James,

I completely agree with you!  The format should reflect the project.  I
should have mentioned that I was specifically referring to pages with
similar content as Lynne's page, but, unlike Lynne's design, overdo the
visual "oomph" that "cheapens" the appearance of a scholarly project.

I also visited your site, and you may not agree, but I think your site is
conservative in its appearance when compared to other sites for contemporary
art, but I am not criticizing - I prefer the conservative approach.  The
white on grey text creates a simple, yet elegant, visual effect, and
contributes to the overall design that comes across as classic (the grey and
white of classic marble statuary and architecture) with the clean lines of
modernity.  As for the bookstore page - my opinion is that the fiery red
background does add visual interest, but makes the smallest text difficult
to read.  However, because you have chosen a heavy bold font for 99% of the
text - the site is still well designed.   (It also looked great with just
the black before the background.gif loaded.)  I think the best way to add
the visual extra without compromising clarity is to use the decorative edge
technique that was introduced years ago, and is still perfectly valid.

When I am bombarded by neon colors, hard to read text, and flashing images I
often don't bother to "enter" the site.  Your site quietly invites me in,
and allows me to explore without an unwanted assault of superfluous and
superficial gimmicks.

Thanks for addressing the copyright issue - I hope others will do the same.
I tend to agree with you - the extent to which images are available "for the
taking" has really grown.  But as my grandmother would say - just because
everyone does it, does it make it right?

Carol




-----Original Message-----
From: thegentry.com project <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, February 25, 2000 9:50 AM
Subject: Re: Mouseia


>carole,
>
>at my site we have broken every rule of norm in terms of presentation -
>especially on the bookstore page. you dont want a typical website that is
>ugly, boring and average. do what you feel is visually 'correct' as it
>relates to your project's aesthetic.
>
>regarding website display law? although there are many theories, all one
can
>really do is claim and post copyright and trademark. all images that are
not
>owned by the owner of the site must be cleared for publication and the same
>copyright and trademark notices must be displayed for the owners of the
>images used (see our art news page for example.) the reality is - the
>digital ease at which people can R&D (rip off and duplicate) is too hard to
>control.
>
>best,
>james
>
>
>james linza
>managing director
>
>thegentry.com project for contemporary art
>Homepage: http://www.thegentry.com
>E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>Telephone: 561/301-2474
>Text Messaging: [log in to unmask]
>Hours: Online 24/7  Appointments: Monday - Friday:  Noon to 5 pm
>Catalogues issued via e-mail & snail mail.
>Snail mail: P.O. Box 2474, Palm Beach,  Florida   33480-2474
>
>thegentry.com project for contemporary art is an
>Internet based e-commerce site that sustains
>programming in visual arts, poetry, arts news
>and education, and critical discourse.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Carol Riggles <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Friday, February 25, 2000 8:24 AM
>Subject: Re: Mouseia
>
>
>> Don,
>>
>> There is a trend in web design to limit the table size to the width of
600
>> and to left justify.  Lots of sites follow this "norm."  However, I
prefer
>> things centered as well.
>>
>> Lynne,
>>
>> Regardless of whether you choose to center or not, your site is extremely
>> attractive.  I am really getting tired of all the bells and whistles
>people
>> insist on adding to websites that increase loading time and detract from
>the
>> overall appearance.  Thanks for keeping your site subtle and
sophisticated
>> in appearance.
>>
>> Now, however, I am forced to ask, have you obtained copyright to the
>images
>> you are displaying on the home page?  I saw no reference to such
>permission.
>> The reason I ask is because, one, I instantly recognize the snippet from
>> Vermeer's "The Art of Painting" that belongs to the Kunsthistorisches
>Museum
>> in Vienna.  The painting was recently hanging in the National Gallery of
>> Art, Washington, DC for a very happy American audience that had been
>hoping
>> to have this painting on display in 1995/6 when the NGA put together a
>> Vermeer exhibition and was unable to show the above-mentioned painting
>> because of its fragile condition.  After several years of restoration,
the
>> painting was finally available, and luckily the NGA realized having it
>show
>> up late was better than never.
>>
>> A second reason for me to ask is that copyright issues and websites have
>> been a major topic of discussion in the classes I have been taking, and I
>am
>> hoping to find out what others are doing, or how they interpret the
>> rules/laws as they apply to website display.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Carol Carpenter Riggles
>> Graduate Student, Art History
>> University of Maryland
>>
>> =========================================================
>> Important Subscriber Information:
>>
>> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
>information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message
>to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"help"
>(without the quotes).
>>
>> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
>[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
>Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>>
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).
>
>If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).