ART 20: The Thames and Hudson Multimedia Dictionary of Modern Art - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, March, 2001 by Barbara Herberholz

ART 20: The Thames and Hudson Multimedia Dictionary of Modern Art. CD-ROM/$125, plus S&H. Level: High School through Adult. Thames & Hudson, Inc., distributed by W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 500 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10110, (800) 233-4830.

This comprehensive multimedia CD-ROM on modern art invites users to scroll through an index of over 2,500 entries, bookmarking individual entries or entire pages for quick reference. The dictionary includes 3,500 images of paintings, sculptures, photography, archive documents, architecture and video art, over 100 of which feature high-resolution zoom capabilities. Users may compare two pictures side by side or choose to watch a slide show of illustrations grouped by date, at random or entry-by-entry. Viewers see photos of artists, hear audio of their voices, and see views of kinetic and video art. Also included in this CD-ROM are artist biographies and notes on various art movements, galleries, collectors and critics.

As a reference tool, this program allows viewers to create picture albums, notebooks, videos and audio clips of artists' voices that bring the artworks and their creators to life. Other useful features include a word-search function and hypertext links connecting artists, movements and styles. Viewers may browse chronologically or see random slide shows.

The color is excellent and the CD-ROM should prove to be a valuable resource for teachers, students and home use. However, as a British production, this CD-ROM mainly focuses on European artists, many of whom are not highly recognizable in America. Users may search in vain to find a number of well-known American artists.

For information about this program, circle No. 387 on the Reader Service Card.