Digital Humanities is an umbrella term describing the impact of information technologies in the teaching, learning and researching of subjects like History and History of Art. The 18th March 2009 was assigned a Day in the Life of the Digital Humanities when scholars all over the world, working in the area of humanities computing, wrote an individual diary of their day. The project is published online. This project gives you a sense of the diverse work of digital humanists. Dr. Julianne Nyhan, a digital humanist at the University of Trier, Germany, is a graduate of University College Cork. She took History of Art as a first year option.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Digital Humanities opening new career paths for History and History of Art graduates
In recent years History and Art History graduates have found positions on digital projects. Many of these projects involve making public historical texts and images. Examples of Irish projects include: Long Room Hub, (Trinity College Dublin), Texts, Contexts, Cultures (NUI, Galway, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork) and the Digital Humanities Observatory (DHO) (Royal Irish Academy). Many projects require graduates with postgraduate qualifications and experience, but you may have what the project needs. Find a project you are interested in and contact the project leader for more information or advice.
Digital Humanities is an umbrella term describing the impact of information technologies in the teaching, learning and researching of subjects like History and History of Art. The 18th March 2009 was assigned a Day in the Life of the Digital Humanities when scholars all over the world, working in the area of humanities computing, wrote an individual diary of their day. The project is published online. This project gives you a sense of the diverse work of digital humanists. Dr. Julianne Nyhan, a digital humanist at the University of Trier, Germany, is a graduate of University College Cork. She took History of Art as a first year option.
Digital Humanities is an umbrella term describing the impact of information technologies in the teaching, learning and researching of subjects like History and History of Art. The 18th March 2009 was assigned a Day in the Life of the Digital Humanities when scholars all over the world, working in the area of humanities computing, wrote an individual diary of their day. The project is published online. This project gives you a sense of the diverse work of digital humanists. Dr. Julianne Nyhan, a digital humanist at the University of Trier, Germany, is a graduate of University College Cork. She took History of Art as a first year option.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Websearching an independent topic
Context:
The Tudor king, Henry VIII succeeded his father Henry VII in 1509. He is best remembered for his six marriages and for ordering the dissolution of religious houses which took place between 1535 and 1539. His quest for a male heir and divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon led to his establishing himself as head of the Church in England in place of the Pope in 1535 thereby beginning the English Reformation.
Problems:
I am researching Tudor royal iconography, especially portraits of Henry VIII. I want to find visual evidence for the use of the title Fidei Defensor or "Defender of the Faith" conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII of England in 1521 to reward his writing of a treatise against Martin Luther. Where can I find relevant visual material? How do I begin my search? Where do I begin to look?
Approaches:
In addition to portraits, you may consider wider evidence from visual culture. Prints, medals, seals and coins can be rich sources for understanding changes in royal iconography over time as they often bring text and image together. The addition of a text to an image may encourage us to ask: how did the image-makers intend the image to be read? Does the addition of a text to an image restrict possible readings? How do we know it was read, by its intended audience, in the intended way?
In the context of the problem posed, your search could centre on the collections of the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Some useful links:
Extract from the papal bull of 1521
Early printed bibles in the British Library, London. In these frontispieces, Henry VIII is shown enthroned holding a book and a sword. He is show approprating symbols of Church (the book) and State (the sword). Thereby, displaying his authority over both institutions. This is echoed in King's Tudor Royal Iconography: Literature and Art in an Age of Religious Crisis Princeton, 1989.
Gold Seal of Henry VIII with inscribed title
Henry VIII and the Barber-Surgeons, 1540, painted by Hans
Holbein, note Henry holds the Sword of State and a seal.
Etching of Henry VIII (ca. 1545) with inscribed title, National Portrait Gallery, London.
Portrait of Henry VIII by Peter Isselburg (Yselburg, Eisselburg), after Cornelis Metsys (Massys) (1508 or 1510-after 1580)
line engraving, 1646, inscribed title, National Portrait Gallery, London
17th Century print of Henry VIII with inscribed title, National Portrait Gallery, London. This may be useful for illustrating later receptions of the title. By the term "reception" we mean how the image was depicted at a later time. An example of this is seen in the use of title abbreviation on contemporary British coins see Threeminutetheologian blog
The Tudor king, Henry VIII succeeded his father Henry VII in 1509. He is best remembered for his six marriages and for ordering the dissolution of religious houses which took place between 1535 and 1539. His quest for a male heir and divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon led to his establishing himself as head of the Church in England in place of the Pope in 1535 thereby beginning the English Reformation.
Problems:
I am researching Tudor royal iconography, especially portraits of Henry VIII. I want to find visual evidence for the use of the title Fidei Defensor or "Defender of the Faith" conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII of England in 1521 to reward his writing of a treatise against Martin Luther. Where can I find relevant visual material? How do I begin my search? Where do I begin to look?
Approaches:
In addition to portraits, you may consider wider evidence from visual culture. Prints, medals, seals and coins can be rich sources for understanding changes in royal iconography over time as they often bring text and image together. The addition of a text to an image may encourage us to ask: how did the image-makers intend the image to be read? Does the addition of a text to an image restrict possible readings? How do we know it was read, by its intended audience, in the intended way?
In the context of the problem posed, your search could centre on the collections of the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Some useful links:
Extract from the papal bull of 1521
Early printed bibles in the British Library, London. In these frontispieces, Henry VIII is shown enthroned holding a book and a sword. He is show approprating symbols of Church (the book) and State (the sword). Thereby, displaying his authority over both institutions. This is echoed in King's Tudor Royal Iconography: Literature and Art in an Age of Religious Crisis Princeton, 1989.
Gold Seal of Henry VIII with inscribed title
Henry VIII and the Barber-Surgeons, 1540, painted by Hans
Holbein, note Henry holds the Sword of State and a seal.
Etching of Henry VIII (ca. 1545) with inscribed title, National Portrait Gallery, London.
Portrait of Henry VIII by Peter Isselburg (Yselburg, Eisselburg), after Cornelis Metsys (Massys) (1508 or 1510-after 1580)
line engraving, 1646, inscribed title, National Portrait Gallery, London
17th Century print of Henry VIII with inscribed title, National Portrait Gallery, London. This may be useful for illustrating later receptions of the title. By the term "reception" we mean how the image was depicted at a later time. An example of this is seen in the use of title abbreviation on contemporary British coins see Threeminutetheologian blog
Friday, 30 January 2009
Looking at images: questions to ask yourself
The following are a selection of questions you could use to scaffold your critical analysis of an image. The following examples relate to looking at a painting, but you could modify these questions to support looking at a piece of sculpture or a building.
This is not an exhaustive list, add your own questions if you like:
The image caption may answer the following questions:
Who is the artist?
What is the title of the work?
What is the size of the work?
What is the medium (fresco, oil, tempera etc.)?
What is the date?
Where is the work now located?
Many of us forget to describe what we see:
How is the composition arranged (tight or loose)?
How is the subject painted (heavy or light brush work)?
How does colour evoke mood (atmospheric, dramatic)?
What details look familiar or unfamiliar to you?
Is there anything that stands out for you?
Does this connect with anything seen before?
Look closer for meaning through style and symbol:
Do you recognise the subject (content of the painting)?
What does the subject-matter tell you about its meaning?
Who commissioned the work (patron)?
Why was it commissioned (public or private commission)?
Who owned the work (did it change hands)?
Is it characteristic of the period (art historical style)?
Think about the context of the work and what has been critically written about it.
How does this effect the way we look at the composition?
What is the original historical context (period)?
How does context inform meaning (significant events)?
Do sketches inform the work (are there changes over time)?
Has the work been restored (any new discoveries)?
What has been written about the work (art history/ criticism)?
How does critical opinion inform meaning (art history/ criticism)?
