Getty continues its online-accessible series of exhibits and art exploration. Explore the range of online events, podcasts, and articles.
There and back again
This year Getty scholars are exploring the effect of human movement on art. Tatiana Reinoza, for instance, is studying contemporary artists' use of photography to represent their family’s complex experiences in Central America. These artists' work contrasts with the victimizing images offered by today’s media, as well as historic images that aestheticized poverty, such as those taken by Eadweard Muybridge when he worked for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. (Hoping to lure U.S. companies to resource-rich Guatemala, Muybridge asked a group of women harvesting coffee to pose topless for him.)
Here comes the (ancient Roman) bride
Now that spring has arrived and wedding season is ramping up, you might be interested to know that ancient weddings weren’t much different from today’s. During the early Roman empire, big-budget weddings were typically held at luxury residences such as the Villa dei Papiri, after which the Getty Villa Museum was modeled. And many of the nuptial festivities focused on the bride’s role and appearance. But one thing was different: for young Roman girls, particularly those from privileged families, marriage was the primary rite of passage to adulthood.
You’re invited to a Roman wedding
Five beautiful dragons from Getty’s collection
Thanks to their typecasting as villains in fairy tales, dragons are firmly linked to the Middle Ages. Check out this sampling of dragons in medieval art from around the world.
Dragons as devils, serpent-like creatures, and symbols of strength
Innovative acquisition of Portrait of Mai
The National Portrait Gallery and Getty have announced plans to jointly acquire and share ownership of Sir Joshua Reynolds’ masterpiece Portrait of Mai (Omai). This new model of international collaboration will maximize public access to this important work. The painting “is both an icon of British portraiture and a uniquely noble representation of a person of color from the Pacific islands,” says Timothy Potts, Maria-Hummer Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum.
More about the painting and partnership
Did medieval people have pets?
Animals, domestic and otherwise, had a central place in the lives of medieval Europeans. And it probably won’t surprise you to know that people have always had a special place in their hearts for animal companions. But what kind of pets were popular in the Middle Ages? And how did their humans dress them up?
Don’t forget to call home
For her recent installation the sound of your voice is home, artist Yasmine Nasser Diaz replicated her childhood kitchen, down to the cassette player on the table. Diaz, who was born in Chicago to Yemeni parents, would be summoned to that kitchen to listen to cassette tapes sent from relatives overseas. She recently spoke with independent curator Ikram Lakhdhar about her installation, experiences of immigration, growing up between cultures, and the power of audio.
Artist Yasmine Diaz on WhatsApp, nostalgia, and staying in touch
The untold story of Xerox art and its bold female pioneers
Scholar Zanna Gilbert has been studying artists who used a humble office machine—the photocopier—to make art from the 1960s to ’80s. Many of the artists exploring this new art form were lesser-known women pioneers like Barbara T. Smith, whose work is currently on view at Getty. But why were women so drawn to Xerox art?
Peek inside the art of photocopying
The history of wizard robes
Ever wonder why wizards always seem to be wearing robes? Here’s a clue: Academic robes were worn by real people—European scholars—well into the 16th century, their colors often denoting rank or affiliation (like at Hogwarts, where each house had designated colors). But let Getty medievalist Larisa Grollemond tell you more.
What’s the best way to dry wet art?
Just as Getty is equipped to cope with natural disasters like earthquakes and fires, it also needs a game plan in case water ever comes in contact with books, works on paper, photographs, and other ephemera (though that scenario is highly unlikely). Looking for answers, Getty researchers hosted a workshop wherein various kinds of artworks took a dip in plastic tubs of water and waited to be rescued.
What to do if an artwork gets wet
OK Computer
Why would an art historian need to learn how to code? For Bárbara Romero Ferrón, a Getty graduate intern, big data provides a new way of understanding 19th-century art history. Instead of analyzing images one by one, she explains, art historians can study and compare them in much vaster quantities with the help of computers.
Decadent dining at a royal coronation
This Saturday Charles III will officially be crowned king of the United Kingdom. The Royal Family recently announced that the official dish of the Coronation Big Lunch—a charity event held at various locations across the realm—will be quiche with spinach, fava beans, tarragon, and cheddar. But if Charles had really wanted to make a splash, he should have followed the lead of a king who went all out at his coronation feast almost 350 years ago.
Inside a historic, extravagant 17th-century feast
Tim Walker: Wonderful Things
Through August 20, 2023
Journey into the fantastical worlds created by internationally acclaimed fashion photographer Tim Walker. The exhibition pays tribute to Walker’s distinctive contribution to image-making while also highlighting the work of his creative collaborators: set designers, stylists, makeup artists, models, and muses. At the heart of the show is a new series of photographs inspired by his research into the collections of the Getty Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London.
A playlist to inspire creativity
What songs inspire creativity? It’s a big question, and one we’re exploring all May as we celebrate creativity. So, to kick off the month, we’ve included a playlist of songs with just the right creativity-sparking tempo to keep our gears turning while we research, conserve, display, and share the work at Getty with you.