General Interest
The web has facilitated the creation of a number of historical archives dealing with relatively recent events, including such notable efforts as those designed to preserve oral histories of September 11th. Another project of note is the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, developed and maintained by George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media and the University of New Orleans. With funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the project has collected first-hand accounts of these hurricanes, along with archives of blog postings, podcasts, and on-the scene visual documentation. From the homepage, visitors can browse an interactive map of images submitted to the archive and also add their own materials to the existing archive. One part of the site that should not be missed is the section that contains the personal stories submitted by those who experienced the effects of the hurricanes. All told, there are around 140 stories, some of which are just short reminisces, and others which offer greater detail. Overall, this is a fine site that could serve as a template for those persons or organizations seeking to create like-minded online projects. [KMG]
http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/sugimoto/
This Web exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Hirshhorn Museum features series of photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto, from 1976 to the present, the entire span of his career. The majority of the photographs are black and white, with the exception of the series Colors of Shadow, which reveals, in the artist's words, "sublime variety in shadow hues." Another series in the exhibition is Architecture, which are photographs showing Sugimoto's "erosion-testing" of exceptional examples of modern architecture, such as the Chrysler or Seagram Buildings. This is accomplished by photographing the buildings using a large-format camera, so that the images are blurred; only the best examples of architecture hold up. Also fascinating is the Portraits series, recreating 16th century portraits of Henry the 8th and his wives in black and white photography. Although the digital images of Sugimoto's photographs are not presented in a particularly high-tech way, they are still worth a look. Visitors can also listen to Hiroshi Sugimoto podcasts, including an exhibition tour and meet the artist events. [DS]
http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/librarylocations/sfhistory/sfphoto.htm
In the 1936 film, “San Francisco” Jeannette MacDonald sings the film’s title song, which of course includes the Gus Kahn-penned lyric “San Francisco, welcome me home again/I’m not at home to go roaming no more.” For those who might be pining for Baghdad by the Bay (or for images from the infamous earthquake in 1906), this online collection from the San Francisco Public Library will be most welcome. All told, the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection contains more than 250,000 photographs of San Francisco and California, although not all of these photographs are available online here. Visitors should begin their voyage through these images by using their search engine, which allows them to search by photographer, subject index, or by date. Perhaps the most novel way to search the images is to look through the photos by using an interactive map of the entire city. Here visitors can find photographs of the historic Moulin Rouge nightclub in the historic Barbary Coast area, or move on over to Sutro Heights over on the Pacific Ocean. For those who might be feeling a bit less adventurous, there are a number of thematic collections, including “Picture This: Family Photographs of Everyday San Francisco”. [KMG]
Based at New York University, the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics is a rather unique consortium of various institutions, artists, scholars, and activists dedicated “to exploring the relationship between expressive behavior and social and political life in the Americas”. Equally interesting is the Institute’s desire to move beyond a number of traditional disciplinary boundaries, such as “dance” and “theater”. With funding from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, the Institute has created this very helpful site, which contains archived performances, and other materials, such as images, audio interviews, course syllabi, and bibliographies. The archived interviews and performances are quite worthwhile, and they include discussions on “What is performance studies?” with various NYU professors and short performances by Anna Deavere Smith. Finally, it should be noted that many of the materials on the site are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. [KMG]
http://www.familycookbookproject.com/
Some families pass down cookbooks across generations, often giving them the same importance as a piece of heirloom jewelry or a well-worn piece of furniture. As with many things, the family cookbook can now be passed down electronically, and websites like this one can be of great help in this type of endeavor. When creating a family cookbook using this site, it requires a modest fee, but visitors are most welcome to search through recipes submitted by hundreds of families for their own use. Here you will find such gems as peanut butter cookies from the Wilhalm family, walnut-crusted stuffed chicken breasts from the Sheerin family, and spicy hush puppies from the Marley clan. Of course, epicureans should also feel free to use the helpful search engine here to look for recipes for everything from appetizers to tasty desserts. [KMG]
With a studio school and a children’s theater within its walls, the Arkansas Arts Center is certainly much more than just a rather fine art museum. Founded in 1961, the Center has expanded its mission to support a number of artistic endeavors within the broad range of visual and performing arts traditions. On the Center’s website, visitors can learn not only about visiting the museum itself, but also about its extensive holdings and its community outreach programs. In terms of their online content, “The Collection” section is definitely the place to start. Visitors can view selections from their various special collections, which include contemporary baskets and pottery, and then continue on by searching their online collection. Currently, this collection contains several thousand works, which range from works by Will Barnet to pieces by the Post-Impressionist Paul Signac. Visitors looking for specific works can search the collection by date, object field, or artist. [KMG]
