DVD ROM
The judges said:
Starting with its beautiful navigation design and art direction, no expense—or care—has been spared in the creation of this exquisite DVD-ROM about the life
and work of American artist Joseph Cornell. Cornell collector Robert Lehman commissioned this "dream project" about a reclusive artist whose box assemblages
have become synonymous with playful, miniature interactive dream theaters; the developers met his challenge and raised him one. The spirit of Cornell's artwork is
honored through the extraordinary fidelity of the imaging, the ability to see all sides of the boxes, and even virtually handle their components. Film clips of the
artist blended with various commentaries made for a deep understanding of his work. This was an utterly appropriate use of technology, and the DVD-Rom medium allows
for so much material that we felt we could play with this disc for days and days—and wanted to! Humans are by nature a curious race, and the Magical Worlds of
Joseph Cornell fulfills our basic human need to know what's inside the box—especially when the box is just a pointer to so many evocative mysteries beyond!
A tip from the producers:
Joseph Cornell was one of the most important American artists of the twentieth century. In his boxes and collages, he assembled a mixture of bits of popular culture,
classical art and literature, and obscure scientific texts and theories, creating compelling formal and playful, interactive private worlds. This technology allows
us to offer intimate, multidimensional views of the works, along with interviews with scholars and friends of Cornell, the artist's own films, source materials and
more. The DVD-ROM functions like a magnificently illustrated Joseph Cornell database, allowing the user to view and cross-reference the work by its themes and subject
matter and hear commentaries from Cornell experts. It also provides insights into Cornell's work through a timeline of his life, family photos, studio materials,
papers, books and music. It is the most complete compendium to date of the vast intellectual and artistic range of this fascinating artist.
The goal of this DVD-ROM project was to offer unprecedented access to Cornell's work, giving users the "next best thing" to handling the works themselves —
something clearly impossible in a museum. This intimate exploration also aims to give a unique insight into the artist's working materials and methods by extensive
cross-referencing between finished works, source materials, artistic themes, essays and interviews.
The combination of cross-referenced objects, hyperlinks, indexes and an intuitive interface allows the user to take an exploratory journey through the content. It
is also possible to navigate through the content in a more linear and narrative fashion, using the "Index" or other starting points on the home screen.
However, it is the exploratory nature of this DVD-ROM, and what that exploration reveals about the art and working methods of the artist, that makes this interactive
experience so compelling and unique.
The project took four years to complete, starting from a small prototype treatment of one of Cornell's works. Our approach had to be flexible in order to
accommodate the new assets and ideas that emerged during the project's development and production. An evolutionary design approach combined with user evaluation
sessions were key to keeping a growing body of content manageable, consistent and user-friendly.
The judges said:
Beautifully produced, rich in content, this web site elegantly captures the spirit of Buddhism while providing a wealth of information in an engaging,
steps-on-the-journey way. The designers' attention to detail, to sequence, to pause and to load times as essential parts of the experience create a mood of patient exploration rather
than throwaway haste trying to get somewhere other than the present screen. The site features an interactive game, a morphing map/timeline, an accessible html version
of its contents, and teacher resources, but what we appreciated most was a series of four custom-crafted photo-sound essays, each with its own distinctive look and
feel, guided journeys that break the mold of the main content on the site and provide viewers with a set of personalized perspectives on people and things Buddhist both
here and abroad.
A tip from the producers:
Visions of Enlightenment: Understanding the Art of Buddhism is both a Flash experience and accessible to those with text-only browsers and slower (or shall we say more
contemplative?) Internet connections. The site draws on the rich Buddhist art collections of the Pacific Asia Museum and offers informative content to multiple
audiences. The diversity and human relations questions addressed by Buddhism are also explored while leading the casual visitor into a more in-depth exploration
of the arts in their historical and contemporary contexts. Links to HTML versions of Flash content, which are especially handy for teachers for classroom use,
are also provided.
Offering to multiple audiences was a key goal in the production of Visions of Enlightenment. To achieve this, many components were created to add to the overall
experience of the site. Producing rich content alongside premier examples of artwork, while maintaining a fun atmosphere, was an important factor. A "Fact or
Fiction" game, an on-line forum to discuss Buddhist-related topics, photo essays, "roll-over" facts, curriculum materials and interactive maps were
designed so that various types of visitors would stay engaged/entertained while still being offered an educational experience.
The judges said:
The overall look and feel of this site was in tune with the art — subtle and harmonious. The slowly moving menu with innovative music causes the viewer to slow
down and take time with the introductions, enabling an in-depth reading and absorption of the quotes. The artist opinions spoken in the "Process" section,
and the high quality images allowed the viewer to get a very personal perspective. The site allowed the viewer to participate in ways that books, films, and exhibits
can't.
