John G. Blog# 4: !Del Corazon! Latino Voices in American Art

!Del Corazon! Latino Voices in American Art was originally a website created in 1996 to feature the works of Latino Artists. It has since been converted into a digital collection for the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM).

Collection Principles

According to the information in the "About" page, the collection was converted to continue to feature the work Latino artists and to show their relevance and importance in the history of American culture. It was also converted because the website became outdated. There are 12 works of art in this digital collection with links to other artworks and art collections in the Smithsonian by these and other Latino artists. There is a brief artist biography and narrative about each piece of artwork that provides helpful information for visitors. The collection also provides photographs, videos, and other resources to showcase the works of these artists and to connect Latino art to the history of American culture. The six Latino artists that are featured are: Maria Castagliola, Pepon Osorio, Carmen Lomas Garza, Agueda Martinez, Maria Brito, and Patssi Valdez.

Object Characteristics

Each digital image allows visitors to zoom, move, download and 8.5 x 11 poster. The site uses Adobe Flash Player 9. Each artwork is described using helpful bibliographical information. Digital representations of a wide variety of artwork is included in this collection/exhibit including: oil paintings, photographs, models, and sculptures.

Metadata

The site provides viewers with bibliographical information including: date created, artist, size, media type, and Smithsonian call/ID number. There is also some interactive information included to help non-professionals. For example, Our Lady of Guadalupe by Pedro Antonio Fresquis (ca. 1780 - 1830), specific information about the painting under "Things to Look for" like the crescent moon held up by the angel.

Intended Audience

The intended audience is anyone who is interested in Latino art. I liked that there was useful information for public viewers and that it wasn't exclusively intended for Academia. I also liked the fact that most of the website or collection resources were both in English and Spanish. I enjoyed learning about the artists and the creative processes that they go through to create their art. As an Educator I also appreciated the Curriculum resources including the lesson plans and resources in PDF files that were provided.