Babel
Artists link the past to the future through oil paintings, sketches, sculptures,
and now the Web. Babel encourages visitors to follow artists such as Melissa
Marks into the Garden area, where her online exhibit, "Volitia -The
Abstract Vagina," resides. And the Babylon Lottery section explores
issues of the female body and features art by Karen Yasinsky and Laura Watts.
This art site may wow you with its creative design - forms, and nice graphics
and layout, but it's still rather thin and slightly confusing.-BJB
B-
Cusimano: Surrealist
Artist
Surrealist art isn't always a myriad of melting clocks. On the Cusimano:
Surrealist Artist site, visitors wander through six galleries that feature
paintings and drawings of desert roses, carousel horses, and levitating
lips. The Canadian artist, Joseph Cusimano, explains every painting to help
art lovers grasp the meaning behind an image as perplexing as his human
tree. Cusimano, more than his art, resembles Dali (it's the mustache). Visit
this site for a good dose of bizarre art and metaphysical madness.-BJB
A-
DIA Center for the Arts
If artists painted not from the soul but from the results of a market research
survey, they would find a happy home at the DIA Center for the Arts in New
York. DIA features experimental art, such as an online exhibit called, "The
Most Wanted Paintings on the Web." These paintings reflect the artists'
interpretations of a professional market research survey about style and
taste; in turn, the site was created to please the greatest number of people.
Visitors who fill out the online survey help determine future art and exhibits,
making the site interactive and constantly evolving.-BJB
B+
fineArt
forum online
The mission of fineArt forum online is to provide useful information on
art and technology to anyone who wants it, free of charge. This arts and
technology news site pushes the boundaries between art and the Internet
within a zine featuring multimedia reviews, computer art, and a calendar
of events. The Directory of Online Art Resources is a crucial part of the
site for students, since it creates a space to study all facets of art.
The Gallery is home to some of the best in painting, sculpture, and photographs
online, with no admission fee. Some of the best fine art really can be seen
for free. -BJB
B+
JZ
Presents Art of Joan
Joan Stennick, like Alice in Wonderland, must have met many smiling cats
in her dreams. The JZ Presents Art of Joan site wants to make sure the net
isn't void of grinning kitties. But the site doesn't offer a particularly
extensive showing of Joan's art, and since it's located on Joan's boyfriend's
home page, it comes across more like a poorly thought-out promotion. Perhaps
if JZ let Joan do her own explaining and offered a bit more than three large
paintings, we might care more about images of smirking felines. -BJB
D+
Los Angeles County Museum
of Art
It's easy to discover the hidden secrets and lore behind the mystical artifacts
of ancient Egypt when you take an online tour of the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (LACMA). Gaze into the eyes of a sculpture from the reign
of Queen Hatshepsut. Behold the grandeur of an elaborate coffin lid from
a twenty-sixth dynasty official. On the bizarre side: The LACMA site features
artist Annette Messager, famous for her exhibit of dead birds wearing knitted
sweaters. Prepare to learn and expand your mind at LACMA, whether you plan
to see a dead human surrounded in artifacts or a dead bird surrounded in
cable knit.-BJB
B
Mark Harden's
texas.net
On Mark's texas.net Museum of Art home page, a visitor can travel to an
FTP site to download pictures of great art or follow links to other museums.
Look at the Impressionists from your computer monitor... does this mean
you have to step back from your screen to fully appreciate the image? Or,
Mark lets you read about the best art CD-ROM titles on the market. The initial
cover page of the site is riddled with graphics, making navigation a bit
turbulent, but at this site, even Mona Lisa would smile.-BJB
B+
Mary
Ann King
She wants to sell you an eggplant for $95. Actually, she wants to sell a
painting of an eggplant still life from her Web site. This Kansas artist
is not alone in her quest to sell artwork online, but the site offers nothing
more than a list of paintings, small thumbnail images, and, of course, ordering
information. Mary Ann could have done a better service to the Internet community
by explaining why these painting have meaning, and she could have made the
art community proud by incorporating the net as a learning experience -
not a financial shortcut.-BJB
D+
Paris Pages: Paris
Art
When planning to create a site about Paris, one would inevitably expect
to make art one of the main sections. After all, Paris isn't just about
snooty waiters and croissants. In the Paris Art section of the Paris Pages,
afficionados and collectors can search through lists of links for galleries,
artists, or images. Some of the major contemporary artists residing on the
site include Jean-Louis Guitard, Kara, Roger Karoubi, and Peter Klasen.
An added plus: Paris Art provides prices and gallery locations for each
piece featured. Viva la Web!-BJB
B+
Scultura
Leave it up to a bunch of artists to try to form a renaissance on the Web.
Scultura Arts Forum is creating a global network for artists to meet each
other and transform the Web into a valuable tool for creativity. Read the
classified ads or browse around in the many different galleries. Every medium,
from wood sculptures to oil on a paper bag, is on the Scultura site. While
some artists focus on brilliant, hand-painted silk paintings, others try
to find physical expression of their souls through dance. This site attempts
to represent all artists, whether they hold a paint brush or step into toe
shoes.-BJB
B-
The Castles
of Wales
If a man's home is his castle, then what is his home page? The Castles
of Wales site presents visitors with more than just a few photos of royal
casas. Learn the difference between the Norman and Edward castles. View
short sketches on Wales' principal castle builders, and read an examination
of what motivated their creations. Test your knowledge with the Welsh Castle
Quiz, and discover why Chepstow Castle in southeast Wales is one of the
best castles to visit. This site offers plenty of information on the history
behind these majestic land marks. The Castles of Wales is a Web site fit
for a king. -BJB
B
Welcome
to ArtsLink
With all the independent art sites on the net, Time Warner Electronic Publishing
finally took the creative plunge and returned from the underground with
ArtsLink. ArtsLink provides an Artists-in-Residence section that displays
a wide range of material, including abstract computer algorithm images,
controversial posters about racism, colorful charcoal sketches of women,
and QuickTime VR multimedia pieces. Read about projects in development,
and catch up on cultural issues in the Morfogen and Associates News section.
ArtsLink also wants visitors to spearhead its bulletin board discussions
on topics such as the influence of AIDS in art, and performance art advice.-BJB
A
Welcome to
the Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art understands America's quest for its own
artistic identity and celebrates new, talented artists on its Web site.
Whitney features beautiful paintings of railroad sunsets and morose roses.
Learn why the Beat Generation influenced American art and culture in the
1960s. Walk on the wild side in the "Altered and Irrational" section
(zebra skin and Day-Glo?). Or witness oddities created from rubberized hair,
mirror glass, and wood. The Whitney Museum represents some of the best,
most obscure art in America with an equally exceptional Web site.-BJB
B