This is not an exhaustive list, add your own questions if you like:
The image caption may answer the following questions:
Who is the artist?
What is the title of the work?
What is the size of the work?
What is the medium (fresco, oil, tempera etc.)?
What is the date?
Where is the work now located?
Many of us forget to describe what we see:
How is the composition arranged (tight or loose)?
How is the subject painted (heavy or light brush work)?
How does colour evoke mood (atmospheric, dramatic)?
What details look familiar or unfamiliar to you?
Is there anything that stands out for you?
Does this connect with anything seen before?
Look closer for meaning through style and symbol:
Do you recognise the subject (content of the painting)?
What does the subject-matter tell you about its meaning?
Who commissioned the work (patron)?
Why was it commissioned (public or private commission)?
Who owned the work (did it change hands)?
Is it characteristic of the period (art historical style)?
Think about the context of the work and what has been critically written about it.
How does this effect the way we look at the composition?
What is the original historical context (period)?
How does context inform meaning (significant events)?
Do sketches inform the work (are there changes over time)?
Has the work been restored (any new discoveries)?
What has been written about the work (art history/ criticism)?
How does critical opinion inform meaning (art history/ criticism)?
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Image searching
Looking for images? -- questions to ask yourself:
1. What do I need the image for?
(e.g. private study, essay, presentation)
2. Where is the best quality image to be found?
(e.g. galleries and databases)
3. Which image should I choose?
(see image properties)
4. Which Websites are best to use?
(e.g. institutional Websites are to be recommended)
5. Do I have permission to use the image?
(Check the terms and conditions of use on the host site.
If posting online, if in doubt, hyperlink out to the host site)
6. Where should I begin my search?
(try the current location of the image if known)
Finding images online is not always easy. Remember that you may have to visit a number of sites to find what you are looking for. Always try and locate the biggest image you can find online. If you click on an image you can find its properties. This will tell you its size. Images are measured in pixels per inch. So, the higher the number of pixels the better the quality of the image. Most images you will be looking for are in JPEG format. You know this because the file extension is dot JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). JPEG is a form of compression called "lossy compression" and is used for images (photographs). The more the JPEG is saved (therefore re-compressing an already compressed image) the more information about that image is lost. If you try and enlarge a small JPEG image you will loose quality and the image will become pixelated. In other words, it will look blurry. Try and select the largest image you can find online.
For help with finding images visit TASI
1. What do I need the image for?
(e.g. private study, essay, presentation)
2. Where is the best quality image to be found?
(e.g. galleries and databases)
3. Which image should I choose?
(see image properties)
4. Which Websites are best to use?
(e.g. institutional Websites are to be recommended)
5. Do I have permission to use the image?
(Check the terms and conditions of use on the host site.
If posting online, if in doubt, hyperlink out to the host site)
6. Where should I begin my search?
(try the current location of the image if known)
Finding images online is not always easy. Remember that you may have to visit a number of sites to find what you are looking for. Always try and locate the biggest image you can find online. If you click on an image you can find its properties. This will tell you its size. Images are measured in pixels per inch. So, the higher the number of pixels the better the quality of the image. Most images you will be looking for are in JPEG format. You know this because the file extension is dot JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). JPEG is a form of compression called "lossy compression" and is used for images (photographs). The more the JPEG is saved (therefore re-compressing an already compressed image) the more information about that image is lost. If you try and enlarge a small JPEG image you will loose quality and the image will become pixelated. In other words, it will look blurry. Try and select the largest image you can find online.
For help with finding images visit TASI
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Digital rights: examples from the visual arts
In today's global economy, knowledge capital, as opposed to physical capital, is central. The rights of content providers need to be considered with and interests of content users. Higher education institutions in the UK have signed up to the DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society) Agreement. By this agreement the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) are permitted to include all artistic works in its licences and for DACS to receive a share of that revenue. In Ireland, the agreement between the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency (ICLA) and the Irish Visual Artists Rights Organisation (IVRO) appears to be a similar arrangement.
