For students of the humanities…
Drying or pressing flowers has long been a popular pastime. However, there is a new spin on this old tradition: hammering flowers. This artform works by choosing flowers, placing them on paper, and hitting them with a hammer.... The result is actually quite lovely. This YouTube Channel: HammerFlower shows many examples of the artform, with… Continue reading Video: HammerFlower
This video from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston presents a fun take on the process the Greeks may have used in making red-figure pottery. If you're interested in pottery or ancient Greece, then you may find this both enjoyable and helpful. link to Figures in Red: Red-figure technique in ancient vase painting
When it comes to Modern Art, it sometimes makes more sense if you can see how an artist made his or her particular works. In this YouTube playlist from the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), you can watch artist and conservator Corey D'Augustine show you how painters such as Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and… Continue reading Video: MOMA In the Studio
Weaving silk is a delicate process. This video showcases companies in France that weave silk using traditional methods. link to Shimmering Silk from France
Paintings don't have to be done on a canvas. Wood, fiberboard, and even silk are options when creating amazing works of art. This video from the Victoria and Albert Museum shows how a silk painting was made by recreating a historical Chinese work. link to How Was It Made? Silk Painting
When most of us think about mosaic art, we probably imagine something fairly large. Micromosaics take the mosaic artform and miniaturize it. In this video from the Victoria and Albert Museum, you can see how a micromosaic is made as they recreate a historical example. link to How Was It Made? Micromosaics
The National Gallery in Britain has produced a number of videos on different topics in Art and Art History. This video deals with Caravaggio's life, his "The Supper at Emmaus," and two of his other works. Caravaggio's great skill as a painter is undeniable, and his life is a very interesting one. This may be… Continue reading Video: Caravaggio: His Life and Style in Three Paintings
Many artistic techniques of the past have unfortunately been lost to history. This video from the Victoria and Albert Museum details the quest of a 5th generation Japanese dye maker to recapture the colors of the past. link to In Search of Forgotten Colors
I show this video to my Ancient to Medieval students, but I think it can be valuable and interesting for all students of the humanities, particularly if they are interested in Egypt and the Pyramids of Giza. There are a few issues with it (the sometimes invisible walls are a little weird), but I like… Continue reading Video: 360° Travel Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza
This video is required viewing for my Art Appreciation class, but it's so interesting, I wanted to include it here as well. Tapestry making is an amazing art, and it's one that I don't think is valued today as highly as it should be. Take a look and see what you think. link to The… Continue reading Video: The Art of Making a Tapestry
This video is both informative and fun. It shows you how to put together your own flipbook and explains how they work. This is valuable as a visual example of the persistence of vision (as discussed by Peter Mark Roget) and a fun activity that doesn't require a huge amount of materials. Fair warning--the videographer,… Continue reading Video: How to Make a Flip Book
Understanding what people wear can help us understand them and their culture. The history of fashion is a fascinating part of cultural history. If you're interested in checking out fashion, a good place to start is with videos put together by historical reenactors. One such set of videos is priorattire's Dressing Up Series on YouTube.… Continue reading Videos: Dressing Up Series on YouTube
My last post talked about PBS's Crash Course. Even though they don't have a dedicated art series (as of this writing), they do occasional art episodes within some of their other series. This video is one of those, and it's on the Harlem Renaissance. This is a diverse and exciting artistic period, and I'm glad… Continue reading Video: Arts and Letters of the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Black American History #26
If you've never heard of PBS's Crash Course series, you should definitely check them out. Ranging in topics from mathematics to science to history to philosophy, they offer fun and engaging looks at complicated topics. They don't have an art series (as of this writing), but students of the Humanities can find a lot of… Continue reading Videos: Crash Course
I've already recommended MOMA's YouTube Channel for those who are interested in learning about Modern Art, but they also have some excellent technique videos as well. In particular, I find their series Pressure and Ink to provide great information about printmaking. Specifically, they have detailed demonstrations (with solid explanations) of relief printing, intaglio printing, and… Continue reading Videos: MOMA’s Pressure and Ink
Humanities Scholars 