SmartHistory
 | This website is the result of years of teaching experience and the beauty of intuitive Web design. If you're new to art history, start in the Basics under Themes. Otherwise, select a Time, Style, or Artist of your choice to begin your art history journey.
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Drew Lesso
 | An art-music site created by the artist Drew Lesso. He writes ?computer music algorithms that investigate visual form as music, through an application with the discipline of Harmonics.?
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Incredible Art Department
 | This arts Web site includes a slew of activities for formal and informal learning; links art, math, and science; and much more.
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Off the Map
 | A look at backyard paradises created by visionary artists. These people did not consider themselves to be artists ? but what they have built is amazing and very difficult to categorize.
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MoMA: Red Studio
 | Red Studio, developed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in collaboration with high school students, explores issues and questions raised by teens about modern art and today’s working artists. There are interactive activities, interviews with MoMA artists and curators, a bulletin board, and much more. You’ll need the free Flash player.
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SwarmSketch
 | SwarmSketch is a playground for the sketching of the collective consciousness. Users can contribute a small amount of line per visit. They are then given the opportunity to vote on the opacity of lines submitted by other users. By voting, users moderate the input of other users, judging the quality of each line. The darkness of each line is the average of all its previous votes. You’ll need the free Flash Player 7.
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Architect Studio 3D, from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust
| Category: Arts | Cool Site: February 2006 |
| Recommended 2 times |
 | Design a house in 3D with Frank Lloyd Wright! On this Web site, you can design a house, walk through it in 3D, then share it with the world. You can also learn more about architecture, past and present, and explore Frank Lloyd Wright's life and work. You'll need the free Shockwave plug-in.
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The Renaissance Connection
 | Highly interactive, educational, and fun site about art of the Renaissance from the Allentown Art Museum. You'll need the free Flash player.
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Destination Modern Art
 | This very fun interactive Web site by the Museum of Modern Art enables elementary school-aged children to engage with and explore modern art. The free Flash Player is required.
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Art of Science Competition
 | This assembly of images presents a fascinating and beautiful cross section of the arts and sciences at Princeton. It celebrates the aesthetics of research and the ways in which science and art inform each other.
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Learning to Love you More
 | Learning to Love You More is both a web site and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. Participants accept an assignment, complete it by following the simple but specific instructions, send in the required report (photograph, text, video, etc), and see their work posted on-line.
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Tall Buildings
 | The Museum of Modern Art takes visitors inside the skyscrapers around the world to see the floor plans and architectural sketches. Particularly interesting are details of solutions to design issues like green technologies, circulation, and incorporating buildings into public space. The dynamic interface is as compelling as the content. You'll need the free Flash player.
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Cycles: African Life through Art
 | Indianapolis Museum of Art with Terra Incognita Productions - This gorgeous and exciting site will engage you with a truly multimedia experience of audio, videos, Quick Time Virtual Reality movies, and graphics. Broader truths about life, ritual, and culture are revealed through this seamless multimedia experience of the museum’s collections of African art. You’ll need the free Flash player and the Quicktime Plug-in.
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The Artist’s Toolkit: Explore
 | A collaboration between the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts and the Walker Art Center, The Artist’s Toolkit is a great introduction to basic concepts in art for students and teachers alike. You can watch animated demonstrations of visual elements and principles artists use to create art, see examples of elements and principles in works of art, and create your own composition online. You’ll need the free Flash player
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My Imaginary City
 | Artists use their imaginations to create scenes and places that are not real and that might never exist. If you could invent your own imaginary city what would it be like? By the Tate Museum. You'll need the free Flash Player.
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BAYCAT: Bayview Hunters Point Center for the Arts & Technology
 | Featured here are samples of the work of some inspired San Francisco youth who are using art and technology to express themselves and thrive! BAYCAT provides education in the arts, culture, and enterprise to underserved youth and adults. Free Flash plugin recommended.
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World Heritage: World Wide Panorama
 | Here you'll find beautiful and amazing virtual reality panoramas of some ofthe most interesting places on earth taken during a world wide panorama shoot on the solstice, June 19 to 21, 2004.
