ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART, THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM; GREAT PAINTINGS: RENAISSANCE TOIMPRESSIONISM: THE FRICK COLLECTION; MASTERWORKS OF JAPANESE PAINTING: THEETSUKO AND JOE PRICE COLLECTIONReview by: Trudy JacobyArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 14, No. 1(Spring 1995), pp. 37-38Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948720 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 21:18

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

The University of Chicago Press and Art Libraries Society of North America are collaborating with JSTOR todigitize, preserve and extend access to Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmerica.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.34 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 21:18:40 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Art Documentation, Spring 1995 37

by DAVACO) using this classification system. For anyone unfa miliar with ICON CLASS, his explanation is straightforward and he provides citations for agencies and publications using this sys tem, as well as for projects and publications planned for the near future.

This small book, a quick read, will be of use to different people for a variety of reasons. The explanations should help introduce students, advanced undergraduates as well as graduates, to the

depth and intricacy of iconographie study and analysis. The an notated bibliographies at the conclusion of each chapter have been

updated to include the most recently published titles as well as the seminal works on a topic and will assist art librarians to assess

their collections as well as to assist users. Visual resources cura

tors, whether presently using ICONCLASS or not, will find that section of interest as well as of potential use.

The hardcover book is sturdy and should withstand heavy use. Black-and-white illustrations throughout are no better than

adequate for the detail the user is expected to read in them and are less acceptable in the softcover edition. While the price for this slim volume seems a bit steep?as is true for most of the titles from this publisher?the content makes it an important purchase for any library serving undergraduate and/or graduate studies in art history. Although the text is easy to understand, it will be of less interest to most general users of public libraries.

Beryl K. Smith Rutgers University

COLLECTIONS ON PARADE

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART, THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM / Digi tal Collections, Inc.?(Berkeley, CA: Digital Collections, Inc., 1994)?1 CD-ROM (Macintosh or Windows): $195.00 (network options available).

GREAT PAINTINGS: RENAISSANCE TO IMPRESSIONISM: THE FRICK COLLECTION / Digital Collections, Inc.?(Berke ley, CA: Digital Collections, Inc., 1994)?1 CD-ROM (Macintosh or Windows): $195.00 (network options available).

MASTERWORKS OF JAPANESE PAINTING: THE ETSUKO AND JOE PRICE COLLECTION / Digital Collections, Inc.?(Ber keley, CA: Digital Collections, Inc., 1994)?1 CD-ROM (Macintosh or Windows): $195.00 (network options available).

System requirements for all titles: Macintosh: 8MB RAM, 24-bit graphics card, CD-ROM drive, System 6.05 or higher with 32-bit Quickdraw or System 7.0 or later; IBM: 8 MB RAM, Microsoft Win dows 3.1,256 Color S-VGA Minimum, 24-bit graphics card, CD-ROM drive.

As more people become familiar with digital technology, it is interesting to watch the responses of those who are looking at some of the high-quality products available for the first time. The first response from most viewers, art historians, reference librar

ians, visual resources professionals, or students is normally "wow!"

Three of these fine products, listed above, are the products of DCI, Digital Collections Inc., a company spun off (their phrasing) from their predecessor AXS, to further develop the work that AXS had started on imaging software for the fine arts. The company has been concentrating on developing software for museum collec

tions management and imaging applications. Some of DCI's de

velopment partners include the Brooklyn Museum, the Frick Col lection, the Harvard University Art Museums, the Robert

Mapplethorpe Foundation, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the California State Universities at Chico, Long Beach, and San Jose. The three CD-ROMs reviewed here are the first pub lications in what promises to be an exciting series of publications.

DCI refers to their publications on CD-ROM as "ImageBases."

They combine high-quality digitized images with associated text and data for the works of art. In some ways, these CD-ROMs, which are collection specific, are similar to a fine art book or the catalogue of a specific collection. The excellent quality of the im ages, the availability of details, and the search capability make this medium different from traditional print catalogues. Each CD-ROM includes digitized images of works of art and selected details of those works scanned from 8x10 inch transparencies. Details which are scanned from separate 8 10 transparencies allow the viewer

to see greater detail than would be possible if only the overall views of objects had been digitized. The digitized images have been color corrected by the collection staffs to ensure the greatest accuracy of reproduction. This involvement by each museum or

collection staff is evident in the quality of the image and the ac

companying data and text. Searchable data fields include artist, nationality, title, dates, and medium.

The Trick Collection Paintings CD-ROM includes 240 images, 138 paintings with 102 enlarged details, from the early Renais sance to the 19th century. Large images for closer study are also included. Ancient Egyptian Art, the Brooklyn Museum includes 195

images of 100 objects with details from the museum's outstanding collection of Egyptian Art. Also included is a collection of 24 se lected large images for closer study. The works included provide a

representative selection of media covering the Pre-Dynastic through Coptic periods. Masterworks of Japanese Painting: The Etsuko and Joe Price Collection makes images available from this large private collection of Edo period screens and scrolls; more than 1,100 im ages are included, covering 350 works and almost 800 details. The CD-ROM includes four collections: 882 images of masterworks and details arranged by school, 63 selected large images permit ting study in higher resolution, 442 images of selected screens and details, and 33 seals. The specialized section illustrating the seals is especially instructive as it includes descriptions, transla

tions, and uses.

The CD-ROMs are available for both Macintosh and Win dows platforms. This reviewer used the Macintosh versions. DCI staff indicate that although there are differences in the interfaces for the Macintosh and Windows versions, the functionality is the same, that is, they look and function in similar ways. Different commands are used for the different platforms, but once one plat form is learned it should be easy to use either. For a user most

familiar with the PC platform, this excursion into Mac territory was a good test of ease of use. The CD-ROMs can be networked using Image Access, another DCI product. Other networking op tions may become available.

These disks are quite easy to use. Each comes with a concise User's Guide included in the CD container. Directions are clear

and well written. There is also a new On-Disk Manual which ap

pears to be an updated version of the printed User's Guide. For

example, the User's Guide chapter 3 "Using your DCI ImageBase" is expanded in the On-Disk Manual into separate chapters on Ba sics, Selecting Records, Views, Full Images, and Seaching and Sort ing. A good feature is the glossary of Menu Commands. Installa

tion is very simple. QuickTime software needed for the Macintosh version comes on the CD-ROM and must be installed on the hard disk, but clear instructions are included and this must be done

only the first time. Installation consists of inserting the CD into the CD-ROM drive. The collection files may be copied to the hard drive to increase program speed. There is a simple on-line tutorial called Feature Tour. The Feature Tour menu describes various fea

tures of the software and then illustrates how to use them. Topics covered include the different display modes: light table, full im

age, tiling (the display of two to four images together for compari son), slide shows, information sheet, text list, and sorting and

searching functions. The display modes are well designed, provid ing both visual and textual access to the objects. Display of mul

tiple images in either a light table or tiled format is excellent. The information-sheet display includes a thumbnail of the image and data on the artist and the work of art. It is quite easy to navigate among the different displays.

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.34 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 21:18:40 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

38 Art Documentation, Spring 1995

Some features have been added or improved since the earliest release of these products. These include a new opening screen, the On-Disk Manual, and the Feature Tour. Masterworks ofJapa nese Paintings includes a short movie. In the future, releases should

be numbered, as is other software, in order to identify the version. Purchasers of the earlier versions may make arrangements with

DCI to receive the updated CD-ROM versions. DCI is planning at least two new releases for early 1995.

These CD-ROMs can be used by different audiences. At a list

price of $195.00 to $250.00 per title, in spite of the very high quality images, they will probably not be as widely purchased for the general home market as some other CD-ROMs have been (such as the inexpensive Art Gallery: The Collection of the National Gal lery [London] published by Microsoft). This might contribute to a decision to make them accessible in some larger public libraries that offer specialized art resources.

There will be much discussion concerning purchase and use of these products in various settings, including general or special ized art libraries facilities and visual resource collections. There is

already a body of literature, including articles and reviews, on digi tized products and their use in different collections. Publication and use of these products are being discussed not only in the pro fessional publications of art librarians and visual resources cura

tors (and by other art and art history professionals in museum and academic settings), but in the general press from Fortune maga zine to the New York Times. One factor in the proliferation of in formation is the entrance of major corporations into this market,

most notably Microsoft chairman Bill Gates's Continuum Produc tions. Readers may consult Art Documentation, volume 13, no.3

(Fall, 1994), and Visual Resources, volume 10, no. 1, for examples of discussion of imaging and CD-ROM technology and related is sues.

