Red Studio - MoMA [Flash]
By collaborating with high school students, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) put together Red Studio, a web site designed to connect teens with modern art and today's working artists. Currently, Red Studio features an interview with Shahzia Sikander, an artist born in Pakistan in 1969, who was educated and now lives here in the US. Conducted by six students, interview questions range from what it's like for a young woman with a Muslim family to pursue a career as an artist to what type of music she likes. Red Studio visitors can view the interview as a Flash presentation with sound or read the complete transcript. There is also an earlier interview with Vito Acconci, who is asked if he is an artist or an architect, and why he always wears black. Another teen-oriented part of the site is polls, so kids can find out what other kids think about the purpose of art and what they like to do after school.
ArtsEdge
ArtsEdge is the National Arts and Education Network, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and partner of MarcoPolo (last mentioned in the March 26, 2004 NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology). ArtsEdge exists to support visual and performing arts education and "creative use of technology to enhance the K-12 educational experience." To achieve its mission, the ArtsEdge web site offers over 350 lesson plans, such as A Tribute to Miro, which provides everything teachers need to conduct a class project for fifth- to eighth-graders to create paintings in the style of Miro: a detailed instructional plan, links to museum images of Miro's work, and an interactive display of five Miro paintings. In addition, the Connect section of the site provides resources for arts education advocacy; there are 27 articles, surveys, and reports (most in pdf format) authored by nationally known arts and educational organizations such as the J. Paul Getty Trust, the U.S. Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Finally, the Explore section of the site offers selected online activities for students, teachers, and all arts lovers to explore the arts.
Mr. Picassohead
Absolutely just for fun (or is it?), you can become a Cubist painter at this clever site, creating an original work of art by moving facial parts -- eyes, hair, lips, ears, noses -- onto a canvas in the same fashion as snapping plastic parts onto a Mr. Potatohead doll. There are also tools for colorizing, rotating, and changing the sizes of your design elements. Once you have painted your masterpiece, you can save it in the gallery, and email a link to your friends. You can also browse the gallery, which apparently has close to 40,000 paintings in it at present, or search, by artists' names and titles. Trying out a few searches using terms in the news, such as Bush or Peace, may make you wonder just how much this online game is expressing the Zeitgeist
The Sargent Murals at the Boston Public Library[Quicktime]
Best known as a portrait painter for the rich and fashionable, John Singer Sargent worked for nearly 30 years (1890-1919) on a monumental mural cycle, Triumph of Religion, installed in the Boston Public Library's main building, designed by McKim, Mead, and White. This Web site presents their current restoration, as well as their creation story, with many images and biography of their creator, John Singer Sargent. See the Restoration section for discussion of Sargent's use of non-traditional materials in the murals, such as adding relief or raised elements, which unfortunately complicate the restoration process. The site also includes an Images section for those who just want to see the pictures and Quicktime movies. Soon, a live camera will be added.
About.com
This website has an enormous collection of materials relating to k-12 teaching including lesson plans, links and tips for all disciplines and age levels. It is a very useful site for new teachers, seasoned teachers, and even home school. Get tips on how to prepare for your first day and classroom management strategies, find fun games for students, and discover even more of those web sites that make your job just a little bit easier! It is a bottomless pit of information.
Fats Waller Forever Digital Exhibit[RealPlayer]
Born in Harlem in 1904, Thomas Wright Waller would become one of jazz's most renowned pianists, along with composing some of its most memorable compositions, including "Ain't Misbehavin" and "Honeysuckle Rose." This online exhibit, produced by the Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, features recordings and photographs of Fats Waller in his prime. Also, as users navigate through the different sections, selections from Fats Waller's hundreds of recordings play as they browse. Short essays, many of them by Paul Wachlin, describe various facets of Waller's legendary stride-piano style, his recording legacy, and the extensive manuscript holdings within the Institute's Dana Library. The site is rounded out by a section of additional readings and references for those seeking to learn more about the life and musical achievements of Fats Waller.
Exploring Themes in American Art
Provided by the National Gallery, this site explores ten themes in American art through illustrated essays. Each brief essay includes links to featured images, a list of artists, a glossary, and a bibliography. An interesting, useful, and compact site for anyone interested in American painting.
American History and Art from New England
Features of the site include: the Digital Collection, a searchable database of over 1,000 artifacts selected from 70,000 in the Museum's holdings; In the Classroom, a collection of curriculum ideas for teachers; and the Turns of the Centuries exhibit. This exhibit presents images and artifacts on five broad themes: Family Life, Native American Indians, African Americans, Newcomers, and The Land. The exhibits span across three eras: 1680-1720, 1780-1820, and 1880-1920. There is also an Activities section, with Scavenger Hunt, Dress Up, Make a Chronology, and a Tailor Your Visit pages. The later suggests resources for teachers, researchers, and K-12 students.
Botanic Garden of Smith College
Mead Art Museum at Amherst College
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
Smith College Museum of Art
Enchanted Circle Theater Institute 413-534-3789
