Ars Gratia Aranea (Art For the Web's sake)

by Andrew S. DiMino

The Potential
Online museums can expose people from all around the world to their local art, artists, culture, history, exhibits, and special collections. Using a variety of interactive technologies, virtual exhibits can allow people to zoom in on a painting or a photograph to examine it in detail.

Photographs enhanced by virtual-reality can allow you to spin objects on a Web page to view them from all angles. Interactive discussion groups and chat rooms can allow you to discuss anything with other interested people or allow you to talk to artists and craftsmen in real time.

All of these scenarios can happen today on the World Wide Web with existing browsers and easy-to-install plug-ins.

The Reality
Thousands of local, regional, and nationally recognized museums with hundreds of thousands of interesting items are facing an economic climate not conducive to the arts. National, state, and local governments continually reduce the amount of funding spent on the arts. Budget cuts reduce the amount of resources available to explore interactive online opportunities.

Some lack the marketing savvy to bring in patrons from all generations. Some are unfamiliar with Internet technology. So instead of exploring the future, museums are mainly focused on staying afloat or maintaining the status quo.

Enter CAROL
The Culture and Arts of Rochester On Line (CAROL) is an active consortium of arts organizations pioneered by the Rochester Institute of Technology's Department of Information Technology (RIT/IT) and member regional arts and cultural organizations.

The CAROL web site (http://www.carol.org/) marks the beginning of a new level of collaboration between universities, cultural and arts organizations, computer professionals and hobbyists of Rochester. CAROL's goals are to bring the skills of information technologists in academia and industry to the aid of the arts, and to be the "home on the Internet" of common outreach, exhibition and logistical tools for arts and cultural organizations and their audiences.

The CAROL site was created by the students in the fall '96 quarter of RIT/IT's course "Topics in Interactive Multimedia" taught by assistant professor Stephen Jacobs (http://www.it.rit.edu/-sxj/). The course is part of the Advanced Certificate in Interactive Media Design and is usually taken as an elective by students in the Master of Science in Information Technology program. In addition, students from RIT's Graduate Programs in Computer Animation, Computer Science, Computer Graphics Design, Instructional Technology and Printing Technology have taken the course as an elective as well. The students worked with representatives of the institutions who participated in the initial work and will maintain the sites after the class sessions are over.

The work CAROL has done is a great start for a project that needs constant attention. The sites worked on by CAROL are well designed, visually pleasing, and help promote upcoming events and exhibits. Some even provide examples of items in their galleries. Unfortunately, some sites have not been updated since their inception and still list events from last summer. Some sites list their events and exhibits, but do not display enough pieces to fully grasp the importance of the collection. Only a few of the sites are allowing interaction between the user and the gallery or artist (except for e-mail).

Some of the museums and organizations associated with CAROL include:

Strong Museum
Strong Museum's world renowned collections and award-winning exhibitions tell the extraordinary story of everyday life in America since 1820. The museum also offers entertaining and engaging activities and programs for all ages year round - festivals, performances, family and children's events, talks, school programs, and more.

At The Strong Museum site, (http://www.isc.rit.edu/-strwww/) visitors can learn about current exhibits and collections or enter the "Just For Kids" section which includes interactive games and quizzes.

Genesee Country Museum
The Genesee Country Museum (http://www.carol.org/gcmwww/) was conceived and founded by John L. Wehle who, from its inception in 1966 until his death in 1994, served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

"Jack" Wehle, a lifetime collector of sporting art, perceived that another art form - the work of regional carpenters, master builders, and housewrights - was fast disappearing from the landscape and with it was vanishing an important aspect of the Genesee Valley heritage. He proposed a museum village of selected examples of nineteenth-century Genesee country architecture. The buildings would be showcases in which the art of the cabinetmaker, the weaver, the potter and other artisans would be displayed in appropriate cultural context.

Web visitors can explore the Village, the Gallery of Sporting Art, and the Nature Center.

George Eastman House
The George Eastman House (http://www.it.rit.edu/-gehouse/) combines the treasures of the world's leading museum of photography and film with the stately pleasures of the landmark 50-room Colonial Revival mansion George Eastman called home.

The collection contains millions of fascinating photographs, motion pictures, cameras, books, posters, and other items that capture the entire 150 year history of "living image" photography and film.

Writers & Books
Writers & Books,(http://www. carol.org/wbwww/), promotes interaction between writers and readers of all ages. They believe that writing and reading should be promoted as active lifelong pursuits.

Within the building, in addition to classroom, meeting and performance space, is gallery space for exhibitions of book art and other shows, and the A. Poulin Jr., library dedicated to housing works of contemporary literature. The site contains information on upcoming events, workshops, items in their Library, the Cell Gallery, and The Gell House writers' retreat.

Arts & Cultural Council
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester (http://www.carol.org/accwww/) is the community's local arts agency. Their mission is to develop, promote and strengthen the cultural industry for the benefit of the people of the Rochester region.

The Arts Council directly serves the cultural community, artists and cultural organizations, as well as the community at large. Visit the site to learn about their six-part Cultural Development Plan.

The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester is funded in part by the NYS Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, contributions from individuals and corporations, and memberships from artists & cultural organizations.

Visual Studies Workshop
The Visual Studies Workshop (http://www.carol.org/vswwww/), is a media arts center, and one of the oldest alternative arts organizations in the country. The Workshop serves artists as well as the public through its programs in exhibitions and traveling exhibitions, publishing, education and community outreach.

A Call to Mice
Additional work on CAROL begins this Spring, when Prof. Gordon Goodman (http://www.it.ritedu/-gig/) teaches the 'Topics in Interactive Multimedia" course. But CAROL needs your help.

The group needs volunteers who can help coordinate projects, keep information fresh and up to date, perform research, or work on the Web site. Those interested can contact Steve Jacobs at sxj@it.rit.edu or Sally Gaskill, Arts & Cultural Council, at 716.546.5602.

If you have your own personal Web site or know of any sites that would be of interest to other Lake Affect readers, send e-mail to andrew@dimino.com. I look forward to visiting your world and including them in my next column.

Andrew S. DiMino is the President and Founder of CarbSmart, Inc. , http://www.carbsmart.com, smart choices for a low carb lifestyle. You can reach Andrew by e-mail at andrew@dimino.com or visit his personal Web site at http://www.dimino.com.