Mercedes Dorame with part of her new installation, Woshaa’axre Yaang’aro
Table of Contents
NEW ON VIEW
Bringing ocean to land
In Mercedes Dorame’s installation Woshaa’axre Yaang’aro (Tongva for “looking back”), shells 4 to 12 feet tall hang from the Museum Entrance Hall ceiling, and murals of the Southern California coastline as seen from Catalina Island wrap around the walls. Dorame’s intent? To invite visitors to imagine Catalina from the Tongva people’s perspective. “No matter where you’re from, there are First Peoples of that place and they are still there,” she says. “How do we acknowledge and learn from them?”
Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight, 1846, Johan Christian Dahl. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Christen Sveaas, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019 (2019.167.2). Image: www.metmuseum.org
Bust of Marcus Aurelius (detail), 161–180 CE, Roman. Gold. Site et Musée romains d’Avenches et Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire, Etat de Vaud
MEDIEVAL LIFE
Should Anne of Brittany have her own HBO drama?
Anne of Brittany married King Charles VIII of France when she was just 14; became a widow at 21 when he fatally hit his head on a lintel; was pressured into marrying his cousin, Louis XII, who annulled his marriage to free himself up for her; oh, but there’s more.
Anne of Brittany Enthroned and Accompanied by Her Ladies-in-Waiting (detail), about 1493, Master of the Chronique scandaleuse. Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum
ANCIENT LIFE
Who was this?
Learn about a rare marble sculpture created more than four thousand years ago in the Cycladic Islands in the Aegean Sea. Getty’s Nicole Budrovich and Smarthistory’s Beth Harris discuss the figure’s identity and how the work was made, the importance of music during the time, and how the sculpture’s style influenced Picasso, Henry Moore, and other 20th-century artists.
Harp Player, 2700–2300 BCE, Cycladic. Marble. Getty Museum
EVENTS
Artist-at-Work: Medieval Sword Play
Sunday, June 25, 11:00 am–3:00 pm Getty Center Museum Courtyard
Witness a knightly Deed of Arms—a contest of martial arts skill and honor in which armored knights demonstrate the techniques of spear, poleaxe, and other weapons of the Late Middle Ages (along with more recreational sword play). Meet knights from Chivalry Today and discover more about the arms, armor, and fighting techniques. For visitors of any age.
Combat with Pollaxe (detail), about 1410, Fiore Furlan dei Liberi da Premariacco. Tempera colors, gold leaf, silver leaf, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum
Also in the Center’s Museum Courtyard this Sunday, 11:00 am–3:00 pm:
Medieval Board Games: Family Workshop
Get your game on—medieval style! Create your own game board, learn how to play Fox and Geese (a popular pastime of the Middle Ages), and enjoy an afternoon of fun.
Initial C: The Massacre of the Innocents (detail), from Breviary, about 1320–1325, French. Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum
HOW I SEE IT
Couple in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY
“Dawoud Bey forges community through his photography. For this street portrait he used a 4×5-inch camera mounted on a tripod, equipment that required a slower way of working and offered the chance for greater engagement with the people he photographed. What I find most engaging about this image is the casual yet intimate embrace of these two young people—which is at least in part a result of their comfort with the photographer and the gentle weight of New York’s humid summer days.”
—Arpad Kovacs, Assistant Curator, Department of Photographs, Getty Museum