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MFAH: Inverted Utopias
 | This gorgeous site from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, explores avant-garde art in Latin America. You'll need the Flash player to enjoy this fabulous site.
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SFMOMA: The Legacy of Phyllis Wattis
 | This interactive exhibit features and helps you explore modern works of art donated by cultural philanthropist, Phyllis Wattis. For this site, you'll need the free Flash plug-in.
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Mystery of the Poison-Dart Frog
 | Discover the art and biology of the Costa Rican rainforest and "solve a mystery with clues from ancient treasures." From the North Carolina Museum of Art. You will need the free Flash Player.
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Canto do Brasil
 | Sights and sounds from one of the most magical and complex places on earth from the perspective of photographer and interactive designer Geoffrey Hiller. You will need the free Flash Player.
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The Boston Symphony Orchestra's Online Conservatory
 | Explore some of the fascinating dimensions of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's performances, view documentaries on the lives and works of the composers, learn about the musical concepts exemplified by each piece of music, and experiment with your own musical arrangements. You will need the free Flash Player.
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Pop-Up and Movable Books: A Tour Through their History from the Nineteenth Century to the Present
 | Did you know that the first movable books appeared in the thirteenth century and that they were made for an adult audience? Visit this site to learn more about the long history of this literary genre.
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Earth as Art
| Category: Arts | Cool Site: March 2004 |
| Recommended 1 time |
 | Don’t let the less-than-fancy front page fool you: There’s art in here. NASA’s Landsat has taken some remarkable pictures of our earth and given us views that would be at home on the walls of your local gallery. Browse by continent, or look through the index of all the photos at once.
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Illuminating the Renaissance
 | This site presents an interactive view of an epoch in Flemish illumination when some of the most stunning works of art of the Renaissance could be found within the pages of books.
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The Collage Machine
 | The National Gallery of Art's NGAkids Art Zone Collage Machine is fun for children of all ages. This Shockwave interactive encourages compositional experimentation and an exploration of photomontage and collage techniques though a hands-on virtual art activity.
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Ancient Arcade
 | Boost your knowledge of mythological figures with this game of gods and symbols. From the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Teachers can also check out the art-related resources at
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Strange Fruit
 | This overview highlights some of the American songs and songwriters whose words and music served as catalysts for thought, action and even social change. Listen to songs and read lyrics at this thought-provoking companion Web site to the film by the same name. Brought to us by Independent Lens. You will need the free Real Player.
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Musictheory.net
 | What are ties and dots and how in the world do these relate to music? Find out at this great Web site developed by a musician/college student. You will need the free Flash Player.
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LACMA: Places
 | How can a place inspire and artist? What do artists communicate about places? Find out here!
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Fritz Lang Motion Pictures
 | Movie director Fritz Lang shot 16mm film as he toured around the American Southwest between 1938 and 1953. View digital versions of these films at this site.
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Roden Crater
 | Learn about James Turell's ambitious plans to transform a volcanic crater into large-scale art. Roden Crater is situated on the southwestern edge of the Painted Desert in northern Arizona
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A Drum Lesson Database
 | The authors of this site call it, "the percussion resource for players and music educators." With over 400 great drum lessons on rhythms from around the world, it's easy to see why their claim is true!
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Music of the Holocaust
 | This collection of songs written in Jewish ghettos, concentration camps and partisan outposts during the Nazi era demonstrates how music acted to preserve a sense of humanity for those living under inhumane conditions. The pages include audio files of the songs, links to further reading, photos, and in some cases, sheet music.
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The Fantastic in Art and Fiction
 | Angels and demons, danse macabre, weird science, bestiary, the marvelous, the grotesque, possession and insanity, freaks, monsters, and prodigies! This beautiful browsable and searchable "visual resource for the study of the Fantastic or the supernatural in fiction and art," has them all.
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Dia Center for the Arts: Artists' Projects for the Web
 | Here you will find lots of interesting, interactive Web art.
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Wigged.net: Interactive Television
 | This Web-zine is for "audiences seeking innovative alternatives to traditional forms of entertainment." Visit this site to watch innovative short videos, animations, and more! You will need both the free RealPlayer and Flash Player to enjoy many of the features on this site.
