Comments on: Who Pays for BHA? http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1486 News for Art Historians Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:57:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Jeremy Miller http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1486&cpage=1#comment-138154 Jeremy Miller Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:43:19 +0000 http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1486#comment-138154 It seems to me that one fundamental question is whether the BHA is a basic and necessary resource that serves a general good, or if it is a specific tool only useful to a few people working in a non-essential field. It's difficult to image what my research would have been, and would be, like without it. Probably slower and less comprehensive. I would also suggest that the BHA's primary uselfulness lies not in those who take a traditional approach to art history, but with those who study Western art between the Renaissance and Modernity. It is only a tool, with which one could build many different things. It seems to me that one fundamental question is whether the BHA is a basic and necessary resource that serves a general good, or if it is a specific tool only useful to a few people working in a non-essential field. It’s difficult to image what my research would have been, and would be, like without it. Probably slower and less comprehensive.

I would also suggest that the BHA’s primary uselfulness lies not in those who take a traditional approach to art history, but with those who study Western art between the Renaissance and Modernity. It is only a tool, with which one could build many different things.

]]> By: Travis Nygard http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1486&cpage=1#comment-138144 Travis Nygard Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:40:03 +0000 http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1486#comment-138144 I see this as part of a larger cultural problem and shift, where both scholars and librarians are abandoning traditional indexes in favor of full text searching (Google and JSTOR). While I do find the BHA useful in my own work at times, as someone interested in nontraditional approaches to visual culture I often find my key sources outside the BHA. It would be interesting to know who exactly is using this resource most heavily today, and if they are tied to institutions that could form a consortium. As a side comment, I would also just like to point out that visual culture is notoriously difficult to index in an effective way. I see this as part of a larger cultural problem and shift, where both scholars and librarians are abandoning traditional indexes in favor of full text searching (Google and JSTOR). While I do find the BHA useful in my own work at times, as someone interested in nontraditional approaches to visual culture I often find my key sources outside the BHA. It would be interesting to know who exactly is using this resource most heavily today, and if they are tied to institutions that could form a consortium.

As a side comment, I would also just like to point out that visual culture is notoriously difficult to index in an effective way.

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