9 November 2010
Wikipedia, IUPUI Public Art Collection, and Wikipedia Saves Public Art: Personal reflections of Nicole.m.m
First Thoughts:
Initially, I was excited about having another project to be posted on the worldwide web. Wikipedia was the next logical step for me, my first attempt was with Tumblr posting a ten page illustrated paper based on an exhibition proposal I did in my undergraduate years. I thought that was tough, but Wikipedia has proven to be a tad bit tougher.
The concept of “no original research” honestly has me a little confused. To me it’s almost like a complex but simple philosophical statement or trying to figure out what came first…the chicken or the egg? No original research…so are we supposed to plagiarize? I honestly feel like I am living in an academic parallel universe where left is right and up is upside down. And to top it all off, if the “Wikipedia Elves” didn’t like it, it was to be banished from their site to only disappear into thin air. So weeks and months of hard work of non-original research could be gone within the hour or day. Wikipedia now has me shaking in my graduate school boots.
IUPUI Public Art Collection:
Reading through the articles I made personal notes of what they did and didn’t include. Some notations were “no photo, added location history, added acquisition, added controversy, added artists statement, added materials, etc.” What surprised me the most was that although condition reports were “deemed out of bounds” of art objects by Wikipedians, but one object [Broken Walrus] had a section in its article titled “condition”. Was this over looked? What made this so unique it didn’t fall under the guideline of a condition report? What about listing conservation efforts for endangered species? Most of the articles were pretty sparse, most not having a photo to represent the piece. After the readings, I’ve deduced that the original article has been stripped down to what was deemed acceptable to the administrators at Wikipedia. I’ve deemed Wikipedians as Interpol or god-like media centric entity; the wikipedian giveth and the wikipedian taketh away.
The two articles that I felt offered a sense of “completeness” was Mother’s Helper and Eve. To me they offered more than the basic information of the description, artist, and documentation. The elements that were included we the artist’s statement, location history, acquisition information, photo gallery, and related sculpture. This all helped to have a greater sense of the object and its history of being on campus and it’s contribution to being a part of IUPUI’s public art collection.
Final Thoughts:
After playing around on Wikipedia for several days and a week or two, I think I have the hang of it. I still don’t understand it and it’s complicated coding. But the fact that I created and established my sandbox and it’s first entry is a miracle in my book. I feel like I just completed an advanced calculus math problem. I look forward to figuring out more about completing my article. Now, if I only could figure out how to upload a photo from Wikimedia Commons.
14 November 2010
Wikipedia, IUPUI Public Art Collection, and Wikipedia Saves Public Art: Personal reflections of Nicole.m.m
Making mountains out of mole hills...
Busy week and a lot have been accomplished in the realm of Nicole vs. Wikipedia! I think that I am starting to like Wikipedia...we'll the process that is. I am little more comfortable with the "no original research" clause. I am still walking on eggshells about this clause, but I am nonetheless a little more at ease.
First steps towards my personal project...
I began correspondence with my assigned contact at the Indiana Landmarks office in Indianapolis. When I e-mailed Suzanne Stanis of Indiana Landmarks, she was more than excited to hear about the statehouse project for Wikipedia Saves Public Art! And she was more than helpful! She pulled all files related towards the SOS project and anything related to the Indiana Statehouse. This was great because one of my two objects are outside, and the outdoor sculpture that I was assigned, had a file folder with the original SOS paper work (a copy) filled out. I have a collection of figures that are on the south end or at the south entry of the statehouse. I have the Indian, Pioneer, Reaper, and [golden] Eagle. The golden eagle was a bit of a mystery and a challenge. Well the original paper revealed its identity or purpose...all will be revealed in my Wikipedia article. I also visited the Indiana State Library this weekend, which was a wonderful experience with the most helpful and friendly library staff that I have ever experienced. Although it was great, I didn't find anything to help with my project.
Accepted...
I was "adopted" by a Wikipedia!! It was an exciting day when I got the message from "swarm" and I am thrilled to have someone to help monitor my page. I like the idea of adoption, which makes Wikipedia a little less scary.
Someone Else's Page...
We were assigned to "clean-up" another object or Wikipedia page of a public artwork in our hometown or closest city. Well lucky for me I grew up near Chicago! I updated and edited the Chicago Picasso. This was daunting to do, because it is a well written article. The more I looked at it, the more I began to see where edits and additions could be made.
Next Steps and Current Progress...
Although I do feel like I am making progress, I am coming up against some serious roadblocks. The roadblock being...references for the "no original research" clause. I don't have much and feel like I am spinning my wheels and I am coming up with nothing. It's driving me a little crazy at the moment and is not as easy as I thought it would be. So I am getting a little nervous about this part.
Stay tuned.. ..
30 November 2010
Oh my....wikipedia doesn't play around. Out of my two selected objects, I have substantial information on the exterior works thanks to SOS! in the mid 90s. And information that I got from the Indiana Landmarks files listing the Historical Summary of the Chronology of the State Capitol Improvements has given me a helpful approximation of its placement outside. But my object on the interior, the Willaim H. English bust was recommended for deletion with in minutes of it's posting. I add the wiki link to notify the WikiWizards that it is a stub article and it's importance at an entry for the WSPA project. I think it's live......I don't know. I've been racking my brain looking through helpful links through the class main page. I found that I have a considerable amount of info on the brass plaque outside of the bust giving me info.....more than what I could find. So it looks like that might be it, for now......unless the WikiWizards delete it. It's something that is going to keep me up tonight, that's for sure. I hope I thwarted the recommendation. Here's to wishful thinking. I was able to upload the images.....hooray for small victories. I hope the bust of William H. English decides to stay around for while. I will have to continue to scrape what resources I have left for any vital information.