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What is a Print
 | What is a print? Find out at this great interactive multimedia exhibition. You will need the Flash Player.
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The Glory of Chinese Printing
 | This site explores the ancient history of Chinese printing. There is a wealth of photos of ancient artifacts and texts that illustrate concepts and periods throughout history.
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The Last Expression: Art from Auschwitz
 | This site explores the role of art to prisoners of Auschwitz. You can read about the artists' lives, view their work, and watch video interviews of surviving artists (you will need Windows Media Player for this). You can also read related articles and essays, and take a chilling virtual visit to Auschwitz (you will need the QuickTime Player 4 Plug-in for the tour).
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Rhythm Web
 | Open your ears to the rhythms of the world! This site educates about world music with a focus on rhythm through audio clips, articles, and Web links. Check out "the woodshed" section. It hosts sound files, notations of basic rhythms, and articles that look at rhythm from many different perspectives. You can search this site by keyword or browse by world region or instrument.
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Van Gogh at Etten: Sketches and Billboards
| Category: Arts | Cool Site: October 2000 |
| Recommended 1 time |
 | This ThinkQuest site features the life and work of Van Gogh, focusing on the time he lived in Etten. You can browse through the galleries to see his work and read about his life. You can also take an online art course.
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The @rt room
 | Take yourself on an "art adventure!" At this site, you will find mind-expanding art activities, a gallery of children's artwork from around the world, and a list of Web links for art teachers.
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The Textile Museum
 | Learn about a culture through the textiles its people create! You can view an online exhibit and browse through an illustrated "stitch glossary." Lesson plans for teachers are also available.
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Art and Culture
 | This virtual encyclopedia of the arts is well organized and searchable. There is also an online magazine with articles on the arts and a worldwide arts event calendar. This site is best viewed using the Flash Player.
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The Violin
 | At this beautiful site you will learn everything from the history to the science of the violin. You can also listen to violin music written by famous composers.
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Terri Windling's Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts
 | Endicott Studio is a monthly online journal featuring works by writers, painters, sculptors, photographers, and performance artists who produce contemporary art and literature that is rooted in folklore and myth. A visit to this site will help you uncover the magic and mystery that lie beneath the surface of our modern existence.
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World Arts West: People Like Me Activities
 | This site is a good resource for teachers who want to incorporate performing arts and cultural appreciation into their curriculum. The basic exercises on this site help students explore these topics.
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Essentials of Music
 | Learn about the major eras of classical music and the lives of classical composers. You can hear RealAudio clips of musical pieces and look up definitions of musical terms in a glossary.
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I Hear America Singing
 | At this site you will "...learn about the composers, poets, writers, artists, ideas, and events that have shaped the American song saga." Check out the songbook that has RealAudio clips of selected songs.
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Energy in the Air
 | Through this ThinkQuest Jr. site you can learn about every instrument in a classical orchestra and hear examples of each on audio clips specially selected to highlight each one. You can also try the suggested musical activities and quiz yourself after surfing to see how much you've learned.
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The Experience Music Project
 | Watch this space! This site highlights an interactive music museum, which will open in year 2000 in Seattle WA, offering features on musicians old and new, games, and an on-line recording studio.
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The Art of Japan
 | Gaze upon calligraphy, mosaics, tea gardens, castles, and more. This site has a rich combination of images and historical background on many of the traditional arts of Japan.
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The Jazz Review
 | This site offers an excellent set of resources about jazz, including discussion areas, expert reviews, and more.
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Drawing in One-point Perspective
 | How do artists draw things so they look three-dimensional? This site explains the principles of one-point perspective, and provides some hands-on activities to help you learn!
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ArtSafari
 | The Museum of Modern Art in New York has created this nifty art activity for kids ages 5 to 12, in which kids get to explore and write about art.
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Kinetosaurs
 | Check out the amazing animated dinosaur sculptures of artist John Payne. Explore the art and science of Kinetosaurs!
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East Carolina University Glassblowing Services
 | Learn about the science and art of glassblowing! Though this site is rather rudimentary in its visual design, the information on glassblowing is clearly organized and fascinating.
