This digital collection exhibition commemorates the 50th anniversary of the College Womens' Association of Japan (CWAJ) Print Show. This collection is part of the Library of Congress. This is another exhibition that is not a good example of what a thorough digital collection should look like. Although the art in the exhibit is lovely, the Library of Congress did not really put a lot of effort into providing detailed metadata for the objects in the collection.
Collection Principles
The CWAJ has become an internationally-renowned showcase for contemporary Japanese print art, known as hanga. In 2005, its fiftieth year, CWAJ received more than 800 prints for selection. From these, an international jury selected 221 outstanding examples, 212 of which were donated to the Library and are mounted in this exhibition. The prints represent a rich spectrum of styles and subjects, carrying forward many hanga traditions while embracing new cutting edge works by both master and emerging artists. This important acquisition brings a fresh infusion of visual art to the Library, updating its superb collection of Japanese prints from the Edo Period to the 21th century, as well as its extensive holdings of contemporary artist’s prints from around the world.
Object Characteristics
A wide variety of objects are included in this digital collection. Among the items are: woodblocks, etchings, silkscreens, lithographs, mezzotints, and sketchings. These 212 items were donated by the artists to the Library of Congress. Unfortunately, there is no "zoom" feature. When you click on a thumbnail of the items, only a full view picture is shown. Users are not able to take a very detailed and upclose view of the items. The website does offer an "object list" but you can't select the items for a full view from this page. Because users are unable to select a full view from this screen, the "object list" is not as useful.
Metadata
Although this exhibition is sponsored by the Library of Congress, there isn't much metadata associated with the objects in the collection. The only information provided is the title, artist, year, process, and size. The information included in the "about" section of the webpage takes you to the Library of Congress home page and describes the overall objectives for including metadata in their exhibitions. I think that because this exhibition was shown in 2005, the information included in the exhibition is not as thorough as it would be if it were shown today.
Intended Audience
The intended audience for this exhibition are scholars, art enthusiasts, and members of the CWAJ. I was drawn to this collection because I am fascinated by Japanese and Asian art.
No comments:
Post a Comment