Thursday, July 19, 2007

Writing an Artist Statement

Do you have any sources to help with writing an artist statement?

This pdf on Artist's Statements shows ways to search for artist's interviews and statements in the RISD catalog and includes a list of reference books such as, Twentieth-century artists on art : an index to writings, statements, and interviews by artists, architects, and designers.

RISD Library has many artist interviews on video and dvd which may provide an inspired starting point. Here are a few suggestions: Four Artists, Art 21, New Histories, Point of View: an anthology of the moving image.

RISD Library has eight individual vhs/dvd viewing stations as well as two classrooms and the beanbag room for watching videos in the library.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

New Media/Digital Media Periodicals

What periodicals does RISD library subscribe to which cover New or Digital Media?

These periodical titles link to RISD Library holdings:
Afterimage, Art Papers, Aspect, Cabinet, Contemporary, Creative Review, CyberArts, Discourse, Flash Art, Frieze, Grey Room, Katalog, Leonardo, October, PAJ: Performance & Art, Parachute, Parkett, Technoetic Arts, Third Text, Tema Celeste, Wired, Zapp Magazine

Rotterdam Bridge

I am working on a project for a class, and I need to find out more about the Rotterdam Bridge Competition.

It was difficult to find any information about this competition, but there was information about Rotterdam's bridges.

A search in Art Full Text / Art Retrospective, using the keywords "Rotterdam" and "Bridge" yielded several results.

FirstSearch also had some results.

In addition, there is some information about Rotterdam architecture that can be found in the library.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Book binding 101

I am looking for a book on basic book binding, specifically, a "Jacob's Ladder" book, and am not sure where to go.

There are several sources on this topic that might be helpful.

One source is "Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist & Turn: Books for Kids to Make" by Gwen Diehn. There is an adaptation of Diehn's Jacob's Ladder book by a teacher, Helen A. Thompson. Other books that Gwen Diehn has authored, mostly on decorating books, are held in the library.

A second resource is The Essential Guide to Making Handmade Books by Gabrielle Fox.

A third book is Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden.

Japanese Teahouses in the U.S.

I am researching Japanese teahouses that were built in Rhode Island - I read a column in the New Yorker by Lewis Mumford (10/2/1954) that discusses the 1954 Japanese House at MoMA, and he mentioned that some American missionaries, upon returning to the United States, built these Japanese-style houses in the late 19th C. Can you help me find more information about this?

The only additional resource that could be found is a reference to a Chinese teahouse built on the estate of a society woman, Alva Belmont, in Newport, RI.

The Newport Historical Society may have additional information about teahouses as well.

Lee Gatch

A public patron is researching the painter Lee Gatch.

The Maryland Art Source contains a short biography of Gatch and lists some resources.

The library has two books about Lee Gatch.

Articles can be found in Art Full Text / Art Retrospective.

Carl Van Vechten

A student needed to find information in books and journals about the photographer Carl Van Vechten. The RISD Library has quite a few results, including the following books:

The passionate observer : photographs by Carl Van Vechten / by Keith F. Davis

Generations in Black and white : photographs / by Carl Van Vechten from the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection ; edited by Rudolph P. Byrd

Portraits, the photography of Carl Van Vechten / compiled by Saul Mauriber

A search for articles found several sources in FirstSearch, by typing in "Carl Von Vechten" in the keyword field.

In addition, there is a selected bibliography by the Library of Congress.

Video Artist from Chile

I am looking for information about Diamela Eltit, a writer and videographer from Chile.

Academic Search Premier had several sources, mostly about Eltit as an author.

FirstSearch lists many sources.

Eltit also appears in the Internet Movie Database and if you type her name in Google, you can find images of her.