*Art and Visual Culture

How can the Library help you with your Studio Art Thesis?

This is the link to the Thesis Writers Guide for all disciplines at Bates. This has important details about deadlines and how to submit your work to our scholarly repository, SCARAB.

Some notable sources to find exhibition reviews and listings as well as essays and art criticism:

There are also a number of popular sources for art criticism in newspapers and magazines. For more information on exhibitions and museums, try searching these publications:

These databases provide access to high-quality, curated collections of artworks. When searching for images, look for versions digitized or authorized by the museum or collection of the physical artwork, such as metmuseum.org or louvre.fr, when possible, these will have the correct color tones and provide reliable information about the object as well.

These titles cover essential grounding in practice, creativity, and theory. They balance practical guidance with critical perspectives, helping you to navigate challenges, sustain momentum, and articulate your work within contemporary and philosophical contexts.

These titles cover some basics of how to research in the visual arts and start writing about your work.

Exhibition catalogs are crucial items to research in AVC, as they often contain the most in-depth and well-researched scholarship on particular artists and objects. Although some institutions are beginning to produce and experiment with online exhibition catalogs, websites, or other formats, most exhibition or art catalogs are exclusively available in print. Knowing the name of the artist or the title of the exhibition, the host institution or the curator is helpful.

These texts explore method and processes of artmaking and observation, worth checking out and familiarizing yourself with these authors and ideas.

The Vitamin series from Phaidon Press is an excellent source of current writing by media and process, see display above to browse our collection of this series.