Katie R: Artists of Brucke, blog 3

Artists of Brucke: Themes in German Expressionist Prints

The Museum of Modern Art created an online exhibition of their German Expressionist prints called Artists of Brucke.

Collection Principles:
This digital exhibit highlights the MoMA's collection of German Expressionist graphic art, organized into themes of Retreat, Christian Motifs, Cabaret, Nudes, and four others. The 120 works displayed in the exhibit are all prints by the main artists of the Brucke, or Bridge, movement in the early 20th Century. Because this exhibit is from the MoMA, has central themes, critical commentary, and extensive credits I would assume that the project was heavily curated and planned in detail.

Object Characteristics:
This exhibit was created in Flash not html, which presents several problems in terms of navigating and viewing the images. New smaller windows are always popping up when the user wants to know about chronology, credits, or a list of the artworks. When the user wants to view an image in detail, a "Return" button is the only way back to the previous page since there is no navigation bar. Users (such a me) might be tempted to close out of the new window, since other information creates a new box. This will close out the whole exhibit. The prints themselves are only presented in Flash, making any copying of the MoMA's images impossible. This seems a little overprotective, since the population who is interested in making a rough woodcut of a naked dancer might be rather small. The website also has a voice-over, as an exhibition guide, that is relatively surprising when he first talks. This audio portion takes time to load, as does the Flash.

Metadata:
The information included with each image is detailed, and includes the basics (title, artist, year, size) as well as the edition number and publisher/printer. Also prominently displayed is the copyright information. All these details make searching interesting, as the curaters have enabled a page of the site to be a visual experience, with thumbnails of all the prints highlighted when certain artists or mediums are chosen. Scrolling over an image annoyingly enlarges it when perhaps you didn't intend to click on that one. The images must be tagged behind the scenes in order to be searched by themes.

Intended Audience:
This site can only be viewed by users at a computer with a Flash plug-in. In order to hear the voice-over information, one cannot be at a public computer without headphones. The images are very nicely digitized, and the information included is brief but concise. This exhibit could excite a student about the artistic movement or be enough to satisfy a websurfer. The MoMA probably uses this exhibit as an example of their commitment to outreach.