Databases are a collection of data that have been organized and made searchable. Our library databases contain scholarly and non-scholarly journal articles, films, magazines, primary and secondary sources, and other useful research material. These databases can be found on our Databases and E-Resources page. They can be searched through alphabetically or by subject.
Art and General Research Databases to start with:
Recommended Databases and Websites for General Terms in Modern Art by Dr. Rottner
These databases are free online content that are great for better understanding general terminology about modern art.
Art History - Khan Academy - Goes over the basics of art history.
The Art Story - "The Art Story Foundation’s vision is a world where the ideas behind wondrous works of art are accessible to anyone who wants to explore them, rather than just art professionals and academics. We streamline and organize information about artists, movements, and ideas, and present it using sophisticated, user friendly graphical tools. The resources of The Art Story Foundation are available on every computer and mobile device to anyone, completely free of charge," (Vision and Approach),
Google Arts & Culture - "Google Arts & Culture is a non-profit initiative. We work with cultural institutions and artists around the world. Together, our mission is to preserve and bring the world’s art and culture online so it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere," (About Us). It's really great for finding primary sources and will link you back to museum websites.
Google Scholar - "Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research," (Google Scholar - About).
Smarthistory.org - A trusted online resource on art history, with articles and videos created by art history scholars on different cultures and periods (some have more content than others). References for your own further reading and research are always provided.
The following websites and databases were recommended by Dr. Rottner.
ADA: Archive of Digital Art - A database of virtual art.
Ars Electronica Festival - "Browse through 40 years of Ars Electronica. Reviewing the history of the festival is a highlight-filled rewind of the Digital Revolution! Or check out the Online Archive of Ars Electronica."
The CACHe Project Archive - "The CACHe Project is an archive of pioneering British computer art"
Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe - "It is a house of all media and genres, a house of both spatial arts such as painting, photography and sculpture and time-based arts such as film, video, media art, music, dance, theater and performance. The ZKM was founded in 1989 with the mission of continuing the classical arts into the digital age. This is why it is sometimes called the »electronic or digital Bauhaus« – an expression that is traced back to the founding director Heinrich Klotz," (About the ZKM).
compArt daDA: the database Digital Art - A database of early computer art. "The compArt database Digital Art (daDA) is a growing repository on digital art. It currently focusses on five top categories: people (in their roles as artists, authors, gallerists, etc.), works, events, publications, and institutions. We use the slightly problematic term “digital art” in a broad sense. More or less like: in order to be included, an entity of the data base must have its roots in operations by digital computers; or reflect on such entities, or be otherwise related to them. But we allow for some sloppiness: we also insert entities of historic relevance to digital art,"(Main About).
Compute Fine Arts, 1997-2007 - A netart collection and archive. This is also indexed but not linked in the Rose Goldsen Archive.
Media Art Net - Provides primary art projects and secondary descriptions of media art.
Rhizome Artbase - A curated archive. "Rhizome champions born-digital art and culture through commissions, exhibitions, digital preservation, and software development. Founded by artist Mark Tribe as a listserve including some of the first artists to work online, Rhizome has played an integral role in the history of contemporary art engaged with digital technologies and the internet. Since 2003, Rhizome has been an affiliate in residence at the New Museum in New York City," (About).
Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art, Cornell University/Internet Art - "Specializing in access to art created for the internet, the Goldsen Archive maintains a combination of online and off-line access to a number of collections of internet art."
Tate Gallery - "Learn about the lives of artists and the stories behind their work."
Tate Intermedia Project - Presents primary sources of intermedia art.
UbuWeb - Provides access to avant-garde material.
