Photography and privacy violations

There is something of a Rear Window quality to it all…    New York photographer Arne Svenson has his neighbors outraged.  His new show, at the Julie Saul Gallery in NYC, features photos of residents in the highrise across the street, but the photos were taken without their knowledge with a birdwatching telephoto lens.  Some of the people featured in the photos are threatening to sue, and as there are identifiable features in the photos they have may have a case.

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.

“Cities” the theme for 2013 ARTstor Travel Awards

Each year ARTstor sponsors travel awards that provide $1,500 in funds for recipients to visit and photograph a site.  All UCSB instructors, students, and  librarians are eligible, as UCSB is an ARTstor-subscribing institution.  Read the application rules here – deadline for entries is May 17.    Good luck!

UPDATE: ARTstor images now delivered via zip files

Last month we reported that ARTstor was working to eliminate the need for Java to download single images from the Digital Library. This went into effect yesterday.  This change has advantages (no longer the need for seemingly-endless Java updates) and disadvantages (an extra step with your downloads and knowing how to unzip the file).  Visit ARTstor’s announcement for more information and recommendations or download the step-by-step guide (pdf).

ARTstor downloading change pending

ARTstor announced today that it will be eliminating the need for Java for image downloading, effective “in the near future”.  Instead, individual image downloads will come packaged in a zip file with the HTML text file.  The full announcement is here.  We will post an update on exactly when this will take effect, and provide the new downloading steps, so watch this space.

Test your knowledge: NASA or MOMA?

The Atlantic has posted 20 photos, some of paintings in the Museum of Modern Art, NY, and some taken from the International Space Station by photographer Chris Hadfield.  See if you can figure out which is which (the answers are at the bottom).

LA Public Library strikes it rich with map collection

A real estate  agent with a sharp eye has saved a treasure trove of maps from a Los Angeles home set for demolition.  As reported in the LA Times today, the agent was tasked with clearing out the house so it could be torn down, and came upon thousand and thousands of maps.  The occupant, who died in February, had been quietly collecting maps for many years and stashing them in every nook and cranny.   They included every kind of map of the LA region going back many decades, several copies of the Thomas Guide first edition, as well as a 1592 map of Europe.  The Library staff say this windfall will bring their map collection into the calibre of the top five in the country, including the Library of Congress.

ARTstor to add thousands of works by contemporary artists

Good news: ARTstor announced a new Online Art Agreement (OLA) has been signed with Artists Rights Society (ARS) on behalf of six international affiliates. This will translate into the addition of more than 10,000 modern and contemporary artists from Australia, Canada, Austria, Finland, Mexico and Brazil. No word yet on when this will happen, so stay tuned!

ARTstor mobile for Android, iPhone and iPad

You can now access the entire ARTstor library of over 1.4 million images anywhere you get internet service through your Apple or Android mobile device.Which means you can use that time in the supermarket line much more productively.

via the ARTstor blog

The Getty Research Portal has launched

Finally!  After much anticipation, the Getty Research Portal, developed by the Getty Research Institute, is available.  It contains links to over 20,000 art history titles, from the Getty and eight other institutions, with plans to keep on growing.    And, it’s endorsed by our own Prof. Ann Jensen Adams!

Now in ARTstor: Major works from Guggenheim’s permanent collection

ARTstor announced an addition of more than 750 images from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s permanent collections in New York, Bilbao, Venice, and Berlin. This is the first installment of a projected 7,000 total images from the Guggenheim Foundation, which will include not only works of art but also 5,000 installation views from the 1990s to the present from the Guggenheim Museum in New York.