...ART 2 • MUSEUM – BASED ESSAY • DUE: MAY 4/5 Suggested Locations* L.A. Country Museum of Art (LACMA) • lacma.org for info. The Getty Center (Santa Monica) or Getty Villa (Malibu) • getty.edu for info. The assignment is to write an expository essay that focuses on an interpretation of one artwork using a specific symbol or theme (see examples below). Your interpretation must include an analysis of the subject & style of artwork in relation to the function of the object, as we do in class. (Remember the 4 Steps of Interpretation). Also, you should identify the style characteristics of the period-culture to which it belongs. In the paper you will provide “proof” for identifying style and/or meaning by comparing it to objects in your textbook. This assignment is NOT a “report.” That is, you will not find much information about the artwork at the museum. The point of this paper is to interpret the object based on similarities to other objects that are more “known.” Your interpretation should be made primarily of your own observations in relation to the information provided by the textbook and research you conduct about the artworks’ style, symbolism, cultural context, etc. You must support your observations with facts. Also you must properly cite your sources of information in a works cited list. Consult the articles on writing available on our MyECC teamsite in the Writing Resources folder. Examples of Symbols: sun, moon, star, flower, halo, cross, tree, horn, offering...
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...Analysis of: The Central Garden, Getty Center By: Robert Irwin The Getty Center is a famous collection museum located in Los Angeles, also the landmark building of Los Angeles. The Central Garden which is the highlight of Getty Center is created by Robert Irwin. In the middle of the water poor, there are three large azalea circles, in which some small circles are connected to each other. The shape of the sculpture is like a triple maze whose color can be changed through the seasonal variation. Since the sculpture in the enormous Central Garden is made of quantities of azaleas, it attracts a number of tourists from all over the world to appreciate its beauty and magnificence. Irwin wants to create the art of light and space, using ephemeral materials such as scrim, lighting and orientation to alter and heighten the viewers' perception of the space in which they encountered his work (artbabble.org). That’s why he chose to use azaleas to set up the sculpture. One reason why Robert Irwin has chosen azaleas to build the sculpture is that the theme of the garden is the harmony of nature. This concept can be reflected well through putting the azaleas models on the surface of the water pool. The other reason is that the azaleas can show the features of the four natural seasons through the change of colors. Irwin began his career as an abstract expressionist; however, by the late 1960s he had moved away from painting to become one of the creators of the art (artbabble.org). Based...
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...approached the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. He had in his possession, he said, a marble statue dating from the sixth century BC. It was what is known as a kouros—a sculpture of a nude male youth standing with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides. There are only about two hundred kouroi in existence, and most have been recovered badly damaged or in fragments from grave sites or archeological digs. But this one was almost perfectly preserved. It stood close to seven feet tall. It had a kind of light-colored glow that set it apart from other ancient works. It was an extraordinary find. Becchina’s asking price was just under $10 million. The Getty moved cautiously. It took the kouros on loan and began a thorough investigation. Was the statue consistent with other known kouroi? The answer appeared to be yes. The style of the sculpture seemed reminiscent of the Anavyssos kouros in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, meaning that it seemed to fit with a particular time and place. Where and when had the statue been found? No one knew precisely, but Becchina gave the Getty’s legal department a sheaf of documents relating to its more recent history. The kouros, the records stated, had been in the private collection of a Swiss physician named Lauffenberger since the 1930s, and he in turn had acquired it from a well-known Greek art dealer named Roussos. A geologist from the University of California named Stanley Margolis came to the museum and spent two days examining...
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...Museum Extra Credit Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect. Many types of art, even if from different eras, can be not only different but also very similar. By going to a museum and learning about all the different types of art, you realize how different pieces of art can have a lot in common. I decided to visit both the Getty Villa and the Getty center museums to learn more about the artwork that we learned about in class. I went to the Getty Villa to find my work of art during the Neolithic era and I went to the Getty Center to find art from the Roman Imperial era. Both museums were very interesting and it was hard for me to pick just one piece of artwork, one from both eras. I found the pottery and pots the most interesting so I decided to learn about the beautiful pots in more detail. They were so similar and different in so many ways. One vessel that I found to be very interesting is from the Heliolithic era and is titled “Flask Shaped as the Head of Bacchus”. It is a very beautiful vessel. The flask is made of glass and had a very detailed design on it. It had a crown of ivy leaves, which identifies the head of Bacchus. Bacchus is also referred to Dionysus, the god of wine and intoxication. The god and his followers were often depicted with ivy, alluding to the deity’s close association with wine and fertility. This flask was created by molten glass...
