Exploring the 1913 Armory Show with Digital Humanities Tools

I love art history and, above all, I love the story of the 1913 New York City Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art. Abstract art seems commonplace now. We may not understand the flurry of jagged, vibrant, geometric forms constructed into the misshapen face of a Picasso painting, but when we see it we aren't shocked or startled. However, for a 1913 American population that was used to seeing highly-realistic art styles, abstract paintings like Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, no. 2 came as quite a surprise, and "critics reviled the experimental art as 'insane' and an affront to their sensibilities" (Vitale 2013). Nevertheless, the public and art collectors alike were drawn to these curious new works of art, all flocking to see what had so offended the traditionally-minded art critics. Historian Valerie Paley explains that the 1913 Armory Show was indicative of much broader transformations happening in the world, stating that, "'it's a different time. It's the dawn of a different time. And certainly this idea of deconstructing the old way of thinking — is very much in the air'"(Vitale 2013). The 1913 Armory Show was an artistic revolution of sorts, paving the way for alternative art movements that pushed the boundaries of what we consider "art."

As I researched the Armory Show for a project, I noticed that, for such an influential show, I couldn't find an intuitive, easily-searchable database of every work exhibited alongside contextual information. I imagined finding a contentdm-esque database with a picture of the artwork and metadata below noting the object's provenance, but I had no such luck. At this time I had just started taking a Digital Humanities class and my mind was instantly spinning with all the connections and insights I could uncover if I had a comprehensive database of the exhibition's objects, and thus my project was born. Though I set out initially to make a searchable database, much like the one I had imagined finding when I first searched the show, I quickly learned that DH projects do not always follow a linear path. Using information from the original 1913 Armory Show catalogue, I compiled a spreadsheet and then used that spreadsheet to create data visualizations that reveal patterns and trends among the artworks and artists of the Armory Show. I experienced both the benefits and pitfalls inevitable in any DH project, but I can confidently say that in the end I have created a usable dataset with infinite possibilities for expansion.

Duchamp, Marcel. Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2). 1912, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Oil on canvas.

An overhead installation view of Gallery A at the Armory Show, 1913. Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family papers, and Armory Show records, 1859-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.