Douglas Dodds
@douglasdodds.bsky.social
Independent curator, formerly at the V&A. All things digital - especially computer art, digital art, algorithmic art, generative art, etc. Plus museums, libraries, digital humanities, Charles Dickens, Laurence Sterne and more.
www.douglasdodds.org
www.douglasdodds.org
Colourising classic photos is a travesty, especially in a serious newspaper. Today’s Observer has a review of the latest Tennyson bio, with an uncredited colour photo of the poet, “photographed in 1869”. The original is by Julia Margaret Cameron, of course, and it’s in black & white.
October 12, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Colourising classic photos is a travesty, especially in a serious newspaper. Today’s Observer has a review of the latest Tennyson bio, with an uncredited colour photo of the poet, “photographed in 1869”. The original is by Julia Margaret Cameron, of course, and it’s in black & white.
Great to catch up with Adrian Wilson, Kim Mannes-Abbott and Micha Riss at the British Art Fair today. Adrian and his colleagues are doing a fantastic job of promoting the importance of the Quantel Paintbox in the history of digital art! @quantelpaintbox.bsky.social
September 25, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Great to catch up with Adrian Wilson, Kim Mannes-Abbott and Micha Riss at the British Art Fair today. Adrian and his colleagues are doing a fantastic job of promoting the importance of the Quantel Paintbox in the history of digital art! @quantelpaintbox.bsky.social
Christie’s Quietly Deletes Digital Art Department -Artnet News news.artnet.com/market/chris...
Christie's Quietly Deletes Digital Art Department | Artnet News
Christie's has closed its digital art department after several years of shaping the growing market for the category.
news.artnet.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Christie’s Quietly Deletes Digital Art Department -Artnet News news.artnet.com/market/chris...
Kelly - Bronze - well done!
July 27, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Kelly - Bronze - well done!
I’ve passed this stunning building near Selkirk many times, hoping that someone would finally restore it. Designed by Peter Womersley for Bernat Klein, the studio is now in a bad way. At last, a coalition of heritage organisations are hoping to buy it at auction. Please donate if you can!
Support Scottish heritage organisations to buy Bernat Klein Studio, near Galashiels
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/7nPrRvgl
The late-Modernist building of 1972, designed by architect Peter Womersley, is to be auctioned on 30 July. Listed and vacant, this architectural marvel needs urgent saving!
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/7nPrRvgl
The late-Modernist building of 1972, designed by architect Peter Womersley, is to be auctioned on 30 July. Listed and vacant, this architectural marvel needs urgent saving!
July 23, 2025 at 9:41 PM
I’ve passed this stunning building near Selkirk many times, hoping that someone would finally restore it. Designed by Peter Womersley for Bernat Klein, the studio is now in a bad way. At last, a coalition of heritage organisations are hoping to buy it at auction. Please donate if you can!
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
AI bot scrapers are hitting every site on the web in search of training data. This report is the first good attempt to evaluate the impact of these AI scrapers, especially on smaller institutions that are trying to make their collections open to the public www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums
"This is a moment where that community feels collectively under threat and isn't sure what the process is for solving the problem.”
www.404media.co
June 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
AI bot scrapers are hitting every site on the web in search of training data. This report is the first good attempt to evaluate the impact of these AI scrapers, especially on smaller institutions that are trying to make their collections open to the public www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
Edwin Heathcote on the revamped Chelsea Hotel, where “Rooms start at $605” - a night that is. You could have stayed for about 3 months in the ‘60s. @edwinheathcote.bsky.social
“Can you gentrify punk, drugs and the lives of countless failed bohemians and alcoholics? Of course you can. This is New York. Commoditisation of culture is its point.” Enjoyed reading @edwinheathcote.bsky.social m on the renewed Chelsea Hotel.
on.ft.com/407ATjF
on.ft.com/407ATjF
From punk to posh: inside the Hotel Chelsea’s second act
Can you gentrify sleaze, drugs, bohemia and the lives of countless artists? FT architecture critic Edwin Heathcote returns after 35 years to find out
on.ft.com
June 16, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Edwin Heathcote on the revamped Chelsea Hotel, where “Rooms start at $605” - a night that is. You could have stayed for about 3 months in the ‘60s. @edwinheathcote.bsky.social
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
There are still five days left to submit something for SOUND+PURPOSE hosted in Lund in November. Some really great proposed contributions so far showcasing the strength and variety of research in sound. Come and join our discussions of the *why* of sound and the *purpose* of sound research!
Call for Participants!
Join us for the inaugural conference of the new international SOUND+ network for transdisciplinary research in sound 20–21 Nov 2025. Even if sound isn’t your main focus, we’d still love to hear what you’re working on.
Deadline is June 9.
Info ▶️ www.lmc.lu.se/en
Join us for the inaugural conference of the new international SOUND+ network for transdisciplinary research in sound 20–21 Nov 2025. Even if sound isn’t your main focus, we’d still love to hear what you’re working on.
Deadline is June 9.
Info ▶️ www.lmc.lu.se/en
June 4, 2025 at 12:51 PM
There are still five days left to submit something for SOUND+PURPOSE hosted in Lund in November. Some really great proposed contributions so far showcasing the strength and variety of research in sound. Come and join our discussions of the *why* of sound and the *purpose* of sound research!
Wonderful visit to V&A East Storehouse - an amazing project that really transforms public access to the Museum's stored collections. It's great to see some old favourites back on display too.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in making all of this happen - quite an achievement!
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in making all of this happen - quite an achievement!
May 30, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Wonderful visit to V&A East Storehouse - an amazing project that really transforms public access to the Museum's stored collections. It's great to see some old favourites back on display too.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in making all of this happen - quite an achievement!
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in making all of this happen - quite an achievement!
Great review of the V&A’s new Storehouse in the Guardian, plus an excellent write-up by their architecture critic too. I’m looking forward to visiting the Museum’s collection at the Olympic Park on Friday! www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Fancy a masterpiece? Just pop one in your basket! V&A’s new open-access outpost will thrill art-lovers
The Victoria & Albert’s new warehouse boasts a mind-boggling 250,000 artefacts. Our art critic tries its ‘order an object’ service and gets intimate with some national treasures – including ‘the bigge...
www.theguardian.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Great review of the V&A’s new Storehouse in the Guardian, plus an excellent write-up by their architecture critic too. I’m looking forward to visiting the Museum’s collection at the Olympic Park on Friday! www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
If I were a museum anywhere that had loaned anything to anyone in the US I would ask for it back immediately and I would already have ceased any upcoming loans. Not as a punitive measure, merely pragmatic.
Netherlands museum rethinks lending works to US amid Trump arts cuts 📜
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Netherlands museum rethinks lending works to US amid Trump arts cuts
Mauritshuis in The Hague says guarantees would be needed of artworks’ safety amid uncertainty caused by US funding cuts
www.theguardian.com
May 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM
If I were a museum anywhere that had loaned anything to anyone in the US I would ask for it back immediately and I would already have ceased any upcoming loans. Not as a punitive measure, merely pragmatic.
On #VEDay80, remembering my father Albert Dodds (right), a sergeant in the British Army's Pioneer Corps. He was evacuated from France 3 weeks after Dunkirk, then took part in the Sicily, Salerno & Normandy landings. Most of his company was at Lüneburg in May 1945, when the Nazi forces surrendered.
May 8, 2025 at 12:58 PM
On #VEDay80, remembering my father Albert Dodds (right), a sergeant in the British Army's Pioneer Corps. He was evacuated from France 3 weeks after Dunkirk, then took part in the Sicily, Salerno & Normandy landings. Most of his company was at Lüneburg in May 1945, when the Nazi forces surrendered.
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
New CFP: What Do (Digital) Images Want? Join us in exploring a decade of data, power & visual knowledge!
dahj.org/cfp/11
dahj.org/cfp/11
CFP: What Do (Digital) Images Want? A Decade of Data, Power, and Visual Knowledge in Art History — DAHJ
The International Journal for Digital Art History (DAHJ) marks its 10th anniversary at a crucial moment when digital images are not only omnipresent in daily life, but are generated by active agents...
dahj.org
May 7, 2025 at 4:38 AM
New CFP: What Do (Digital) Images Want? Join us in exploring a decade of data, power & visual knowledge!
dahj.org/cfp/11
dahj.org/cfp/11
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
TANK vs TESLA
"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"
- WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank
"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"
- WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank
May 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
TANK vs TESLA
"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"
- WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank
"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"
- WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank
In other news, rubber ducks are migrating to Canada, where they won’t be subject to Trump’s tariffs on Mandarin goods
‘the Rubber Duck Museum, is relocating just over the border to the town of Tsawwassen. That’s because of the decline in tourism & because most of the rubber ducks sold in the gift shop come from China & would be subject to US tariffs that would have more than tripled their price’
#BoycottUSA #NoMAGA
#BoycottUSA #NoMAGA
May 5, 2025 at 9:05 PM
In other news, rubber ducks are migrating to Canada, where they won’t be subject to Trump’s tariffs on Mandarin goods
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
Last night I had the pleasure of hearing @annagk.bsky.social talk to our Dickens postgraduates about www.dickensnotes.com - a fantastic open access resource showing Dickens's working notes for his novels. Highly recommended!
