Another example of art of academic computers

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

From: kadie () cs uiuc edu (Carl M Kadie)
Subject: Another example of art of academic computers
Date: 30 Oct 93 13:44:16 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL


What legitimate reason could there be for ever having pictures of
naked folks in an academic computer or on an academic computer screen?
One answer is that schools are beginning to create and display art via
computers. Here is a press release from the U. of Virginia. (The
release doesn't say if this collection includes any nudes.)
- Carl


======================
93-10-29 Digital Images Dazzle Undergrad Art Students


REPORTERS:  You can see spectacular digitized images of African art
and learn how U.Va.'s Digital Image Study Project is opening new
vistas in art instruction at an Open House in Fiske Kimball Fine
Arts Library on Friday, Nov. 5 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  To arrange a
private demonstration, call Christie Stephenson at (804) 924-6607
or Judy Thomas at (804) 924-3678.  Other contacts are listed below.


DIGITAL IMAGES DAZZLE UNDERGRAD ART STUDENTS
     CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 29 -- This fall, University of
Virginia undergraduates in an African art survey course can study
nearly 600 high-quality color and black and white images with just
a click of a computer mouse at the new Digital Image Center.
     Judith Wilson, who teaches the course, says, "the digital
image center allows my students to see after class the images I've
shown as slides during lecture.  Students can review what they've
seen, can use the computer to compare images, and can better
prepare for exams in which they are asked to identify images."
     "The quality of the digitized images is astonishing--in some
cases, the center staff have actually corrected the color of my
slides and have given students a better image than what they see in
class," adds Wilson, who has taught art history at the University
for the past three years.  She points out that the computer system
improves on traditional review methods, which require posting
prints in scarce gallery space.
     The computerized digital image facilities now available at
U.Va. are "probably unique among Virginia universities," says
Christie Stephenson, a center coordinator.  Only Duke University
and the University of California at Berkeley have similar ones, she
adds.
     At the center, students use Macintosh computers to browse
through high-resolution images of people and their costumes, body
adornments and jewelry, as well as the sculpture, architecture,
textiles, and other art work of many African cultural groups.
Students can search the entire database to select images with a
certain characteristic.  They may read identifying notes about an
object's origin or date, compare images, and then hide the
identification information to test themselves.
     "Our team is making digital images available to undergraduates
because we believe this will improve their ability to think about
visual information.  We also think it will open new avenues for
undergraduate scholarly research in art history and encourage
greater creativity among students," Stephenson said.
     The center's long-range goal is to build a digital image
archive to support research and teaching in other humanities
courses.  Eventually, students and faculty will have access to
digital images from their dorm rooms, offices and classrooms, as
well as from computer workstations in the libraries.
     Students and faculty will be able to 'paste' images into
electronic mail messages, 'down load' images into papers and
scholarly articles, build databases of images with personal
annotations, and display digital images rather than slides in
lectures, Stephenson said.
     ThumbsUp, software for image database application developed by
Graphic Detail, Inc., is used by the center.  The project is
supported by equipment donation from Apple Computer, Inc., as well
as by private donors, a computing support grant program in the
U.Va. provost's office, and the University's Information,
Technology and Communication group.
                               ###
                                                 October 28, 1993
     REPORTERS AND EDITORS:  For more information on the
undergraduate course, call the U.Va. art department at (804) 924-
6122.  The new digital image center is at (804) 924-6607.


Karen Castle, Office Services Specialist, University News Office
P.O. Box 9018, Booker House, Charlottesville, VA  22906
(804) 924-7116, kac () virginia edu


[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac () uva pcmail virginia edu)
               Fri, 29 Oct 93 10:53:28 EDT]