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...Getty Villa Art Pieces The Getty Villa is home to many interesting and amazing art pieces. It was founded by J. Paul Getty in 1954 to display his beautiful collection of art. It was heavily influenced by Greek Architecture especially the Greek Villas. The Villa is known for having some of the more unique statues. Most known for the “Lansdowne Hercules” and the “Victorious Youth” which is actually one of the only bronze statues still intact in the world. Plenty of art pieces are unique and on display at the museum. Focusing on Greek Art and Sculpture is fairly easy as they have their own section clearly labeled Greek. This was a huge help in finding the artwork I needed. Three pieces in particular are interesting and have their own story and style. Prize Vessel from the Athenian Games, 363-362 B.C. is a “Panathenaic amphora” used as a prize to give out to the winner of the Games. The contents of the vase were usually just olive oil pressed from the sacred trees of Athens. These were made in their own unique way and almost always included a narrow neck and a standard decoration pertaining to the games. These vases are always decorated with Athena, the goddess of war, who watches over Athens. On one side, the vase is decorated with Athena in her quintessential gown and a helmet worthy of a goddess. She is depicted in sort of a stride armed with her shield and spear showing how strong she is. The other side is in this case a painting of the goddess Nike, Goddess of Victory, crowning...
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...Museum Extra Credit Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect. Many types of art, even if from different eras, can be not only different but also very similar. By going to a museum and learning about all the different types of art, you realize how different pieces of art can have a lot in common. I decided to visit both the Getty Villa and the Getty center museums to learn more about the artwork that we learned about in class. I went to the Getty Villa to find my work of art during the Neolithic era and I went to the Getty Center to find art from the Roman Imperial era. Both museums were very interesting and it was hard for me to pick just one piece of artwork, one from both eras. I found the pottery and pots the most interesting so I decided to learn about the beautiful pots in more detail. They were so similar and different in so many ways. One vessel that I found to be very interesting is from the Heliolithic era and is titled “Flask Shaped as the Head of Bacchus”. It is a very beautiful vessel. The flask is made of glass and had a very detailed design on it. It had a crown of ivy leaves, which identifies the head of Bacchus. Bacchus is also referred to Dionysus, the god of wine and intoxication. The god and his followers were often depicted with ivy, alluding to the deity’s close association with wine and fertility. This flask was created by molten glass...
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...Ancient Art The trip I took to the Getty Museum was very interesting and informational. I had always wanted to go to the Getty and now that I had purpose in writing a term paper on art of ancient civilizations it was worth my time. I mainly learned about art in Egyptian, Greek and Roman culture while I was there. Before the portrayal of the human body or any piece of art can be critiqued, you must understand the artist's culture. As man evolved over centuries, his views of the body and art transformed. My tour definitely showed the drastic changes in different cultures' art. Each culture and era presents very distinct characteristics. Through time and experimentation, we have expressed our views of the human body clearly with our art. Egyptians were the first people to make a large impact on the world of art. Egyptians needed art for their religious beliefs more than decoration or self-gratification. The most important aspect of Egyptian life is the ka, the part of the human spirit that lives on after death. The ka needed a physical place to occupy or it would disappear. Most of the important men of Egypt paid to have their body carved out of stone. That was where the spirit would live after the man dies. They used stone because it was the strongest material they could find. Longevity was very important to the Egyptians. The bodies are always idealized and clothed. Figures are very rigid, close-fisted, and are built on a vertical axis to show that the person...
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... For my cultural event, I visited the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, December 11, 2014. I had originally planned to visit the National Museum of Art and History in Washington D.C., but I found myself in Los Angeles due to the birth of my Grandson. I attended the museum by myself. The Getty Museum was originally started in 1954 in J. Paul Getty’s home in Pacific Palisades. After Getty’s death, the Getty Trust took over the museum. The collection eventually outgrew the site and the Getty Center was built in the Santa Monica Mountains above interstate 405. After inputting the museum’s address I into my phone, Google Maps routed me through the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. The area seems very affluent as I passed several large homes with private gates. I followed the directions and eventually arrived at the Getty Center parking garage. There is a tram that runs from the parking garage to the museum. The tram was very clean and had a very modern feel. The tram ride is very scenic and the views of Los Angeles are incredible as you climb the mountain towards the museum. Upon arrival at the Getty Center, the first thing I noticed was that the floor, steps and all of the walls were constructed of travertine. Upon closer inspection, I noticed small fossils encrusted in the travertine. It seemed like a very appropriate building material for a museum. Once I entered the museum, my first reaction was awe. I was awestruck by the sheer...
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...Based on “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, decisions made quickly and instantaneously can be just as effective as decisions made with careful consideration and long thought. The saga of the Getty Kouros relates to the thesis of the book because of the swift, unconscious decisions that trumped the decision that was made cautiously by examining the piece over time. Gladwell uses this example, accompanied by many to prove his thesis. In addition, he further explains why the conscientious decision that was made with such caution turned out to be so wrong. He proposes two reasons that explained why it resulted that way. Gladwell states, “That is partly because the scientific data seemed so compelling… But mostly it’s because the Getty desperately wanted...
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...LED LIGHTS A Museum Exhibit Case Study By John Miles June 06, 2014 In April 2014, the Durango County Museum of History installed a small exhibit titled Our heritage: Pictures from the past. The collection consists of five daguerreotypes and several silver albumen prints. A study was made to measure the benefits and costs of using LED lights instead of traditional halogen lamps. RISKS OF LIGHTING HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS All lighting harms photographs. (Lavedrine 2003) It is the task of the conservator to minimize this harm so that the photographs can be viewed for a significant span of time, typically 50 to 100 years. For these reasons, historical photographs are displayed only periodically in rooms with significantly reduced lighting. These practices minimize the visitor experience and according to Hunt, reducing light levels diminishes color saturation and contrast. (Hunt 1952, 192) In all lighting systems, ultraviolet light (UV) must be eliminated as that spectrum harms photographs the most. Halogen lights must have UV filters installed which adds to their cost and effectiveness. LED lamps do not emit UV light and do not need extra filters. According to a study by the Getty Conservation Institute, fading from LED lamps does not result in any more damage than conventional halogen lamps with ultraviolet filtering. They found that it is likely using LED lamps results in less fading of photographic materials. (Druzik and Miller 2011) METHODOLOGY In the new exhibit, 12 watt...
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...LED LIGHTS A Museum Exhibits Case Study By Deric Payne December 3, 2014 In April 2014, the Durango County Museum of History installed a small exhibit titled Our heritage: Pictures from the past. The collection consists of five daguerreotypes and several silver albumen prints. A study was made to measure the benefits and costs of using LED lights instead of traditional halogen lamps. RISKS OF LIGHTING HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS All lighting harms photographs. (Lavedrine 2003) It is the task of the conservator to minimize this harm so that the photographs can be viewed for a significant span of time, typically 50 to 100 years. For these reasons, historical photographs are displayed only periodically in rooms with significantly reduced lighting. These practices minimize the visitor experience and according to Hunt, reducing light levels diminishes color saturation and contrast. (Hunt 1952, 192) In all lighting systems, ultraviolet light (UV) must be eliminated as that spectrum harms photographs the most. Halogen lights must have UV filters installed which adds to their cost and effectiveness. LED lamps do not emit UV light and do not need extra filters. According to a study by the Getty Conservation Institute, fading from LED lamps does not result in any more damage than conventional halogen lamps with ultraviolet filtering. They found that it is likely using LED lamps results in less fading of photographic materials. (Druzil and Miller 2011) METHODOLOGY In the new exhibit,...
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...Paul Getty Museum. A Kouros statue is of an ancient Greek descendent, depicting a nude youth that represents not an individual but the idea of youth itself. The Getty was looking to expand their collection of works, and when a very rare Kouros was brought to them, they quickly had it sent to labs to be checked for forgery. When the results came back, the statue was said to be composed of ancient Greek marble, making it thousands of years old, and leading the Getty to make the purchase. However not everyone believed the lab results. Greek Sculpture expert, Evelyn Harrison, took one look at the Kouros and knew it was an imitation. She was unsure why she had these thoughts, but her gut feeling told her it was a forged sculpture. Due to Harrison’s response to the sculpture, the Getty had the Kouros sent back for further investigation. While the analysis was underway, other art experts came to see the rare Kouros; confused as to way it looked so new and clean. A statue that’s supposed to be thousands of years old should not look this way. The Kouros was eventually found to be illegitimate. This proving sometimes our brains unconsciously make decisions based on the knowledge...
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...Maloney, Robin 000301434 Literature, Arts, and The Humanities: Analysis and Interpretation IWT1: Task 1 Introduction: During my lifespan I have been very fortunate to visit many countries such as Greece, Ireland, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Amsterdam, and England. The architecture of these countries always intrigued me with the ornate, and matter of detail, unlike what we have seen in this country. Therefore, in this paper I will compare and contrast the Renaissance and Baroque period's architecture for those periods. Task A1: The Renaissance period generally covered 200 years from 1400-1600 and followed the Gothic period. The meaning of the Renaissance was “rebirth”. Two components comprised this time; (1) an interest in humanism and assertion of the individual and (2) the revival of classical forms originally from the ancient Greeks and Romans. (Renaissance Art and Architecture, 2000). Many feel that the Renaissance period started in Italy as it was a great location between Western Europe and the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Italian cities became the important trade and commercial centers. The Rhine, Danube and Rhone Riverways were valuable routes to transport goods. Cities grew and prospered during this period and the rulers or government learned how to tax people. Removing religion from politics was also a major change during the early Renaissance Period. The new humanists felt that humans should have control over events. They also supported causes...
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...“copyists.” While the term “copyist” may be suitable if the work is a mechanical reproduction, D’Ambra argues, it is not an inclusive term. Instead, for works that are imitations or adaptations of Greek originals, the artist is better described as a neoclassical sculptor which provides them with their due credit. Jenkins, Ian (Ian. The Greek Body. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2009. I discovered The Greek Body not as a result of a specific hunt for the book, but from a general perusal the Sloane Art Library’s section on Greek and Roman sculpture. After seeing the title on the spine of the book, I deemed it to be relevant to my research given that the Torso of Dionysos or Apollo is a depiction, or at least a partial depiction, of a body. Moreover, it was necessary to gain some understanding on how the male body was perceived by the Greeks, especially given that the Romans adopted a Greek style in this sculpture of Dionysos or Apollo. After conducting a background search of the author, I discovered Dr. Ian Jenkins to be credible figure to speak on classical art, given his position as a senior curator at the British Museum, coupled with wide array of publications on archaeology and art history. With this knowledge, I deemed The Greek Body to be an appropriate source for my research. The publication uses pictures and text to provide a comprehensive overview of both male and female nudity as depicted in Greek artwork, the former of which I focused on in my reading. Points pivotal to...
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..."In the first two seconds of looking –in a single glance – they were able to understand more about the essence of the statue than the team at the Getty was able to understand after fourteen months . . . Blink is a book about those first two seconds." Gladwell begins his introduction with the story of a kouros – an ancient Greek sculpture of a young naked male – that was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1983. Kouroi are very rare. As a result this particular kouros was being sold for $10 million. Because of the hefty price tag, the Getty Museum was very careful when testing to see if the kouros was a forgery. However, after 14 months of analysis, the Getty determined that the kouros was in fact real, and bought the statue. Many scholars did not agree that the kouros was real. To them, something about the statue didn’t look right. When Thomas Hoving, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, looked at the statue the first word that came to his mind was “fresh”. When Angelos Delivorrias, director of the Benaki Museum in Athens, first laid eyes upon the statue he felt a wave of immediate disgust. For a long time the validity of the kouros was hotly debated. Finally, the Getty’s case began to fall apart. As it turned out, a lot of the documents used to prove the statue’s authenticity were forged. Also, as experts began to examine the statue in great detail, they came to the realization that it used a hodgepodge of styles from many different places...
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