Satan Exulting over Eve, 1795, William Blake. Color print with graphite, pen and black ink, and watercolor. Getty Museum
Table of Contents
NEW ON VIEW
William Blake: Visionary
Printmaker, painter, and poet William Blake (1757–1827) was generally unrecognized during his career; yet his rebellious works made their mark on British art and continue to influence the art world. From fantastical beasts to Biblical characters to imagery and stories from his own life, it’s easy to find something enchanting in his work. See William Blake: Visionary, on view through January 14, and experience the artist-poet’s most celebrated works. Organized in cooperation with Tate.
Self-Portrait, 1802–1804, William Blake. Graphite and gray wash with white heightening. Collection of Robert N. Essick
INSIDE GETTY
What is neon art and how do you conserve it?
The glow of a neon sign is magical. But when neon art breaks or fades with time, how do we conserve it? Jessie visits the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) in Glendale, California, to learn how neon is made and how that process is helping Getty conservators create a set of standards for conserving neon art. Watch Jessie bend glass using fire, and get a behind-the-scenes look at MONA’s galleries and workshop!
The challenges of protecting neon art have plagued conservators for years. The always-handmade neon tubes are made of fragile glass that must withstand an especially high (think lethal) voltage, and the wire connections are sometimes damaged. But Ellen Moody, an associate project specialist at Getty, is on it.
Medieval artists and scribes were among the world’s first graphic designers. Explore the innovative ways these artists worked, and how their ideas carry over into modern design.
Guide for Constructing the Letter D (detail), about 1591–1596, Joris Hoefnagel. Watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Visualizing queer history
When author, illustrator, and YouTuber Kaz Rowe first encountered Claude Cahun’s work on Tumblr several years ago, they felt an immediate attachment to Cahun as a person and to this infrequently told story in queer history. So when Getty asked Rowe to write and illustrate Liberated: The Radical Life and Art of Claude Cahun, they were thrilled. Rowe, who is nonbinary, sapphic, and Jewish, “felt a real kinship” with Cahun. Rowe also believes that telling the story of Cahun’s heroism and resistance against the Nazis is deeply important.
Indigenous Voices of Mexico in the Digital Age / Voces Indígenas de México en la Era Digital
Thursday, October 26,10:00 am–3:30 pm
Online only
Celebrate the global launch of the Digital Florentine Codex (DFC), a digital edition of the 16th-century encyclopedic manuscript of Nahuatl culture and language. The DFC features a downloadable manuscript; transcriptions and translations of the original Nahuatl and Spanish texts; and searchable images that will stimulate new lines of scholarship on Mexica culture and transform global understandings of the conquest of Mexico.
Papalomichi (detail) in Book 11 of the Florentine Codex. Bernardino de Sahagún, Antonio Valeriano, Alonso Vegerano, Martín Jacobita, Pedro de San Buenaventura, Diego de Grado, Bonifacio Maximiliano, Mateo Severino, et al., Ms. Mediceo Palatino 220, 1577, fol. 62v. Courtesy the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, and by permission of MiBACT
SCREENING
América Tropical: The Martyr Mural of Siqueiros, a KCET ARTBOUND documentary
Saturday, October 28, 3:00 pm Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium
This new KCET ARTBOUND documentary delves into the story of América Tropical, a large-scale outdoor mural painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros. Originally unveiled in 1932, the mural was whitewashed after drawing the ire of Olvera Street officials. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion.
Wednesday, November 1, 7:00 pm The Getty Center and online
As an emerging photographer in New York circa 1968–78, Arthur Tress shifted his focus from the social documentary tradition to a bold new approach inspired by his daydreams and nightmares. The exhibition Arthur Tress: Rambles, Dreams, and Shadows presents the first critical look at Tress’s early career, contextualizing his highly imaginative, fantastic work and examining his other series. Curator Jim Ganz and Arthur Tress discuss the artist’s “magic realism,” with a book signing and reception to follow.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, a vast collection of spells meant to ease the deceased’s transition to the afterlife, is one of the largest bodies of religious texts from the ancient world. In this afternoon of presentations, five experts explore how the Book of the Dead was used outside of funerary contexts and the many ways it served as a book for the living.
Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris, Son of Tetosiris (detail), 332–100 BCE, Egyptian. Ink on linen. Getty Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
PERFORMANCE
Selected Shorts on Tour
Saturday, November 11, 3:00 and 6:00 pm Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium
This year, the tradition of Selected Shorts at the Getty Center is amplified by the vibrant literature-lovers of Belletrist, an online reading community. Two Saturday performances feature a selection of classical and contemporary short stories, performed by stars of film, TV, and stage.
Clockwise from top left: Tony Hale, Annie Hamilton, Constance Zimmer, and Randall Park
AROUND TOWN
Nacera Belaza Makes LA Debut at REDCAT!
Thursday–Saturday, October 19–21, 8:30 pm
In L’Onde (The Wave), internationally renowned French Algerian choreographer Nacera Belaza immerses the audience in the spellbinding notions of Algerian ritualistic dances. With a hypnotic sound narrative and mesmerizing movement, the piece features four dancers who explore the body’s capacity for transformation through rigorous and elegantly minimalist choreography.
Poppy Field, 1873, Claude Monet. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
We recently asked Get Inspired subscribers, “What sparked your interest in art?” “MJ”told us this:
At 16, I fell in love with Claude Monet at a Pablo Picasso exhibition in Zurich, Switzerland. Picasso’s cubist paintings did not capture my imagination, so I wandered off, only to discover Monet’s Poppy Fieldin all its colorful, light-infused, impressionisticAs I got closer I saw that the brush strokes were individual and blended together to create the bigger picture when viewed from afar. THIS captured my imagination! I stood there spellbound. That was over 40 years ago, and my love for Monet, and appreciation of art, has only grown.
What artwork or experience made you fall in love with art? Drop us a line at stories@getty.edu.