A tip from the producers:
Kiki Smith (American, born Germany, 1954) is among the most significant artists of her generation. Known primarily as a sculptor, she has also devoted herself to
printmaking, which she considers an equally vital part of her work. The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Kiki Smith: Prints, Books, and Things (December 5, 2003-March
8, 2004) and its accompanying catalogue showcase the scope of Smith's printed art, presenting it thematically around such topics as anatomy, self-portraiture, nature,
and female iconography. Reflecting this thematic arrangement and including more than 50 comparative groupings with accompanying explanatory text, the Web site
(www.moma.org/kikismith) fosters a rich understanding of her innovative body of printed art with over 200
images in all.
Rather than simply offering reproductions of Smith's artwork, the online exhibition presents a contiguous, fluid approach that offers visitors an engaging viewing
experience. Utilizing Flash MX with Zoomify, visitors are transported into the online gallery, where they can zoom into each artwork in great detail and explore the
virtual "gallery walls" by panning from one view to the next. A special "Process" section of the Web site provides a window into Smith's creative
process through sequences of two prints in various stages of development, as well as through video footage of the artist working in print workshops. Original music
has been composed for the site by Margaret De Wys, a frequent collaborator of Smith's.
The judges said:
This fascinating and ambitious site aims to do no less than raise the national consciousness re: how ideas about race are visualized through photographs. Organized by
the International Center of Photography in New York, the site comprises: a) a visual record of a traveling exhibition, organized by theme and presented in a
sophisticated, layered interface; b) a virtual exhibition of a 50-state survey of photographers dealing with issues of race and indexed by multiple criteria; c) a
virtual representation of the catalog, in which you can "turn the pages"; d) an accompanying net.art site of online artist projects; and e) a curriculum
section and online forum. The Flash interface design itself is innovative and exciting, if a bit bewildering from time to time. Thematic type is large and easy to
read, dosed screen by elegant screen—but the same cannot always be said about the individual artist write-ups, which suffer from small type and a lack of contrast.
Innovative use of rollovers for image captions and credits!
A tip from the producers:
Only Skin Deep is a companion experience to the International Center of Photography's exhibition Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self.
Co-curated by Coco Fusco and Brian Wallis, Only Skin Deep challenges some of the central myths and preconceptions governing American identity. The project aims to show
how fluctuating conceptions of race, nation, and self have been fixed or transformed through the unique attributes and strategic uses of photography. The ideas and
images of the artists included in both the gallery and online exhibitions help us understand how photographs have shaped our understanding of national and individual
identity. The Only Skin Deep National Survey, an online-only exhibition, offers a wide-ranging selection of works that provide diverse perspectives on identity in
America. In addition to presenting a searchable database of artist portfolios, curatorial texts, biographies, and bibliographies, the site also contains additional
information about selected works in the gallery exhibition as well as supplementary educational materials for teachers and general museum visitors. It is our hope
that the work presented in Only Skin Deep will stimulate a widespread and lively conversation about what it means to be an American today.
The web component of Only Skin Deep was designed to provide a curated and structured environment for more than 1000 works by over 175 contemporary artists dealing
with issues of racial and national identity. The site allowed us to expand the scope of the exhibition beyond what could be accommodated in our galleries and include
artists from all 50 states. It also enabled us to reach the largest and most geographically diverse audience.
Audio CD
The judges said:
This project has the sound of radio dramas in its narrative qualities. The rough, real sound in recordings of the artist enhanced the overall presentation with a
special immediacy. This merging of radio and documentary styles gives the listener a reward: every artwork is cause for a new episode! The speakers' strong convictions,
love and respect for Guston shine through their voices, conveying the message that. Guston's work wasn't just about the art on the wall, but invoked a much bigger
picture.
A tip from the producers:
The goals of Philip Guston: Retrospective audio guide were to:
- Give visitors to The Metropolitan Museum of Art a tool to access the work of a particularly complex artist, without simplifying his technique, subject matter,
and the transitional nature of his career or his impact on both past and contemporary audiences.
- Create an experience for exhibition visitors that was as dynamic, varied and compelling as the work on view.
Working on this program both confirmed previously held beliefs about audio tours and taught me new lessons about ways to create an effective interpretive audio
tool.
This program weaves together multiple voices and perspectives in a production that addresses complexity without simplification.