Possible locations for CD-ROM products will include library reference departments, visual resources collections, art and art

history departments, and computer facilities. Many academic in

stitutions will wish to provide access over campus networks. Dif

ferent institutions will come to their own decisions about the most

appropriate access. The best use within visual resources collec

tions will require access to the images from within a larger image database. In teaching, images are primarily used within an art his

torical context, not according to the location of a work of art. This could perhaps be resolved by revised licensing agreements. The

availability of these exceptional images and details, with reliable textual data, should make these CD-ROMS useful for reference

and research. They will also be useful in other subject fields. Use of multimedia possibilities may be considered. This technology will surely continue to be used in innovative ways that do not

duplicate the coverage of print products. However, this should not be taken as a recommendation to add needless "bells and

whistles" which do not contribute to the scholarly content. Purchase decisions will be related to curriculum, use of tech

nology, and budget of individual institutions. It is not simple to recommend that certain types of libraries purchase these prod ucts. In view of the importance of new technologies and the high quality of these publications, it would be recommended that insti tutions with adequate budget and appropriate hardware and an interest in any of the collections covered by these three CD-ROMS

would be wise to consider the purchase of at least one of these. A few problems should be resolved. Some of the functions

seem a little slow, particularly in the Feature Tour, but this may have been done on purpose, and many of the screens can be by passed to allow direct access to the Tour Menu. Direct access to

on-line help would be useful. These reservations aside, Digital Collections Inc. deserves praise both for the quality of the images provided and the access to them, including the data, interface, and attention to the needs of art historical study and research. The

high quality of the images and software may well become a stan dard to which other products will be compared.

Trudy Jacoby Trinity College

90S MANIFESTO

DAN FRIEDMAN: RADICAL MODERNISM / Dan Friedman -

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, November 1994.?223 p.: ill.?ISBN 0-300-05848-9; LC 93-21035: $65.00.

This aesthetic manifesto and vehicle for self-promotion, by internationally successful graphic designer Dan Friedman, stun

ningly confirms his touted reputation as a designer but raises ques tions about his theories. While few could disagree with his assess

ment and criticism of the contemporary art scene, fewer still could

adopt his prescription for addressing the decline of modernism. His proposals are so general and so dependent on his own ex

ample for fulfillment that they render "Radical Modernism" a one

person movement.

Friedman believes that art has become a victim of its com mercial success and is now dominated by a market-driven gallery/ museum system and a transnational corporate system (of which

he was once unapologetically a part?he designed the Citicorp logo) which produces either self-reflexively lifeless or shamelessly commercial art work. It has lost its idealism, its vision, its stirring extremism. It has become conformist. His answer to this predica

ment is a revitalized modernism, a "radical modernism" that pre serves its modernist aesthetic roots but meets the challenges posed to artistic expression by today's multilayered, information glutted,

media-fixated world.

Why does Friedman want to revive modernism? Because it strikes a balance between the universal and the particular, between

Utopian idealism and utilitarianism; because its spiritual dimen sion can lead artists to a more relevant, less commercial, less self

absorbed expression; and because its universalism can be a unify

ing influence in today's complex, fragmented, sensory environ

ment.

All well and good. Who could argue against balancing the universal with the particular, decommercializing the art scene,

infusing art with more spirit and principle, and unifying the dis

parate? But how is this to be realized; what will radical modern ism look like? The only examples Friedman offers are from his own body of work, which fuses design elements (furniture, screens, wall hangings, etc.) with painting and sculptural elements, the whole fitting comfortably into pop and assemblage traditions. Sometimes the elements stand alone, as in Mutant Chair (1985),

Bunny Screen (1984), Primordial Table (1986), The Wall (1985), and sometimes they are incorporated into larger constructs, like

his studio, which he regards as a continually evolving, work-in

progress?i.e., an unvirtual, virtual reality. But while most of it is whimsically eccentric and wackily in

ventive, its radical persona is hard to locate. The objects have a

familiar, post-Johns-Rauschenburg-Rosenquist-Samaras-Hudson Pfaff-et al. cast about them, combined with a glossy, chintzy, de

sign quality This may represent absorption of modernist and de

sign influences, but it doesn't suggest to the viewer a formula for a new direction.

A similar problem plagues his verbal message with its pleas for artistic integrity in a time of decay; this is a reformer's lament not a radical's battle cry. Yet it is as a reformer that Friedman makes his most sensible suggestions, especially in the area of art educa tion, where he would like to see art required of all students at all educational levels, and visual literacy used as the primary instruc tional tool. Some of the visual literacy proposals are described and

supported by illustrated examples, showing off Friedman's design expertise to best advantage.

Seventeen percent of the book is text, including three essays by colleagues Jeffrey Dietch, Steve Holt, and Alessandro Mendini, all of whom trumpet their friend's praise. The chapter headings are quintessentially Dan Friedman: Design and Culture, Metaphori cal Utopia, Visual Literacy, Theory and Typography, Reasonably

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.34 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 21:18:40 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions