Instruction
The library has an extremely active instruction program. Faculty are invited to schedule one or more of our sessions for their classes. These generally last an hour and take place in the computer lab on the 13th floor although many can also be held in your classroom. We offer a wide range of session types.
Class Sessions Menu:
Research Skills and Strategies. In this interactive and customizable workshop, students learn how to go beyond Google in their research. They gain confidence using MassArt's sophisticated research tools to their full advantage. This empowers them to discover sources that are substantive, reliable, and authoritative for their research. They also learn useful techniques for developing a topic and for critically evaluating information.
Colorful Sources. Among the treasures of the library is its set of archival holdings relating to color perception. Students experience fascinating historical objects that illustrate the color system of Albert Munsell, former MassArt faculty member, who is sometimes regarded as the founder of modern color science. They also get the opportunity to see the original screen-printed plates of Josef Albers' Interaction of Color. Albers' vivid illustrations challenge the mind and the eye when seen firsthand and prove that the perception of color is indeed relative.
Artists' Books. In this hands-on session, we look at selections from the library's renowned (and growing) collection of artists' books. Artists represented in the collection include Robert Rauschenberg, Sol LeWitt, Laurie Anderson, and Ed Ruscha, and many others. Students learn about issues of design and meaning as well as book construction techniques. This year we will be featuring a number of newly acquired works by the Futurefarmers, Meejin Yoon, Ai Weiwei, and more.
JeopARTy. In this interactive workshop, recently presented at the Conference of the College Art Association, students decide whether examples of artistic appropriation such as Shepard Fairey's use of an AP photo of Obama are fair or not. Students learn about copyright, fair use, and the differences between what is ethical and what is legal when it comes to reusing images. Now making use of live electronic polling, JeopARTy can take place in the Library or it can be held in your classroom.
Exploring Photo Books. Students view rare photography books from Special Collections as well as photography-oriented works from the Artists' Books collection. Examples include works by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sophie Calle, and William Eggleston.
Visual Resources in Detail. In this session we provide students with an in-depth tutorial on our image databases such as ARTstor and MDID, our local image repository. In addition, students learn how to use ARTstor's OIV (Offline Image Viewer), a presentation tool that can be more powerful than PowerPoint. We also explore image sources on the web such as Google Art Project and Flickr's Creative Commons and look at emerging reverse image search technologies.
Now You See It. A workshop on art, censorship, and the First Amendment. Coming Spring 2012.
To request a class
Fill out our web-based request form to arrange for a class or series of classes. You can also contact Greg directly at greg.wallace@massart.edu or 617-879-7108. We encourage you to inform us of your specific needs and any related assignments so that we may better tailor a class. We will confirm your request using the contact information you give us.
One-on-One Tutorials. Faculty, students, and staff can receive individualized training on any of our library resources such as ARTstor or our research databases. Please contact Greg Wallace to schedule a meeting.