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Haring Kids
 | Making use of cutting-edge animation plug-ins like shockwave and flash, this site creates a colorful and compelling whirlwind of art, with beautiful images from artist Keith Haring.
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1200 Years of Italian Sculpture
 | This site offers a wide-ranging archive of images, organized by sculptor and by region.
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Vignette
 | This site offers daily notes about the history of architecture and design, and it has a clean, elegant look.
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Why is the Mona Lisa Smiling?
 | Produced by High School students, this site has a rich store of information about the life, art, and science of Leonardo da Vinci. Check out the MIDI recordings of da Vinci's musical compositions!
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Global Children's Art Gallery
 | This site makes the most of a simple idea: Let children from around the world submit their artwork, and display the pictures in an online gallery. Children ages one through twelve have posted their work, and free scanning is provided if needed.
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Charles Rennie Mackintosh
 | Learn about this remarkable designer, architect, and artist. The site contains photographs of buildings and furniture designed by Mackintosh, as well as his paintings and drawings.
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Vision and Art
 | A tutorial dedicated to teaching how visual information is used in art. The site covers "Interposition," "Relative Size," "Impossible Figures,"Aerial Perspective," and more. This is part of a larger tutorial on sensation and perception.
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National Endowment for the Arts Homepage
 | Learn about the important work the NEA is involved in, check out the featured artist, or browse the online gallery.
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Rube Goldberg Official Site
 | Learn about the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist. He is best know for his cartoons of wacky inventions--some of which appear on this site. Only one complaint--a few of the cartoons are a bit hard to read. Still, this site is worth a visit.
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A. Pintura: Art Detective
 | A creative way to teach art history. A. Pintura helps visitors solve "The Case of Grandpa's Painting." Is the painting a Raphael? Van Gogh? Titian? You'll have to find out for yourself!
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Eileen Gray Home Page
 | A comprehensive look at a fascinating woman. Eileen Gray was an an architect, an artist, and a designer. The site is attractive and easy to navigate.
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Pyrowords
 | A literary site that features mostly poetry. Visually, the site is somewhat interesting; the combination is quite engaging.
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IllusionWorks
 | It is true that you can spend hours on the Web-especially so if you land upon this site. I could barely tear myself away to write this blurb. This extensive site hosts the largest collection of illusions on the Internet.Check out the Java and Shockwave illusions.
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The Florence Art Guide
 | View the art and architecture of beautiful Florence. A "clickable" map of the city provides easy navigation.
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Cusimano: Surrealist Artist
| Category: Arts | Cool Site: September 1996 |
| Recommended 1 time |
 | nteresting work. Cusimano is described as..."Canadian metaphysical surrealist artist known for his enigmatic excursions into the landscape of the soul where the unreal can seem real in the metamorphosis of time."
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Marque Cornblatt Sculpture Gallery
 | An interesting collection of scultpure. Check out the robotic sculpture. Well presented.
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The ArtMetal Project
 | The introduction says it best, "The ArtMetal Project is a not-for-profit volunteer venture of a group of metalsmiths and organizations which aims to disseminate information about various aspects of artistic metalworking and to provide a forum for artists and art lovers to experience this outstanding medium."
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Common Boundaries
 | An interesting and provocative site, Common Boundaries presents artwork, poetry, and other forms of expression. Well designed, and the content is interesting and thought-provoking.
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Kaleidoscope Resource
 | This site certainly qualifies as "cool"! Learn about the history of Kaleidoscopes, view beautiful Kaleidoscope images, or find out how to build your own.
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Salvador Dali's Homepage
 | A great site with stunning images by Salvador Dali. Included at this site is "A Docent's Tour of Salvador Dali Resources on the Internet." This site is well worth the visit.
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The WebMuseum
 | Visit the WebMuseum network. View the work of Paul Cezanne or Art of the 20th Century.
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Travels with Samantha
 | An interactive book where you'll come face to face with examples of the stunning ethnic, scenic, and cultural richness of North America.
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The Leonardo Web Site
 | A great collection of Leonardo da Vinci's work. This site includes oil paintings, drawings and sketches, and much more.
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