Nowadays museums and other cultural institutions are increasingly making their collections available online. Broadly speaking, galleries and museums in the United States will only allow users to browse their online collections. The downloading of images is only permitted for personal use. Hyerlinks gallery sites and their image collections can be legally served online. In some cases, sites request that the hyerlink can only legally operate if it opens in a separate window of the browser. Broadly speaking, in the UK and Europe it is the responsibility of the individual or institution to obtain permission from copyright holders or their agents before a reproduction of works or any other content is made, or this will constitute an infringement of copyright. In Europe, the principal copyright collecting societies are: ADAGP for France, BILDKUNST for Germany, VEGAP for Spain and ARS for the United States.
Wikicommons on Wikipedia is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. Many of the art images on Wikipedia are in the public domain in the United States under the terms of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) 1998, but this may not be the case in other countries. So, the copyright status of images needs to be checked on an individual bases.
Nowadays museums and other cultural institutions are increasingly making their collections available online. Broadly speaking, galleries and museums in the United States will only allow users to browse their online collections. The downloading of images is only permitted for personal use. Hyerlinks gallery sites and their image collections can be legally served online. In some cases, sites request that the hyerlink can only legally operate if it opens in a separate window of the browser. Broadly speaking, in the UK and Europe it is the responsibility of the individual or institution to obtain permission from copyright holders or their agents before a reproduction of works or any other content is made, or this will constitute an infringement of copyright. In Europe, the principal copyright collecting societies are: ADAGP for France, BILDKUNST for Germany, VEGAP for Spain and ARS for the United States.
Wikicommons on Wikipedia is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. Many of the art images on Wikipedia are in the public domain in the United States under the terms of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) 1998, but this may not be the case in other countries. So, the copyright status of images needs to be checked on an individual bases.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
The Web: a different way to read?
The Internet is like a giant web of information all interconnected through links called hyperlinks. Established reading patterns emphasise the importance of close reading consisting of textual analysis, comprehension, and critical reflection often involving re-reading the text. Online reading experiences do not map exactly onto existing literacy patterns. Reading on the Internet places emphasis on searching, scanning, jumping, and filtering information. Internet reading is often a fast, multi-attention, communal act as seen by web blogs, twitters, and online wikis. Search-engines read Web pages by filtering hits according to popularity or relevance to an online community. Information Communication Technology (ICT) has merged into Information Society Technology (IST). Social networking sites are called Web 2.0. New patterns of online reading complement the emerging technologies that increasingly allow computers to read and write autonomously to each other across platforms and applications such as in XML (Extensible Markup Language) based technologies that underlie the new online text databases, archives, and RSS (Really Simple Syndication, also known as “web syndication”) feeds.
Watch Mike Wesch's YouTube video about Web 2.0 How is the Web affecting ways we gather information and use it?
Watch Mike Wesch's YouTube video about Web 2.0 How is the Web affecting ways we gather information and use it?
Digitial images: what does the future hold?
If you have seen the film Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, you may remember seeing characters using touch screen technology and 3D image tools with not a keyboard or mouse in sight. Was this science fiction or is it science fact?
The future? -- touch screen with 3D image interface
CityWall is a large multi-touch display installed in a central location in Helsinki which acts as a collaborative interface for the everchanging media landscape of the city. The new interface launched in October 2008 also allows working with 3D objects, which enables multiple content and multiple timelines. This may be how we will shortly be using technology.
Microsoft will launch touch screen for Windows 7 in 2009.
How will new interfaces affect the ways we store, share, and source information?
The future? -- touch screen with 3D image interface
CityWall is a large multi-touch display installed in a central location in Helsinki which acts as a collaborative interface for the everchanging media landscape of the city. The new interface launched in October 2008 also allows working with 3D objects, which enables multiple content and multiple timelines. This may be how we will shortly be using technology.
Microsoft will launch touch screen for Windows 7 in 2009.
How will new interfaces affect the ways we store, share, and source information?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)