simulacrum

Searching for Creators in ARTstor

jcmills — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:53:15 +0000

Sometimes when doing a keyword search in ARTstor, you end up with too many images that are not works by the artist, architect, or designer you are seeking. One way to narrow the search is to click on Advanced Search, type the creator name in the top box on the left, choose “in Creator only” in the drop-down menu to the right of the box where you typed the creator name, then click search at the lower left. The search button is not shown in the included screenshot. Note that capitalization and punctuation are not necessary. Additional information on searching in ARTstor is on their wiki.

ImageViewer and MediaViewer in MDID

jcmills — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:58:34 +0000

Many people simply download images from soaMDID via packaging to use in PowerPoint, which allows them to combine soaMDID images with images from ARTstor and other sources. However, some soaMDID users only use MDID slideshows and are in the habit of packaging their slideshows for offline presentations using ImageViewer. Changes in Apple software will affect people’s ability to do this. Live or packaged ImageViewer slideshows will not work on Apple computers running OS X Lion (10.7) or later. ImageViewer uses software technology that will not be updated to work with these operating systems, so Apple computer users will have to use one of several options (below). This does not currently affect Windows computer users through version 7, but there are no guarantees that this will not change with future Windows updates.

Live ImageViewer on classroom computers: rooms 003, 004, 006, and 317 in the Art Building have Windows computers installed in the podium. Each of these computers has the live version of ImageViewer installed, and I believe there is a desktop shortcut for it. It also may be installed on the computers of other classrooms (e.g., Kane Hall) if faculty request that prior to the start of the quarter.
Packaged ImageViewer on classroom computers: on these same Windows computers, it is possible to log into your soaMDID account in Internet Explorer and package for offline use. This will take a little time, and it does require extracting (uncompressing) the files.
Live MediaViewer on any computer: MediaViewer is the presentation tool that MDID developers created to replace ImageViewer. It can be used on Apple or Windows computers in any browser (e.g., Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer). To access it, log into your soaMDID account and go to My Slideshows. You will see a MediaViewer link for each slideshow. MediaViewer functions similarly to ImageViewer, but there are some differences. A PDF document provides information on how to use MediaViewer. I suggest saving the document on your own computer for future reference.
Package images for export and use PowerPoint: follow the link at the top of the post to learn how to do this.

Any questions about these options can be directed to Jeanette Mills via email or by calling 543-0649.

Custom Exporting from iPhoto

jcmills — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:03:22 +0000

Many Apple computer owners use iPhoto to manage their personal images. Here is a brief explanation of how to export images from iPhoto for use in PowerPoint or for other purposes. Click on the thumbnails below to see the full image.

First, select the images that you want to export. If you want everything in a folder or slideshow, go to Edit–Select All (image 1).

Then, go to File–Export (image 2).

In the window that pops up, make selections that match image 3. I have chosen maximum dimension of 1024 because that usually works well for PowerPoint. Most projectors currently display at 1024×768. If you know you’ll be using a projector that can project larger, then choose the larger dimension. When you click the Export button, you will need to navigate to where you want the images to be saved. You may want to create a folder in which to save them.

The Export window does allow for a lot of other options when exporting images, so you may want to explore those as well. Some additional information can be found on Apple support.

Searching Google Images

jcmills — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:30:53 +0000

While soaMDID and ARTstor are usually your best source of images at the UW for teaching and presentations, there are times when a Google Images search is necessary. Since the size of images found in a Google search can vary widely, it is important to use the tools Google provides to narrow your search. The image below is a screenshot of the upper menu bar you see after doing a Google Images search; you can click on the image to get a bigger view. The numbered arrows show the order in which you click menus to narrow the search. To get the best images for presentations, you want to have images that are 1024 x 768 or larger. Anything smaller than that will likely appear pixelated if you try to fill a PowerPoint slide with the image. However, keep in mind that much larger images will tend to slow down your PowerPoint slideshow.

New Image Importer for PowerPoint – Again

jcmills — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:07:14 +0000

With an Apple operating system upgrade to Lion (10.7) came the need to upgrade the image importer for PowerPoint.

PP 2011 OS 10.7 batch importer.app

This works similarly to the 10.6 batch importer, so read this earlier post for additional information. However, the 10.7 importer no longer has the ability to filter for jpeg and jpg files, so make sure these are the only file types in the folders you choose for importing. The filtering step kept causing the workflow to crash.

ARTstor: a change & a tip for downloading images

jcmills — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:26:12 +0000

ARTstor recently made a change in regards to downloading individual images. It used to be possible to download these without having an ARTstor account. That is no longer true. You must now have an account to download any images (individually or in groups to PowerPoint). Creating an account is easy; see these instructions on ARTstor’s help site. I recommend using the short form of your UW email address to create the account (e.g., jcmills@uw.edu versus jcmills@u.washington.edu).

When downloading individual images, you may see an applet window pop up. You must answer “Allow” to this in order to continue the download process. In order to not have to do it again during your current browser session, click the checkbox next to “Allow all applets…” If you accidentally click on the “Deny” button, you will have to completely close your browser and start over again.

SepiaTown = Historical Photos + Architecture

jcmills — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:23:31 +0000

This website allows registered users to upload scanned historical images of architecture and map them. Visitors see thumbnails of the images on a map. You can click on the thumbnail to bring up a full image with information and then click on that image to get a larger one, which is big enough to use in PowerPoint. Note that, on the page with the smaller full image, there is a box towards the bottom with a permalink. This is good to note in the image title, PowerPoint notes, or elsewhere so that you have a record of the image source.

It is helpful to visit the “How to Use SepiaTown” page before delving in too far since there are some interesting features that may not be initially obvious. Two examples are the figure on the map that shows the location of the photographer and direction of view and the “Then/Now” button that shows a contemporary street view from the same perspective. Images for many cities from around the world have already been uploaded.

Change in soaMDID search results

jcmills — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:08:51 +0000

Many soaMDID users have been frustrated by this response to a search: “Too many images match the specified criteria.” This happened if the results included 1,000 or more images. We have just raised that limit to 10,000, so you should no longer see that message. That will make it easier to browse all available images if you choose the “Show no information” option for viewing search results. The image below shows where this selection can be made.

Fiona Banner and Ai Wei Wei

jcmills — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:44:04 +0000

In October 2010, I was able to see and photograph two very interesting installations in London. One was Fiona Banner’s Harrier and Jaguar at the Tate Britain, and the other was Ai Wei Wei’s Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Modern. I have added selected images of each installation to soaMDID so that faculty and graduate students in the School of Art can use them for teaching. Search on “mills tate” (without the quotes), and you should see a total of fourteen images.

Winter 2011 Additions to soaMDID

jcmills — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:33:03 +0000

During Winter Quarter 2011, Image Library staff and volunteers cataloged over 3,000 images. The majority of those images have been processed and added into soaMDID. Here are some of the highlights of these additions:

Figure drawing from Rubens, Leonardo, and a variety of other artists from different time periods.
Paintings and “new forms” by a number of 20th century artists
Medieval sculpture
MFA images from 1981 and 1982 (everything later is already in soaMDID)
Paintings by Delacroix, Gerome, and other 19th century artists whose theme was Orientalism
Architecture from Karnak and Luxor