The Norton Herrick Fine Arts Group features works by two artists whose styles may be something of an acquired taste: LeRoy Neiman of Playboy fame, and ErtÄ, most well known for his lavish fashion illustrations. Still interested? Be forewarned, prices on these ╥classics╙ aren╒t cheap, ranging from $4000 to well over $200,000. You╒re also offered some very biased artist bios. I had no idea, for example, that ErtÄ is ╥the most famous and beloved artist of the 20th century.╙ Who wants to break the bad news to Picasso, Andrew Wyeth, and Salvador Dali? - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
The explosion of the Internet and electronic communication isn't something Andy Warhol would have let pass him by. Yet he would certainly have made his presence on the Web felt with a little more pizzazz and a little more experimentation than this site does. It presents a basic tour of the museum in Pittsburgh, but seems more intent on legitimizing Warhol in terms of artistic contributions than in keeping the innovative spirit of his art alive. A worthy goal? In some respects, yes. After browsing here it'll be a little harder to dismiss Warhol as a talentless pop icon. On the other hand, the museum╒s site offers no sense of what made the man so controversial and so marginal. Too much biography, not enough art, video, or music. Please try again. - Daniel Alarcon
A clean mix of cyan, red, and black, Konvolut N: Abandoned Car is an online installation piece worth a quick peek. The site acts as a self-defined "metaphor for abandonment in today's alienated society of the catastrophe." Its stark, bleached images of abandoned cars along Houghton Bay accompany a narrator's essay bent on hollowing your soul. As the narrator becomes more entrenched in his feelings, you can either distance yourself and move on or claim kinship with the increasing esoteric rants about lost desire. After 15 pages of the author╒s attempts to develop an allegory for his travails, I lost interest and clicked my way out of there. - Jason Michaels
Most corporate museum sites merely skim the surface of their featured exhibits, then link you straight to a map and a guide to business hours. Mixing Messages, part of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum site, offers in-depth, theory-packed relief from such drudgery. Ellen Lupton's essay on design encourages one to read further, if not click through, pages examining ╥presence [and] identity in an elusive and unpredictable medium.╙ Besides offering information symposia, lectures, tours, and workshops, Mixing Messages also features Comic Chat for Windows users. If you're in the mood for a critical, didactic site that delivers academic art rants, then head straight to Mixed Messages. - Jason Michaels
"Welcome to IAMFree. We think art should be free." Featuring shoot-from-the-hip photography by Gregory Rubin and the moving transcript "I've Been Wanting To Go Home" by Harrell Fletcher, this content-driven site excels at emotionalizing concrete thoughts and abstract visions. IAMfree legitimates itself by showcasing the music, visuals, and literature of individual Web artists from across the globe. Adamant but not arrogant about these artists, the site aims to develop a new protocol for the arts on the World Wide Web. IAMfree is distinctive in its ability to activate multiple senses. - Jason Michaels
Clean and utilitarian, MIDWESTOCK coordinates stock photos from nearly 50 national photographers. The company╒s site hypes its wares with multiple photo categories, featured artists, and a giveaway that changes monthly. Thumbnails are provided in a right-scrolling bottom Frame, and enlargements are available on the spot. What more can you say about an enthusiastic but uninspiring online advertisement? If it's rich-colored, bright, happy stock photography that you desire, MIDWESTOCK is your next stop on the information supermarket. Moo, pretty pictures. - Jason Michaels
If you╒re like me, you probably find it difficult to appreciate dance unless it╒s placed in a greater context. DanceStage must have had people like us in mind, because it explores dance in the context of other expressive media (music, drama), as well as new technology, critical thinking, education, and consciousness of the world and of ourselves. The featured dance during my visit was the kathak, originally from the Indus Valley. Its Souvenir version, in QuickTime format, was a sensual treat╤an explosive telling of a story that needs no words. - Ismael Marrero
My buddy Ivan has vowed to clean up and expand the Spanish version of these pages (gracias, ╘mano). Otherwise, this much-honored site is what every online college catalog should look like. Find me another 25-member board of directors comprising at least 19 women! Also, check out the Alumni pages (notably the Art Works) to see what these kids are up to. You can even search phonetically on MCAD╒s capable engine to see how many alumni stuck to their professions and went on to make money. - Ismael Marrero
The name derives from the actual trapping of wolves here at this National Park for the Performing Arts: ╥As early as 1632 wolves caused much damage in the region. The General Assembly offered rewards of tobacco for those who constructed traps to capture and deliver wolf heads.╙ Well, the wolves are gone, but tobacco still rules (see the Contributors page). This is a site of perfect size, informative and well laid out, featuring history and upcoming shows. What╒s more, you can get tickets to Riverdance! If you╒re not one of the two million people who have seen Riverdance╤rarer than Haley's comet╤you can still see it here from June 26 through July 6, 1997. - Ismael Marrero
Any site with a movie of the late Timothy Leary is automatically all right by me. This is not only a warehouse for the in-progress fusion of sound and ╥unsound,╙ it╒s also your very own laboratory where, like Frankenstein, you can create your own living art from the bits and pieces provided by the site╒s volunteers-in-residence. Listen and watch. Expect nothing, but be be prepared for anything. Then vote for your favorites. At the end, you can hear and view the results of the most popular visual and aural art combinations; it╒s uncanny how well they work together. - Ismael Marrero