Content & Context
Things to consider:
- Can the artwork be categorized within a known genre?
- Can you identify recognizable objects, places, or scenes?
- Are there people depicted, and what can we infer about them?
- Does the artwork tell a story or convey an action?
- Do key objects or images hold symbolic meaning or contribute to deeper themes?
- Can you find out when, where, and why the artwork was made and what it was meant for? How did these factors shape its creation?
- Where was it made, and how does this affect the artwork? Was it originally placed somewhere else?
- What events or environments influenced the work? How did they impact it?
- Does the artwork reflect a certain style, movement, or era? Has it been influenced by trends or ideologies?
- Can you compare it to other artworks or relate it to different fields?
- What biographical details about the artist are relevant?
- Is this piece part of a larger collection, and does it represent the artist's typical style?
Biographical Databases
- Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
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This database contains contextual biographical entries on contemporary and historical figures. It offers authoritative reference content alongside, videos, audio selections, images, primary sources, and magazine and journal articles. Users can search for people based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as by keyword and full text.
- Getty Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)ULAN, published by the Getty Research Institute, is a structured vocabulary that contains over 250,000 names and other information about artists. Coverage is from Antiquity to the present, and the geographical scope is global. The scope includes any individual or corporate body involved in the design or creation of art and architecture. The focus of each record is the artist. Linked to each record are names, relationships (including student-teacher relationships), locations (for birth, death, and activity), important dates (such as for birth and death), notes, and sources for the data. Names for any artist can include the vernacular, English, other languages, natural order, inverted order, nicknames, and pseudonyms. The database is updated monthly. ULAN typically has more variant names and better biographical information than the Library of Congress Name Authority File.
- The Virtual International Authority File (VIAF)The VIAF combines multiple name authority files into a single OCLC-hosted name authority service.
Biographical Reference Materials
The Dictionary of Art by Call Number: Reference: N31 .D5 1996ISBN: 9781884446009Publication Date: 2003
The Yale Dictionary of Art and Artists by Call Number: Reference: N33 .L353 2000ISBN: 0300087020Publication Date: 2000
Historical Databases
- Gale In Context: World History This link opens in a new window
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Provides contextual information on the great cultures and societies that have formed the history of the human race. Content includes rare primary sources, reliable reference, and multi-media. Cross-searchable with Gale In Context: U.S. History. - America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new windowComprehensive access to literature on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Covers 1,600 academic journals, 270 magazines, dissertations and more, published from 1863 to the present.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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An archive of more than 4,600 scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences from nearly 1,200 publishers. Thanks to both the Murphy Library Endowment Fund and UWL Student Differential Tuition for providing access to the JSTOR Arts & Sciences XV collection. - Gale OneFile: Fine Arts This link opens in a new window
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This resource covers drama, music, art history, and filmmaking, with full text of over 250 journals indexed in databases such as the Wilson Art Index and Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM).
Content & Context Reference Materials
Seas and Waterways of the World [2 Volumes] by Call Number: Reference: HE381 .S43 2010ISBN: 9781851097111Publication Date: 2009
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions by Call Number: Reference: PN43 .W384 1999ISBN: 0877796289Publication Date: 1999
The Hutchinson Dictionary of Symbols in Art by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1280731486Publication Date: 2007
Reviews & Notices
- US Newsstream (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowU.S. news content from nearly 1,400 sources including newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites from the 1980s to the present. U.S. Major Dailies featured: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune. Local/regional newspapers include: Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), Capital Times (Madison), Star Tribune. Also: Christian Science Monitor, ProPublica, USA Today
- Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCO) @ EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window500+ U.S. newspapers including USA Today, The Washington Post, Star Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), Capital Times (Madison), Post-Bulletin (Rochester); 600+ international newspapers; news transcripts from ABC News (American), CBC (Canadian), CBS News, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, PBS; Real-Time News from AP, CNN, PR Newswire, UPI
