The “ART” of the Internet

by Stephanie Muir         

For many college-aged students, surfing the web is both a veritable skill and treasured past time. While you can attempt to find the bottom of your News Feed (It doesn’t exist — I’ve tried!), you can also use these skills to “peruse” the collection of your favorite museum. Nothing compares to seeing a work of art in person, but some amazing initiatives exist that combine art and technology in ways revolutionizing how we access visual art. Far from your typical museum website, these projects demonstrate a commitment to public education by providing inventive opportunities for personal discovery. It doesn’t matter if you’re an art history expert or know nothing about the subject, the following websites promise hours of enjoyment to anyone with an Internet connection and a sense of curiosity:

  

Google Cultural Institute

The Google Cultural Institute makes available online cultural exhibitions through its partnerships with a variety of arts institutions and heritage organizations. Within the institute, the Google Art Project publishes extremely high-resolution photographs organized for maximum browsing potential. Zoom in to see textures and brushstrokes not easily visible to the naked eye. You can also use the site’s compare feature to simultaneously contemplate works located in, say, Italy and Brazil (and basically defy the limitations of time and space, nbd).

                                                           

Just as Google Maps’ Street View famously enables users to view panoramic images of streets around the world, the Google Cultural Institute employs similar technology to allow users to virtually visit a number of cultural sites and institutions. Check out the Taj Mahal in 360-degrees or use Museum View to virtually walk through the galleries of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. No longer must art viewed on the Internet be removed from its architectural context or separated from the surrounding works with which it converses.   

Source: Google Cultural Institute

Artsy

With a collection of over 140,000 artworks, Artsy.net similarly commits to making art accessible to the masses. Partnered with over 1,800 galleries and over 250 museums/institutions, Artsy seamlessly brings together the cutting edge and the historical via fresh editorial content and extensive archives. You can even buy original works off the site and start your very own collection. The site’s real gem, however, is the Art Genome Project headed by Matthew Israel ’99. Often compared to Pandora Radio, the “recommendation engine” enables you to find art similar to what you already like by categorizing works and placing them in an easy-to-use format.

Source: Artsy.net

Instagram

In my opinion, posts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Instagram account can easily be considered works of art themselves. From #tbt posts depicting crowded, early 20^th century gallery walls to their recent #emptymet campaign, technology is allowing users to see the museum in ways otherwise impossible. Better yet, since the posts automatically enter your feed, following @metmuseum ensures you have an art-filled day with little to no effort on your part.  

And the Met’s not alone; art museums, auction houses and artists alike now run Instagram accounts regularly giving followers behind-the-scenes information and updates. A highly visual medium, Instagram proves to be perfect for sharing visual art.

Source: @metmuseum on Instagram

So what do you think?  Does viewing art this way detract from the experience or do these projects mark an exciting new era of open access in the arts?

Fall 2011 Model Casting

ABC as Easy as 123

Photos by Logan Woodruff, Caroline Mills and Hannah Tatar.

Look out for more photos on our facebook page in a few days.

Fashioning An Education: 150 Years of Vassar Students and What They Wore

 

By now, you've probably read Maddie Davis's article "Curating the Vassar Look" in our Spring 2011 issue. Opening day for the exhibit, "Fashioning an Education," is here! Here is the info from the exhibit's blog:

May 16-June 12 at the Palmer Gallery, Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY) To celebrate the college’s 150th anniversary, the Vassar College Costume Collection will share student research about the complex role that education has played to influence fashion. This exhibition will showcase student clothing from the 1860′s to 1950′s and photographs of student styles from the 1960′s to today.
opening on Monday, May 16, with a reception from 4-6pm
from May 19 – June 12, open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 1-4pm
additional times:
Tuesday, May 17 and Wednesday, May 18 from 1-4pm
Sunday, May 22 from 12-3pm
Sunday, June 12 from 11-2pm
as well as by appointment by calling (845) 437-5250

Don't forget, the opening reception is this Monday, May 16, from 4-6 PM. Take a study break and look at some amazing examples of Vassar's history!

The Enigma of the Vassar Athlete

The Enigma of the Vassar Athlete 

By Nicole Alter

You can see them at the DC sitting around massive tables in sweatpants, beat-up sneakers, and t-shirts that aren’t vintage. Chances are you probably hear about their parties and attractive players before you hear about their wins or losses. Who are they? Vassar’s athletes. At our small liberal arts school, most non-athletes know little or next to nothing about our sporty classmates. One has to wonder, what is it like to be an athlete at a division three school? How come people don’t go to games? What does the student population think of our athletes?

            On average, teams practice five to six days a week for several hours each day. For example, the girls lacrosse team commits themselves to cardio workouts five days a week, usually sprints, as well as weight lifting at the gym three times a week. Men’s rowing also practices six days a week, waking up at the crack of dawn for practice at 5: 25 or 6:15. The Captain of Men’s crew, Morgan Mako (‘11), says that he sleeps early every night and  “ participating in athletics has improved my academic work because it has taught me immense discipline, proper use of my time, and to work with deadlines. The quality of my work has improved because I am a Student-Athlete, not just a student”. 

Lindsay Haggerty (’13) described how the women’s lacrosse team goes to the DC after practice then to the library together to get homework done. Mo Bryne (’11) said “the majority of us get better grades during the season and you put yourself on a tight schedule when you don’t have free time and you need to sleep”. Many athletes are also part of other activities and clubs such as choir, acapella groups, and student government (Mo Bryne is the president of the senior class) and a lot of teammates have jobs. Women’s soccer team captain Allison McManis (’11) carries the lessons of “discipline, commitment, positive thinking, moral integrity, loyalty, a hard work ethic and passion” from the field into “all aspects of life”. 

