Images & Video - ARC 308 - Architecture and Society - Speck - LibGuides at University of Texas at Austin

Visual Literacy

Remember that you as you look for images of your building, you need to be critical about images just as you would a text.

Evaluate the source:
- Who owns the image? Is the owner the same person who made the image?
- What kinds of permissions does the owner of the image give for its use?
- Where did you find it? Do you think the source is reliable?
Evaluate the image:
- What kind of image is it: drawing (plan, elevation, section), rendering, photograph, painting, sketch?
- What kind of information does the image communicate? What do you learn from the image? Does the image produce an emotion in you? How did the artist create that emotion in you?
- What information is left out? Why do you think the creator chose to leave out that information?
- How is the image being used? Do you think the source of the image is using the image differently than the artist intended? Does that change your perception of the image?

Visual Media Databases

Images

ARTstor This link opens in a new window Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Comprised of over 2.5 million digital images of visual material encompassing artistic and historical traditions across many time periods and cultures. Focuses on, but is not limited to, the arts. Includes architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. Designed to be used by researchers in fields that do not traditionally use images as well as by art historians.
In order to take advantage of all the features of the site, you must register or log in with the service. The registration and login links are visible once you enter the database.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new window 1934 (with selective coverage back to 1741) - current. Unlimited users.
Updated weekly. Indexes more than 2,000 periodicals published worldwide on architecture and design, archaeology, city planning, interior design, and historic preservation. Avery indexes not only the international scholarly and popular periodical literature, but also the publications of professional associations, U.S. state and regional periodicals, and the major serial publications on architecture and design of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Includes obituary citations.
Cities/Buildings Database This link opens in a new window Most current file. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Offers more than 5,000 images of buildings from across time and throughout the world. Search for buildings by country, city, style, title of building, architect and/or date of construction.
DASE (Digital Archive Services) Collection This link opens in a new window Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
DASE is a web-based repository for digital images, sound, video and documents. Material on this site may be used for educational purposes by current faculty, students, and staff of the University of Texas at Austin. Use of these materials and resources is restricted by applicable license agreements and copyright law.
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey This link opens in a new window 1933 - present. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Since 2000, documentation from the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) has been added to the holdings. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes. This online presentation of the HABS/HAER/HALS collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, written history pages, and supplemental materials.

Video

Art and Architecture In Video This link opens in a new window Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
A collection of documentaries and interviews illustrating the theory and practice of a variety of art forms and providing the context necessary for critical analysis. The collection spans time period and region, including coverage of the Renaissance, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Modern, and Contemporary Art. In addition to art history and theory, the collection addresses applied topics such as architectural and graphic design. The breadth of coverage makes this collection integral to both scholarship and technique, providing access to the seminal artists and works who continue to inspire the artists, architects, designers and critics of today.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
This streaming service has a catalog of over 30,000 titles covering various educational topics and feature films for some 800 producers including Criterion, Documentary Educational Resources, New Day Films, Media Education, California Newsreel, PBS and others.
Titles streamed by Kanopy are available either directly from the library catalog or from the UT Kanopy interface linked above. Some titles on the UT Kanopy interface are not immediately available to UT community for streaming. Those titles for which we do not hold streaming rights could be requested by filling in a request form. This form would appear on your screen and forwarded to a staff member for consideration. Given our limited funds, we emphasize study and research needs when making purchase decisions.
OnArchitecture This link opens in a new window Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
OnArchitecture is an online audiovisual service providing a synthetic, deep and detailed panorama of the world's main authors, works, experiences and problematics related to the field of architecture. OnArchitecture's collection features original videos, such as interviews, buildings and installations, all of this enriched with a selection of complementary material documents and audiovisuals about the main authors and figures of contemporary architecture.

Finding and Using Images

Digital Image Use 101
Good presentation on questions to ask before you search for images, understanding copyright, Creative Commons licensing and citation styles.
Free Images for Academic/Scholarly Use
Not only does this link give you a list of "free" image banks" in the U.S. and abroad, but it also talks a bit about rights clearance for images

Citing images - examples

UT Writing Center

A wonderful resource to help you with writing and citations. Schedule a one-on-one consultation with them or attend an online presentation.

OWL Purdue

The OWL Purdue is a great resource for questions about citations across different styles.

More Resources

For more information on visual resources: