets of the visual communications industry, and here we take a look at just a few ways to learn graphic arts
- Deke McClelland's Total Training Series Reviewer Joyce Evans shares a brief look inside some of the best video training on the planet... with Photoshop expert Deke McClelland and the product called Total Training
- Learning Design: Today's Print Workflow Printing industries expert Gretchen A. Peck reports that as many as 90 percent of the digital files printers receive from customers are in some state of disrepair. Designers today must be prepared to accept new responsibilities, and think beyond design aesthetics -- Creating for Today's Print Workflow
- Web Learning: Web Content Strategy 101 - Your web content makes or breaks the profitability of your site. In this article, Joel Walsh shares tips and tricks on how you can develop a strategy to make the most of your site's content.
or back to the Front Page
Participate in your Design Center
Lots of fun and information for all... don't forget, any community is only as good as the participation of its members. We invite your tips, tricks, comments, suggestions and camaraderie.
- Ask for the DT&G Monthly: to receive news about DT& headlines, happenings in the Design Center and regular columns like the "Mail Bag" and "Cool Sites"
- SUBSCRIBE : to the Designers' CAFE email list