collective - the interactive culture magazine

Collective is an "interactive culture magazine" produced online by the BBC. It has sections on art, music, games, books, and "more culture". Articles appear in all of these sections and most have comments by members - indeed, the articles may be written by members. Members may also start and contribute to conversations, submit art for display, etc.

What I like about the site is that, in addition to the above added value, the section on art, for instance, has a long list of articles about artists, exhibits, reviews, and whatever. Some (most? all?) of the entries have links to even more websites about the artist.

One of the artists I saw listed was Banksy. I had heard of him, of course, but had never really seen much of his art. One of the links from the collective art review entry is to Banksy's own website, and his art is well-displayed there.

[Sadly, collective closed in the spring of 2008, although the content is still available as of May 30]

Zed - CBC Television

Evidently this television show was cancelled after the fourth season. The CBC, bless them, have left the website up. You can watch videos by clicking on a link and browsing through the selections. There is also music and still content. You can search for specific content or browse through episodes (the 'Real' and 'Candid' buttons).

[June 27/07 - The Zed site is supposed to be online. I received an email on June 25 that said it "will remain online for the foreseeable future", but the URL provided was incorrect and the link above isn't working. It may be just temporarily unavailable. In the meantime, CBC has a new program along similar lines, due to begin on July 29. There are already videos there to be seen and voted on. Check out Exposure until Zed reappears, which it seems to have done by July 4.]

What was great about the show is that most, if not all, of the content was viewer-created and submitted. I guess in a way Zed has been superceded by YouTube but this show, and the website, was an original CBC concept at the time.

The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago

This site at the Brooklyn Museum is so rich in content that it would probably take days to explore the whole thing. As a resource for information about women's place in history, the search functions within the 'Place Settings' and 'Heritage Floor' sections are invaluable as is the Feminist Art Base, which is not part of this exhibit. The exhibit itself has images and information about most aspects of the artwork (and more). Some of the images within the 'Place Settings' section can be magnified, especially the table runners, making it easier to see the stitches and details. There are also audio files by the artist.

"The Dinner Party" was, and is, one of those works of art which become something more. I first saw the exhibit in Calgary, Alberta, around 1980. At the time I was with a group of women who had travelled by bus from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I remember walking into the room where the tables were set, but I wish now I had spent more time experiencing the work. This site, and the book that I have "Embroidering Our Heritage: The Dinner Party Needlework" by Judy Chicago enhances and extends that experience. The book, like the site, provides detailed information, and very good illustrations and photographs of the needlework and ceramics which make up the exhibit. Search the WorldCat link to the right for a library near you that has a copy to borrow.

"The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art [at the Brooklyn Museum] is an exhibition and education facility dedicated to feminist art—its past, present, and future." In this website, it has taken this dedication seriously and provided a resource which actually is useful and detailed. There is so much to see and experience that it is well worth the time it takes to fully explore it.

Bert Teunissen - Portraits at the kitchen table

All of the portraits on this photographer's personal page aren't of people sitting at their kitchen table, but many of them are. Under the "Domestic Landscapes' tab, there are pictures from nine countries. Since the setting is very similar in each photograph- people seated, facing the camera, in their homes - the emphasis, to me, is that people are the same the world over. There are many differences, of course, but each person looks directly at the camera, seeming to say "Here I am. This is my place'.

Under the 'Info/Links' tab, which should have headings rather than a run-on page, in my opinion, there are copies of reviews of the exhibit. Included is the review from the New York Times where I first found out about "Domestic Landscapes'. Unusual for the NYT reviews, there was a link to the artist's website, which is how I found the information for this blog post. The review is accompanied by a good slide show, so if you have access, have a look.

Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings

Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings, a special exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, shows drawings by Van Gogh. The website has 10 or 12 of the 113 works in the show. Viewing the images and a slide show provide a slightly different set of drawings and a few paintings. A neat extra touch is introduced through a reading by Kevin Bacon of letters from Vincent to his brother Theo - you can either download the file or listen to it on RealPlayer.

Although there is no text accompanying the art works shown, there is a good essay about Van Gogh and his drawings under the 'Learn More ...' link.

For more on Vincent Van Gogh, see the Van Gogh Museum. There's a dropdown menu near the top of the page. I found that the links under 'Vincent Van Gogh' and 'Permanent Collection' under 'The Museum' to be the most likely to lead to information about the artist and reproductions of his art works.