Blogs

I visited the Met two days ago and found myself in the period rooms of the American Wing.  I was interested in the new interpretive tool, the screen with a menu of options, in place of the old static placard that listed all the objects in a horizontal format.  It puts a whole lot more information at the visitor's fingertips and seems to give us more agency as well because we choose to navigate: we can focus on "people" rather than "objects" and so on.

Today I learned a rake was an 18th century playboy, while researching Francis Dashwood the 11th Baron le Despence. Look at that picture: He seems to have so much fun, unlike all the other 18th century men, who look all too serious. I also am continuing to ameliorate my data formatting and inputting skills. I am getting better and quicker at it, because I am a lot more used to it. 

This semester, Aisling and I are collaborating on all aspects of lab work, including the DH (digital humanities) initiatives, cataloguing, supervising undergrads, reviewing tech tools, and consulting as needed. Aisling has been working extensively on the new Drupal Constellations site (that is, this site), incorporating and updating new features as needs and interests arise.

Hot off the presses - the Visual Media Workshop newsletter [1]. If you're wondering about what's been cooking lately in FFA 116, check it out. As you can see from our weekly staff schedule, it's action-packed.

In this issue:

This painting, attributed to William Theed, represents a Grand Tour that I would readily embark on, replete with breathtaking panoramas and adorable spaniels. Is it overly idyllic? Perhaps! However, it offers a brief snapshot of the type of exploration documented in Itinera and this makes it all the more exquisite. 

According to the account: 

When I think about dates being vague, I do not think of days, weeks, months, or years.  My mind automatically goes to everything associated with those awkward fist dates, whether it be trying to pick out an appropriate outfit, figuring out exactly where you are going or what you are doing, and deciphering the other person's intentions.

Play the song as you read. :)

I GOT A SECRET FORMULA: for all the ways to write the dates for the two different types of date entries (display date and indexing date).

Michelle Moravec gave an awesome "lightning talk" at THATCamp 2014, about how she moved from visualization to question and back, exploring new tools along the way. She presented a longer version of that talk last year as a part of American Art History and Digital Scholarship: New Avenues for Exploration  (see video).

That past two days I spent geeking out with folks from universities, research institutes, labs, The Getty, art e-commerce ventures, and other misfits. It was amazing. Among other things, I discovered this fun blog, Experiments in Art History, which deals with teaching with digital tools. It was inspired by a previous THATCamp. Read on (warning: medieval reenactment!).