Peer Review

Art Authority App for iPad

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jul 21, 2019 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: Art Authority for iPad transports you to an enthralling, real-world art museum filled with works by over 1500 of the western world's greatest artists, from ancient times to today. 100,000 paintings and sculptures, organized into eight period-specific rooms, each room a gateway to a whole museum's worth of art. Choose an artist by movement or name, and become instantly immersed in an exhibition devoted just to that artist. Search for and compare different artists' works by title, subject or location, or just wander at random and get lost in the art. Cost is $9.99 (2019). The app is available at half price through the Apple Education Program.
Type of Material:: Reference Material
Recommended Uses:: Portable reference for finding specific art examples, browsing art, purchasing reprints. The material can be used by an individual, in-class, or for group work.
Technical Requirements:: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 3.2 or later; requires 61.6MB
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Art Authority for iPad seeks to provide users with access to a huge selection of artists and and their art, many more ways to search and access the art, and a professionally-designed virtual museum interface.They want to help bring all the world's art to the world. There is a K-12 version of the app with free lesson plans ($7.99) and an Art Channel on Apple TV. Users can virtually explore Western art works that fit within the parameters of eight defined periods: Early, Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, Modern, Contemporary and American.
Target Student Population:: Middle School, High School, College General Ed, Professional
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None.

Content Quality

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Strengths:

Art Authority for the iPad provides a systematic structure of "rooms" featuring Early (up to 1400s), Renaissance (1400s-1500s), Baroque (1600s-1700s), Romanticism (1790-180ss), Impressionism (later 1800s), Modern (late 1800s -1950s), Contemporary, and American (US). The access to the art collection represented in this app is vast, yet the structure of this app allows users to find artists, genres, and artwork within seconds. The quality of the images is very good. The eight "rooms" or periods of art provide strong examples of skills and techniques prevalent to that period from several major artists. The content is appropriate for studying art history from a Western viewpoint.

Users can roam through the materials, by visiting the rooms designated by time period or exploring the time line feature or learning more about individual artists.

Concerns:

None.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

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Strengths:

This app allows those who do not have a background in art history the ability to begin learning and exploring art examples by period, subject, or artist. There are dozens of artists per period ("room"). Users are able to get a clear idea of the actual size of the pieces and find works to view that are similar to the ones they are currently viewing. Captions for the artwork includes title, date, location, and other details. Hyperlinks to additional information on artists, major works, and locations provide support for research. A gallery-like scrolling feature shows how works have evolved over time. This supports comparison studies. Since this is an app, it can readily support independent study and group efforts.

This material could be used for enhancing class instruction, collaborative research, or for individual enjoyment.

Concerns:

The cost of $9.99 for the app limits the access of the content for learning to those who can afford it.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

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Strengths:

Art Authority for the iPad provides a systematic structure of "rooms" featuring Early (up to 1400s), Renaissance (1400s-1500s), Baroque (1600s-1700s), Romanticism (1790-180ss), Impressionism (later 1800s), Modern (late 1800s -1950s), Contemporary, and American (US). There is an alphabetized directory, a section focused on highlights in the collection, a very clear and easy to follow section called Getting Around [the app], and a section on what is new. The 1000 Museums Gift Shop makes is easy for users to purchase archival reproductions of major works, including an option for custom framing.

There is a searchable index of 1500+ artists and searchable indexes of major titles, subjects and location. There is a shuffle feature that allows for continuous random display of all art by period or genre. Hyperlinks provide access to in-depth information on artists, major works and locations. It is easy to navigate through the elements.

Concerns:

None.

Other Issues and Comments:: Most recent update supports iOS 12 users.
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