GDK Research publishes unknown photographic documents, administered by the Photo Study Collection of the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (ZI), about art during the Nazi era via a freely accessible image database. The database was made possible by means of advanced database technologies and a method especially developed for this project which allows for the connection of a digitalized photograph’s details with data records of particular artworks (APS Visual Annotation).
In 2007 and 2008, a team working at the ZI prepared the contents of this project and developed a sophisticated data model based on MIDAS. In December 2008, the ZI team submitted its grant application with the working title GDK-ONLINE at the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – German Research Foundation) in the funding measure “academic research information system” (“Wissenschaftliche Literaturversorgungs- und Informationssysteme”). The Haus der Kunst Munich (Historisches Archiv (historical archive)) and the Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin (German Historical Museum Berlin) (Abteilung Kunst II (section art II)) are project partners of GDK Research.
The DFG approved the application on July 24, 2009, and gave it the file number INST 19415/4-1 for a term of two years. The project was realised between September 1, 2009 and August 30, 2011 (see more information on http://www.zikg.eu/main/projekte-en.htm#gdk).
Especially regarding the documentation of the Great German Art Exhibitions in 1937 and 1944, the project was extensively supported by the photograph collections of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library), represented by Dr. Reinhard Horn and Dipl. Bibl. (certified librarian) Angelika Betz and by the Stadtarchiv München (Munich City Archives), represented by Elisabeth Angermair M.A. as well as by the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Bavarian State Archives), section V., represented by Dr. Sylvia Krauss.
Dr. Christian Fuhrmeister, Dr. Stephan Klingen, Dr. Iris Lauterbach, Dr. Ralf Peters
Academic staff:
Ulf Dingerdissen M.A., Dr. Johannes Griebel, Julia Lehnert M.A., Lucie Valdhansova M.A.
Contracts for service: Dr. Marlies Schmidt, Dr. Brigitte Zuber
Sabine Brantl M.A.
Prof. Dr. Monika Flacke
MitarbeiterInnen: Katrin Abromeit, Jens Jarmer, Nina Mews
The Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte is much obliged to both its cooperation partners: the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum), Berlin and the Haus der Kunst, Munich. Further gratitude goes to the German Research Foundation and all supportive Munich organizations. A special thanks to the ‘Freunde des Zentralinstituts für Kunstgeschichte e.V. CONIVNCTA FLORESCIT’ for their generous funding of the english version of GDK Research. At this point we also want to express our thanks to Dr. Ralf Stegmann and Sascha Sander from Stegmann Systems for their professional and patient consulting.