As for the weekends, the team consists of “a lot” of their social life, Michaela Garrison (’13) says perhaps “ 75%- 80%” of your social life and this is “ because when you spend so much time with a group of people, they become your family, so we have no problem calling each other out, and we don’t butt heads” Maura McCarthy (’12).  Mako explains that “ my team is my social life and my entire Vassar experience revolves around my devotion to this incredibly disciplined, amazing group of individuals”. If they don’t have games the next morning, athletes might be seen at “athlete parties” because they “run into the same circles” of people. One lacrosse player explained, “especially by senior year many of the houses are all athletes so they all tend to party together”. Though David Ringold (’11) does not live with athletes or exclusively hang out with baseball players, he agrees with a stereotype that teams party harder because “We do drink more and party more than non-athletes as a way to relieve stress. Athletes spend time doing their sport and are in turn given less time than non-athletes to do their schoolwork.”

            Athletes agree that they fit into Vassar pretty well, however, they get annoyed at other students’ misconceptions about them. For instance, McMannis thinks, “simply labeling athletes as “bros” belittles our commitment to our cause and undermines any attempt to foster a space that values sports within the Vassar community”. Even though Vassar is a division three school, some non-athletes misunderstand that athletes are not accepted because of their skills in sports. According to David, “Every year since I have been here athletes have had a higher GPA than non-athletes and in my interactions I would say that intelligence varies as much within athletics as outside of it. There are also just as many non-athletes in the supposed easy classes as athletes”. Students may not realize that being at a division three school means that “academics come first, then athletics” and their acceptance is based on their own academic merit. On top of that, division three schools do not offer athletic scholarships.

It is frustrating being an athlete at a school where many people are not as interested in sports as theater or music, and the lacrosse team says around fifty people will show up to their games on a good day, but most of the spectators are other athletes or parents. Mako explains the misconception “that since Vassar is not a Div I school, that Vassar athletes somehow are not as competitive as other larger athletics programs or lack prowess because we are a "liberal arts college," as if this means something. This simply is unfounded as Vassar puts forth excellent competition in various athletic disciplines year after year”.

Something the Vassar community may not know about the women’s lax team is that they are part of a foundation called Friend of Jaclyn, an organization started that supports children with brain tumors. Currently, the team has adopted a six-year-old girl named Grace who likes lacrosse and the team will bring her around at games and send her video messages “to take her mind off of things”.  The Men and Women’s soccer team will host the annual Lose the Shoes tournament (a six person tournament open to the whole campus that benefits AIDS education in Africa) and they will be doing Spring caroling to elderly homes. It seems that our athletic teams have contributed a lot to our community and their efforts have not been appreciated enough and the athletes would just like fellow students to “come to our games, come support your student athletes.”

God Save Les Filles

Former Contrast photo editor Caroline Mills '12 has started a blog, God Save Les Filles, about her life in London this semester. Cupcakes, clubs, book stores...sure makes me want to go!

Fashion Courses at Vassar

Are you still thinking about what you want to take this semester? Or maybe you're thinking ahead to the spring? Here are fashion-related classes at Vassar that you can take:

DRAM 103a or b. Introduction to Stagecraft (1/2)

An introduction to the fundamentals of stagecraft, including the processes of flat and platform construction, scene painting, rigging, and theatrical safety.

Two 75-minute periods, one 2 hour lab, and 16 hours of crew time are required.
Six-week course.

DRAM 209b. Topics in Production (1)

In-depth study of one or more of the specialized skills used in the creation of the technical aspects of theatrical production. Past topics have included Drafting and Draping. Graphic Communication for Designers, Scene Painting, and Stage Management. May be repeated, but students may study each skill area only once. Ms. Hummel.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period; additional lab time required.

DRAM 231a. History of Fashion for the Stage (1)

A historical survey of dress from the Egyptian era through the fin de siècle as seen in sculpture, manuscript illumination, painting, and drawing. Cultural background investigated through manners and customs in Western Europe.

Two 75-minute periods.

(Highly recommended! No pre-reqs!)

302a or b. Theatrical Design (1)

Study of set, costume, lighting or sound design. May be repeated in another area of design. Ms. Hummel and instructors to be announced.

Prerequisite: Drama 102 and permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period.

DRAM 298a or b. Independent Work (1/2 or 1)

To be elected in consultation with the adviser.

You can speak to Ms. Hummel about possibly doing an independent study in costume design.

 ART 385b. Seminar in American Art (1)

Topic for 2010/11b: Modernity and the Movies: The Material Culture of Hollywood Films in the 1940s and 1950s This course examines the contribution of set designs, costumes, hair styles and body types to the narrative structures of classic Hollywood films. The goal is to appreciate filmmakers' creative adaptation of American material culture and to understand the complex and often conflicting attitudes toward modernity in the mid-twentieth century. The course includes films with striking design concepts that invoke industrial, technological and urban modernity. Retreat from modernity into a small town or suburban pastoralism is also considered. Filmmakers include Alfred Hitchcock, Douglas Sirk, Preston Sturges, William Wyler, Vincent Minnelli, and Billy Wilder. Ms. Lucic.

Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

One 2-hour period and one weekly film screening.

Holla For Haiti