Discover the ways in which art and culture have shaped our past with this chronological look at their impacts on history. Learn now! Selected online articles & podcasts.
Exploring the History of World Cultures and Their Arts
Explore the history of art and culture, from early American history to the fine arts of the present day. Dive into literature, architecture, music, and cultural movements throughout history. Discover a plethora of articles available online on topics related to art & culture!
10 Stolen Pieces Of Art That Have Never Been Found
Here are 10 stolen pieces of art that are still lost somewhere in the world today.
Morgan Swank, Listverse 2014
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100 Ideas That Changed Photography
“A concise and intelligent chronicle of the most seminal developments in the history of today’s most prevalent visual art.” Each of the ideas is accompanied by a short essay contextualizing its history and significance.
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
A Guide to the Real-Life Homes of the Heroes of Children’s Literature
On this map, you will find the real world locations where the heroes of books you might have read early in life lived out their adventures.
Sarah Laskow, Atlas Obscura 2017
This Is the “Jass” Record That Introduced Millions of Americans to a New Kind of Music
One hundred years ago (February 1917), Victor Records recorded a 78-rpm disc called “Livery Stable Blues” by the Original Dixieland “Jass” Band. This exuberant number became a nationwide hit, selling more than a million copies, and today it is almost universally hailed as the first jazz recording.
Geoffey Himes, Smithsonian 2017
A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley
To explore the American Revolution through the eyes of John Singleton Copley is to see it with fresh eyes, to understand that it was a civil war with many shades of allegiance.
Jane Kamensky, American Heritage 2017
A Video History of the Ford Rotunda
Here’s an excellent film history of one of the Ford Motor Company’s most famous buildings, and probably its most beloved: The Ford Rotunda in Dearborn.
Mac’s Motor City Garage 2016
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Over 100 Years Ago, the US Government Commissioned 7,500 Watercolor Paintings of Every Kind of Fruit in the Country
The Pomological Watercolor Collection comprises over 7,500 paintings, drawings, and wax models commissioned by the USDA between 1886 and 1942. As farmers across the United States worked with the USDA to set up orchards to serve emerging markets, the country’s most prolific fruit-producing regions began to take shape. About 65 American artists contributed to the collection, tasked by the USDA to document the thousands and thousands of varieties of heirloom and experimental fruit cultivars sprouting up nationwide.
Chloe Olewitz, Morsel 2017
World’s best literature in audio
Saving the 78s
While audio CDs whiz by at about 500 revolutions per minute, the earliest flat disks offering music whirled at 78rpm. They were mostly made from shellac, i.e., beetle (the bug, not The Beatles) resin and were the brittle predecessors to the LP (microgroove) era. The format is obsolete, and the surface noise is often unbearable and just picking them up can break your heart as they break apart in your hands. So why does the Internet Archive have more than 200,000 in our physical possession?
B. George, Internet Archive Blogs 2016
Architectural Styles
The Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology created the following guide to give Hoosiers a brief overview of Indiana’s most common architectural styles, barn types, and bridge forms.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
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Around the World in 80 Models: Petra – Animation
The Zamani project was started in 2004 with the aim of spatially documenting African heritage sites for conservation and restoration interventions, for education and research, to increase awareness of Africa’s heritage and a as record for future generations. The spatial data captured on site is processed to create textured (where possible) 3D models, site GISs, Panorama tours and other spatial materials.
Sketchfab 2017
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Art of Indiana weavers
Paper from the Conner Prairie Museum Textile Collection.
Coplon, Jessica Eibschutz, Connor Prairie 1993
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Western art’s debt to the Islamic world
The discipline of art history is slowly recognizing the Arab influence on European art
Noah Charney, Salon 2017
Dada: a short history
A short account of the Dada movement that developed during the First World War in radical revulsion to the society that had let it come about.
Libcom.org
Fallingwater – Video
3d animation featuring the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece
Cristobal Vila, Vimeo
Fascinating Women: Bessie Smith and the Blues
Ragtime, blues, jazz, and the like are also considered the soundtrack of early twentieth century American life, and the combination of the popular press, new technologies like phonographs and the cinema, and the hunger for celebrities, created a perfect storm for the rise of music stars.
Evangeline Holland, Edwardian Promenade 2015
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The Historical Roots of Blues Music
Contrary to what some people believe, the blues is not “slave music.” Although it was cultivated by the descendants of slaves, the blues was the expression of freed African Americans.
Lamont Pearley Sr., Black Perspectives 2018
The 8 Most Prolific Forgers in Art History (That We Know Of)
Forgery has a long and fascinating history, spanning from the Renaissance to today.
Leila Amineddoleh, Artsy 2016
The Most Beautiful World Heritage Sites in the USA
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, better known as UNESCO, created the World Heritage list in order to protect our past. The USA has 22 amazing sites on the list ranging from archaeological gems built by ancestral cultures to beautiful landscapes created by nature. We’ve put together a list of some of the stunning sites found throughout the country.
Marcelina Morfin, Culture Trip 2017
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