ARTH 701 - Contemporary Art: Find Books

Browsing for books and articles? Search Catalog+  to find a variety of resources all in one place:

Looking for a specific book title or author? Search the Classic Catalog below:

Browsing the shelves? 

Try these call numbers:

20th Century Art -  N6480-6494

21st Century Art- N6496 - 6498

To identify scholarly books, check for:

• A university or academic publisher (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge)
• Authors/editors are scholars, professors, curators, etc.
• Extensive bibliographies/reference lists are provided

Museum catalogs are an especially helpful scholarly source.

• They compile exemplary artworks on a shared theme or topic
• Include scholarly essays and high quality printed images
• Published by/in collaboration with a museum (e.g. Getty, Met Museum)
• TIP: add the keyword "exhibitions" to your library search. E.g. "aphrodite exhibitions"

• Check the location, availability and call number before heading to the shelf
• Not sure how to read a call number? Watch this video on Youtube.
  
• Books are organized by subject, so take time to browse the shelves. You might find something useful you didn't see in the catalog.
• Get books from other SCAD locations or place a hold with the request service

Exhibition Catalogs are records of art exhibitions. Catalogs contain a list of works shown, including piece title, artist, and date created. Often, they will include images, biographical information about the artist(s), scholarly essays, and analysis of the works. Exhibition catalogs are useful when researching a contemporary artist, because that is usually the only scholarly analysis that exists.

• Example Exhibition Catalog: Blue and Grey: This Era of Exile

A Catalogue Raisonné is a comprehensive catalogue of artworks by a single artist. Often, these books will also feature biographical information on the artist, analysis of works, and images.

Reference Books include encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other related publications. These provide brief informational entries about specific topics, often written by many authors. Look for reference books from reputable publishers.