Becoming Artsy is back!; creativity and mental illness; big news about next year

Becoming Artsy in London!

Join Jessie as she embarks on an epic historical pub crawl through London—no, not to find the best pint, but to learn firsthand the significance of Arches, a software that helps track and monitor cultural heritage sites. She talks to Phil Carlisle from Historic England, one of the organizations using Arches, who tells her some great stories about Arches sites (including why Gandalf’s staff is on the wall of a pub).  

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The link between creativity and mental illness

Does having a mental illness really make you a better artist? Reporter Elaine Woo spoke with Getty curators, local neuroscientists, and other experts to find answers to this divisive question. In the process she discovered fascinating stories behind works by Vincent van Gogh, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, and other artists represented in Getty’s collections.

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More than 50 SoCal organizations reveal plans for the next PST

Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, recently joined more than 50 partner organizations to announce the mind-expanding exhibitions they will present in the next Pacific Standard Time, Art & Science Collide, which opens in September 2024. Getty will make the landmark regional collaboration a regularly scheduled series on a five-year cycle under a new name, PST Art.

Find out who’s participating and what the exhibitions will explore

“Hidden mother” portraits show the challenges of keeping an infant still for the camera

It’s hard to keep a baby still for an iPhone photo. So imagine trying to get a great shot in the 1860s, when it took up to 30 seconds to expose a photograph. The solution? Photographers often asked the children’s mothers or caregivers to keep them still, launching a type of portrait known as the “hidden mother.” But how exactly did the moms conceal themselves?

How to take a baby picture like a 19th-century photographer

Did medieval people use shampoo?

You asked us, “Medieval hair, what’s the deal?” And Getty medievalist Larisa Grollemond has offered up some answers. She tells us what people used before shampoo was invented; who wore their hair uncovered and loose versus braided and veiled; how combs were once objects of beauty; and what long hair on a man signaled.

Haircare in the Middle Ages

A victorious, and mysterious, Greek youth

Would you believe this ancient Greek statue was found at the bottom of the ocean by fishermen in the 1960s? What was once a shining emblem of Olympic achievement underwent a physical transformation and now tells of its journey far from home, as Getty antiquities curator Ken Lapatin and Smarthistory director Beth Harris tell us in this enlightening video.

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Celebrate the Roman goddess of spring in this family workshop

Saturdays, May 13 and 20, 11:00 am–3:00 pm

Getty Villa, Outer Peristyle

Discover the blooms and fragrances of history during this all-ages Roman garden workshop. To celebrate the ancient season of Floralia—which honors the Roman goddess Flora—explore the Villa gardens with your family, discover beautiful flowers, and then make seed balls to bring home and grow a garden of your own.

Learn more about this free, drop-in event

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