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Homer’s Ilead to be scanned robotically

Three of my current interests — Greek, manuscript books, and technology — star together in this Wired article about the project of the Harver Center for Hellenic Studies to photograph and digitize the oldest copy of Homer’s Iliad. According to the article:

A high-resolution, 3D copy of the entire 645-page parchment book, plus a searchable transcription, will be made available online under a Creative Commons license.

The project includes a robotic arm which laser-scans the pages from about an inch away — the pages could crumble if flattened by use of a regular flatbed scanner — incredible resolution, and a CAD program. All being done at an ancient library in Venice where the book is housed. This is very cool.

This summer students of Greek will produce XML translations of the text (the handwritten text and archaic ligatures make OCR unworkable) at the Center for Hellenic Studies in DC, as part of the Homer Multitext Project. Oh, very, very cool.

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Collage #4

And another. I started this one from collage #2, because when I cut that collage into a rectangle, the leftover frame looked so interesting I didn’t want to throw it out. More of the same detritus plus: some paste-paper scraps, bits of lettering from a hand lettered wedding service book, a bit of wrapping tissue from Victoria’s Secret, and more trial lettering scraps. Plus pen and ink and pencil and marker.

Part of me would like to put something in the spaces above the left and below the right Stimudent markings. The better part of me (I think) feels that the white rectangle is integral to the success of the piece, and is sure that if I gave in and filled those spaces then the structure would fall apart.

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Collage #3

Collage #3. I started with a piece of torn manila envelope from the recycling bag, and then added bits and pieces of discarded lettering — copy-fitting trials, Stimudent experiments from a long-ago workshop, pieces of an accordion book, stampings from a rubber-eraser cutting, and some truly awful brush lettering. I don’t think it looks too precious, do you? Well, maybe.

Next time I should just start with a fast-food wrapper or something. I’ve got a truly garish book jacket from a Janet Evanovich novel, but I can’t find anything to go with it. Can you imagine? Actually, the McDonald’s sticker they put on a fountain drink might work with it. Hmm.

As always, click on the image for a closer look.

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A couple of collages

What I did today in class. These are both 4″ x 6″. I brought a small part of the box of stuff that I’ve never been able to throw out in case I might find some use for it later. You know: those beautiful little misshapen triangles of paper and book cloth that get mitered when a board is being covered, strips of lovely paper that was slightly larger than needed, and all manner of interesting scraps.

Actually, I’m rather pleased with these two. I can see that it could get to be addicting, rather like crossword puzzles, or Sudoku — really, more like a jigsaw puzzle.

Part of the point of doing collage is to prevent one from becoming too “precious” about their art.

Oops. I think my next collages had better have newspaper in them, or blood, or paint splats. Maybe just Times New Roman type would suffice. It’s certainly not precious.

I’m looking forward to one of the other current projects: collage a woman’s head and then draw her body using hand-drawn lettering. Fun!

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Mirror of the World: Books and Ideas

This new online exhibit from the State Library of Victoria presents some truly fascinating books. This image is from one of my favorites, and the oldest book in their collection. Here’s some information about it:

Originally written in 500CE by Boethius (c475–524), a Roman scholar and statesman, the work consists primarily of diagrams and explanations about the relationship of music to mathematics. This reflected medieval thinking that music was a mathematical discipline.

De Musica became the standard textbook on the theory of music throughout the Middle Ages, and was still prescribed reading at Oxford University in the 18th century.

The website divides its exhibit into four categories: Inspiration, Exploration, Imagination, Innovation. (I could swear this was the theme for high school history projects in the US a couple of years ago. Everything is miscellaneous, eh?) The site provides opportunities to zoom and pan, peel and reveal, and turn the page — technologies I first saw implemented on the excellent website of The British Library. At the British Library site, the Lindisfarne Gospels, headlined “Pinnacle of Anglo-Saxon Art,” is not to be missed.

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Collage

Collage is like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead: “… when she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid.”

A collection of links to very, very good collage:

An excellent assortment of collages by Kurt Schwitters, Georges Braque, Mara Kurtz, Joseph Cornell, and more.

“Out of the Dark” by Kurt Schwitters

Kurt Schwitters at MOMA — in chronological progression.

Wangechi Mutu at the Saatchi Gallery. Striking and graphic.

Robert Nickle — images from the Art Institute 1979 exhibition and from the 1994 retrospective at University of Illinois. Low-key color schemes and other subtleties.

Georges Braque also uses low-key color schemes. This oil painting at MOMA seems to be a painting of a collage of text, whereas these three pieces are true collages. Oops, I see that the first and third of these four links don’t take you to the right images, and I can’t figure out how to get there. Just saying.

A word collage by Carlo Carra. Cool.

An awesome transition from collage to text art by Kurt Schwitters.

Glenys Mann, a fiber artist with great collage sense.

Jonathan Talbot — a few images from the now-defunct Orange County Arts Council, a few more of the Flamenco series, and a few more from the Patrin series.