Digital Dickens Notes Project
The Digital Dickens Notes Project is an exploration of Charles Dickens's Working Notes
www.dickensnotes.com
April 18, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Last night I had the pleasure of hearing @annagk.bsky.social talk to our Dickens postgraduates about www.dickensnotes.com - a fantastic open access resource showing Dickens's working notes for his novels. Highly recommended!
Another beautiful art deco pool ticked off my to-do list! This is Mounts Baths, Northampton - a water-filled cathedral for swimming worshippers
April 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Another beautiful art deco pool ticked off my to-do list! This is Mounts Baths, Northampton - a water-filled cathedral for swimming worshippers
That’s me, bottom right
April 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
That’s me, bottom right
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
The deletion of websites and other government data is a dangerous attack on knowledge, harming democracy. My colleague @nannathylstrup.bsky.social & I contribute a guest essay in @nytimes.com today: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/o...
Opinion | The Trump Administration’s Data Purges Weaken America
The Trump administration has started purging the government’s digital memory. Democracies die without proper archiving and public records.
www.nytimes.com
April 11, 2025 at 9:56 AM
The deletion of websites and other government data is a dangerous attack on knowledge, harming democracy. My colleague @nannathylstrup.bsky.social & I contribute a guest essay in @nytimes.com today: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/o...
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
NEW 🐣
The editors of the Italian open access journal Engramma invited me to contribute an article for a special issue on copyleft and internet piracy.
'Museums and the Enclosure of the Public Domain in the Digital Age' is now online at engramma.it/eOS/index.ph...
#museums #copyright #publicdomain
The editors of the Italian open access journal Engramma invited me to contribute an article for a special issue on copyleft and internet piracy.
'Museums and the Enclosure of the Public Domain in the Digital Age' is now online at engramma.it/eOS/index.ph...
#museums #copyright #publicdomain
April 7, 2025 at 9:04 AM
NEW 🐣
The editors of the Italian open access journal Engramma invited me to contribute an article for a special issue on copyleft and internet piracy.
'Museums and the Enclosure of the Public Domain in the Digital Age' is now online at engramma.it/eOS/index.ph...
#museums #copyright #publicdomain
The editors of the Italian open access journal Engramma invited me to contribute an article for a special issue on copyleft and internet piracy.
'Museums and the Enclosure of the Public Domain in the Digital Age' is now online at engramma.it/eOS/index.ph...
#museums #copyright #publicdomain
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
I wrote my latest piece for Anthropology News to not only draw attention to the fragility of digital data, but highlight the work being done by those at The Internet Archive (@archive.org) and independent archivist like Jason Scott (@textfiles.com).
www.anthropology-news.org/articles/bit...
www.anthropology-news.org/articles/bit...
April 7, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I wrote my latest piece for Anthropology News to not only draw attention to the fragility of digital data, but highlight the work being done by those at The Internet Archive (@archive.org) and independent archivist like Jason Scott (@textfiles.com).
www.anthropology-news.org/articles/bit...
www.anthropology-news.org/articles/bit...
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
#generativeart and #aiart didn’t just come out of nowhere - “A Computer in the Art Room: the origins of British Computer Arts 1950-1980” is now available as an ebook @amazonkindle.bsky.social & Apple books £5.99 & $4.99
April 3, 2025 at 5:08 PM
#generativeart and #aiart didn’t just come out of nowhere - “A Computer in the Art Room: the origins of British Computer Arts 1950-1980” is now available as an ebook @amazonkindle.bsky.social & Apple books £5.99 & $4.99
Reposted by Douglas Dodds
Are you interested in the history of art & tech in Britain? My newest book features George Mallen, pioneer of creative computing since 1964, cybernetics and Gordon Pask, artist Stephen Willats, the Royal College of Art & the history of the Computer Arts Society in 1960s-1970s bit.ly/3xdOE58
April 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Are you interested in the history of art & tech in Britain? My newest book features George Mallen, pioneer of creative computing since 1964, cybernetics and Gordon Pask, artist Stephen Willats, the Royal College of Art & the history of the Computer Arts Society in 1960s-1970s bit.ly/3xdOE58
Currently on a much-delayed train, stuck at Newark with this advert outside. Brilliant marketing by LNER - “Days that live on forever.”
April 1, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Currently on a much-delayed train, stuck at Newark with this advert outside. Brilliant marketing by LNER - “Days that live on forever.”