It is always a challenge to interpret both a work's form - an artist's technique - and its subject matter; and to strike a balance between the two. The largest
challenge in producing this audio program was giving a general audience access to the multiple and complex layers of meaning associated with Philip Guston's work.
Public response to the audio guide has been overwhelmingly positive. In addition, both the exhibition's curator and the artist's daughter have expressed appreciation
for the production, attesting to its success in communicating complicated ideas and layers of reference in a way that respects the artist and his work, as well as
the exhibition's audience.
The judges said:
This design clearly states that history is not boring! The Monty-Python-esque animation is particularly attention-getting and inviting and especially effective when
the visitor becomes a "Patron of the Arts". The sound effects are used well in the introductory pages to help the visitor follow the directions and the
teacher section is quite strong. This site hits the mark for younger teens!
A tip from the producers:
Choosing the most appropriate technology—Flash or HTML—was difficult: Flash animation and audio would permit a much livelier site with a stronger irreverent tone,
while HTML offers greater accessibility, lower development costs, search engine exposure, and often greater usability. In the end, we developed both Flash and HTML
versions, with budget priority was given to the Flash version. User testing of both versions revealed interesting strengths and weaknesses of both formats, with
greater enthusiasm and affective connection with the Flash version, but surprisingly positive responses for the very simple HTML version as well. From this experience,
we are leaning toward a "separate and unequal" approach to Flash and HTML, gearing each version toward the strengths of that medium (experiential,
information access, etc.) and the likely needs of their audiences.
The judges said:
This web site, produced to accompany the exhibition "Love
and Yearning: Mystical and Moral Themes in Persian Poetry and
Painting," features twenty-six astonishingly beautiful illustrated
manuscripts relating to Persian lyrical poetry. We know they're
astonishingly beautiful because we've seen them using this Flash
site's Zoomify tool, which resolves into crisp and brilliant color
with each new exploratory click of the mouse. This year Zoomify
seems to have really taken hold, and this seems a model implementation.
The Persian musical accompaniment and deep colored
backgrounds further enrich the experience. Conceived as both an
in-gallery touchscreen viewing station and a web site, the site
is family-friendly, with animated characters at the table of contents
level. It provides simple cultural context, and enables visitors
to view in luscious detail that which is normally hidden under
the two-page spread of a book in a display case.
A tip from the producers:
The interactive computer and on-line program on the Haft-awrang (Seven Thrones) by Jami was created to help the visitor view the details of the paintings within this
celebrated manuscript and also offer an introduction to Persian painting. The program included high-resolution images of all twenty-seven folios, as well as key
colophons and opening pages. Each image was accompanied by a brief description of the story. The visitor could magnify the details within the compositions and
zoom in to highlighted areas of interest to learn more. The program also included Persian classical music and an audible narration that included the exhibition
curator discussing some of the general themes.
The judges said:
Very rich content, beautiful art direction, and some innovative visual presentation concepts characterize this information rich DVD, but we found the navigation a bit
troublesome and confining. Beautiful high resolution images of hand-painted scrolls, with innovative information callouts. Excellent work.
A tip from the producers:
The website of Age of the Great Khan, Painting and Calligraphy in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty is based on the exhibition: Age of the Great Khan—Pluralism in Chinese
Art and Culture under the Mongols held in the National Palace Museum in Taipei in the year of 2001. The website focuses on masterpieces of painting and calligraphy
in Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and their correlations with political and social conditions at that time. The prism on the main page representing four angles, which are the
Imperial Clan, Polyethnic Scholars, Recluse Scholars and Marco Polo. Each angle reflected through the prism is a symbolic historical stage on which we remount
existing figures and mindsets in Mongol Yuan period. After following the prescribed route, audience could discover magnifying amusing details of related paintings
under each angle. In the section "For Teachers," educators in college or higher level could use the animation to fulfill their needs in class activities, while
students will enjoy the interactive experience not available in conventional class.
Online exhibition could extend to a brand new curatorial dimension, convey more information, and most importantly, to form a smooth two-way communication with
audience which may not be easily reached by traditional ones. Internet could appeal to younger audiences, who may not have interests towards the subject of Chinese
arts. We hope the innovative internet interface would arouse their interests and change the impressions of this subject. Teachers could easily access the online
resources to enrich their teaching materials.
Silver: Visions of Enlightenment: Understanding the Art of Buddhism
Bronze: Kiki Smith: Prints, Books & Things
Bronze: Only Skin Deep
Honorable Mention: The Renaissance Connection
Honorable Mention: Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones)
Honorable Mention: Age of the Great Khan, Painting and Calligraphy in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty