For your research, you will be finding out about and artist by looking at art and at different kinds of sources about art:
All three kinds of sources willl give you ideas and information that can help you make your own interpretation and analysis. For some artists, a lot of information will be available, and your job will be deciding which information is most worthwhile. Other artists may be emerging or relatively neglected. In that case, you may have to try different angles.
No matter whether your artist is famous or obscure, librarians are happy to help.
Books are shelved in general subject categories using the Library of Congress classification system. You may want to supplement your use of the catalog with browsing shelf areas for your topic. Below is a brief listing of some of the subject locations in the fields of Art & Art History.
-The main art section, N, is on the upper level.
-Many art books are larger than our shelves typically can hold, so are kept in the Oversized section. This set of shelves is located in the southwest corner of the upper level.
-Browse the Reference Section on the Main Floor for a large collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and guide books on many subjects of art and art history.
In this course, you will be using information found online and in the library as you anayze works of art and how we respond to them. This guide will show you some strategies for finding factual information about artists, their works, and their world, documents from the time period that shed light on the attitudes people had when the work was new, and interpretations that step back and consider how that particular work of art fits into the wider world of art.
photo by See-ming Lee
On the main floor, specialized encyclopedias and handbooks are kept in a section of shelves along the Beck Hall side. The art section may be helpful for getting basice information about artistis and the world they lived in. The most complete encyclopedia for art is listed below, but you may find other books in this part of the reference collection useful.
Reference librarians can also point you to reference books on related subjects such as history, religion, or other cultural aspects of your artwork.
Both Amazon and Google Books index the contents of some books. If you identify a book you want to borrow, use the "find in a library" link found in Google Books.
Research Help:
