When using the term "art", the visual arts are usually the first kind of the arts that come to mind for most people. However, this visual arts can further be broken down into the categories of painting, printmaking, sculpture, decorative arts, architecture, and photography.
The HACC Library: Books and Media catalog is a searchable database of books, periodical titles, and audio-visual material available at Harrisburg Area Community College.
Background Information
These databases include encyclopedias, and are an excellent way to begin any research project. These articles are generally shorter and easier to digest, which makes them ideal for getting a footing in your topic. Fewer keywords work better for searching these databases.
Image Databases
These databases are particularly useful for finding photographs and scanned images of visual art pieces.
Research Databases
These databases are used for searching for articles about the arts or even art criticism. Most of the sources you use in your final projects will come from these databases. Two or more keywords work best when searching these.
Modern Art by 
Byzantine Art and Architecture by 
Chicana and Chicano Art by When conducting research in the visual arts, if you don't already know the artist or name of the artwork you are researching, try combining the particular genre of visual arts you are searching for with the associated culture you are interested in.
Examples:
| Genre | Culture |
|---|---|
|
Western
Non-western
|
You may also try combining a particular artist or movement of art with what kind of information you are looking for.
Examples:
| Artist/Movement | Desired Information |
|---|---|
|
|
| Western | Non-western |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Mary Cassatt, The Coiffure, 1890-1891, drypoint and aquatint on laid paper, sheet: 43.2 x 30.7 cm (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), Public Domain, Link | Kitagawa Utamaro, Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure, c. 1795, woodblock print, ink and color on paper, 36.3 x 25 cm (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), Public Domain, Link |
Mary Cassatt visited an exhibition in Paris on Japanese woodblock prints. This experience served as her inspiration for a series of art in which she attempted to emulate aspects of the Japanese style.
