“A Database is an Argument”: Anne Helmreich on Digital Humanities and Art History

In this episode Caroline Fowler (Starr Director of the Research and Academic Program at the Clark Art Institute) speaks with Anne Helmreich, an art historian and digital humanist. Formerly the Associate Director of Digital Initiatives at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, since April 2020 Anne has been the Associate Director of the Getty Foundation. A specialist of nineteenth-century art, Anne recounts how she veered away from law school to pursue art history. She reflects on how she first encountered digital humanities, and why for nearly fifteen years she has explored the possibilities of what this burgeoning field might open up for art history, and how art history in turn might productively challenge the digital humanities. 

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What does it mean to make art history? In the Foreground: Conversations on Art & Writing considers the role of art in society, how knowledge is shared (or obscured), and the way histories are made and unmade—while also considering the personal stakes of scholarship. Each episode offers a lively, in-depth look into the life and mind of a scholar or artist working with art historical or visual material. Discussions touch on guests’ current research projects, career paths, and significant texts, mentors, and experiences that have shaped their thinking. We invite you to join us and listen in on these conversations about the stakes of doing art history today.