They say there’s no one crazier than an artist. It may even be true.
Artists are the people who take the risks we could never dream of, to share what they envisage with the world. And what better way to do that than to put it up on the medium which reaches out to the most number of people?
That’s why, this time, we’re talking about digital art, which includes both old masterpieces but also computer-generated art. Let the paint flow.
http://www.sfmoma.org/
For all those not into real art, SFMOMA is the San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art. This is one of the most technologically-advanced sites for digital art on the Web.
Among SFMOMA’s most innovative features is a series entitled “SiteStreaming: Online Tours by Artists”. For a particular period of time, online artists appear at the museum for live demonstrations of their sites. After the presentations, new Web-streaming technologies link the artists’ recorded remarks to real-time, online tours of their work, enabling visitors to experience an artist-guided tour of each showing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Very crisply laid out, this site has a section called “E.space” that explores new art forms which exist only in cyberspace. The site also has a decent collection of architecture and design projects, which can be quite delightful to a layman.
This is a good example of how classical art and the Web can co-exist in a symbiotic form. Don’t miss it!
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp
Here’s another museum site for you. This is the official site for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. And it lives up to the reputation of the actual museum.
The site is a visual delight for ardent art collectors, as it offers information about a large collection of ancient artifacts that the museum houses (it claims to have a collection of over 3500 art pieces!). And if you think that’s too much to go through, you might want to check out the “Timeline Of Art History”, which tells you about ancient history.
Besides the collections and special exhibitions, a plethora of information is available in the “Educational Resources” and “Explore And Learn” segments. The site also has a Met Store, which enables art lovers to purchase paintings, photographs and artifacts online.
We wouldn’t rule out this place in cyberspace to educate children and adults alike about ancient and modern cultures, art and history. Who ever said that museums are boring?
http://www.digitalartmuseum.com/
“Digital Art Museum”, like the name suggests, is a collection of galleries of artists who use sharp imagery and vivid colours to deal with any subject. There are just eight or nine artists featured here. This site looks pretty cool, with its crisp images and strange play of fluidity and abruptness in almost all the pieces.
Digital art and photography are both included, and the site also provides facilities for online purchases and a mailing list for updates. The images are very interesting and worth a second look. It seems like the artists want their work to scream rather than clutter, here.
http://www.dali-gallery.com/dali.htm
Ever had one of those bizarre dreams that you would classify as a nightmare? Well, Salvador Dali painted these. This is the best site that we found on Dali and it should suffice for you.
First up, go to the paintings section. There are over a thousand oils here, plus drawings and sketches. The site includes complete information on his life and work, and allows you to download postcards of his paintings. Besides the extensive collection of his work, the site also gives you details about the surrealist art movement and provides links to other surreal artists. You can go through Dali’s photo albums, posters and even perfumes. And if you’re already a fan, you can purchase books and postcards related to Dali.
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/
As the name suggests, this site is dedicated to the master painter Vincent van Gogh. van Gogh would have cut off the designer’s ears for poor and inartistic layout, but for people who want to know about this master painter, that should be only a minor hassle.
The site makes life easy for beginners and stalwarts alike by categorizing the paintings into paintings, watercolours, sketches, graphic works and letters. It also includes a detailed biography of this master painter, news about exhibitions, plays and movies based on the painter’s life, and news about controversies involving fakes.
Another plus for the site is that it is multi-lingual - you can also access it in Spanish and Italian besides English.
http://www.digitalartsource.com/index2.htm
If you are looking for information on any form of digital art, cinema, games, art theory, photographs, markets, products, networks or collections, this is the one site that should be on your must-visit list.
Digital Art Source is a complete guide to digital art online. It has sixteen segments - all related to some form of digital art. It has an interesting segment called “Pop” where you should find links for sites where digital art meets popular culture. For the computer game buffs, there is a list of interesting sites that provide digital games. And just in case you’re a budding artist, you could navigate your way through the Market section to purchase the software required to build a digital art site.
The site is very well laid-out and when this medium truly catches on, it could easily become the Yellow Pages of the Web for digital art.
http://www.joecartoon.com/
Digital art is not restricted to photography, art and painting alone. It also includes several other genres such as filmmaking, sound and cartoons…which is how this site finds its way into this list.
Joe Cartoon.com provides instant comic relief to Net users. There are lots of funny downloads, comics, greeting cards and jokes for Net users. Do not miss the flaming fart section - after cybersex and cyberworship, you can now eat and fart in cyber space! For all those of you who are real sadists, check out the ‘Classic Joe’ section - these are simply irresistible!
And just in case you don’t want to visit the site every week, just leave your e-mail address with them, and you’ll have stuff delivered to your inbox. The site promises you loads of free stuff and it definitely provides a lot of free-spirited laughter.
http://www.digitalari.com/
And finally, a different look at art. The site features works of contemporary photographers. The site basically explores art through the medium of (digital) photography.
If you thought that the digital camera has outdated the old photography techniques, think again. In one of its many interesting sections, the artists have showcased a gallery of photographs using the pinhole camera technique.
A site dedicated to modernism, it features galleries dedicated to urban spaces, dreams and landscapes, and provides collaboration facilities like the mailing list and discussion forums. For any person who’s ever held a camera, and especially for all the digi-photographers out there, this site is definitely worth a visit.
And that’s about it for this time. Till next time…stay healthy!
This article was first published on 14 Feb 2001.