Winged babies; weird photographs; teen photo contest

What do you call those tiny winged babies?

Look up at ceiling frescoes, or at classical and classically-styled paintings, and you’ll often see flying, fluffy babies making mischief or clustering cutely. But what’s the right art term for them? Let’s take a look at a few paintings at Getty to clear up the differences between a putto, a cherub, and a Cupid.

What to know about winged babies at Getty

A kind of magic

Photographer Arthur Tress revels in the weird and fantastic—a hand sticking out of a bus seat, boys blending in with trees, children and adults playing against backdrops of rubble and trash—dark, spooky, unnerving images. Tress, who spent time in his early career as a documentary photographer, staged his photographs to set a mood and tell a story.

Read on and see Tress’s photographs

Living languages

Did you know there are over 7,000 living languages? That number is expected to shrink dramatically in the next century, though, so Getty is responding by working to revitalize languages through translation, education, documentation, and even a summer camp at the Getty Villa. At one of those camps, 16 high school students plunged into “being Roman” by speaking the classical variety of Latin that flourished in Rome 2,100 years ago.

Why we should save Latin, Ge’ez, Nahuatl, and other long-lived languages

Calling all California teen photographers!

Getty has launched its third Unshuttered Open Call, a photo submission contest for California teens. This year’s theme, “A Spectrum of…”,  celebrates the distinct perspectives and experiences that make each person unique. Submissions will be accepted until January 26, 2024, and a panel of judges, including arts professionals, will select 25 photographs as winning works in March 2024.

Learn about the prizes and submit your work

Artist at Work: Papyrus

Saturday, November 11, 11:00 am–3:00 pm
Getty Villa, Outer Peristyle

Join local Egyptologist Marissa Stevens to discover how ancient papyrus paper was made. You’ll also explore the many uses of the papyrus plant in ancient Egypt and in the exhibition The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Learn more about this free, drop-in workshop

Companion event: Papyrus Scroll Making Family Workshop

Words and Vision: Custom Poetry Pop-up

Sunday, November 12, 1:00–4:00 pm
Getty Center, Museum Entrance Hall

Turn an artwork into poetry! Local wordsmiths, armed with manual typewriters and poetic license, help transform your favorite Getty artwork into a memorable take-home poem. Complements the exhibition William Blake: Visionary.

Learn more about this free drop-in event

The House of Baluyot: A Filipino Oresteia

Villa Theater Lab
Saturday, November 18, 7:00 pm
Sunday, November 19, 2:00 pm
Getty Villa, Auditorium

On Imperial Beach in San Diego, a traumatized and unhoused man, Estoy, fights to justify his reasons for killing his mother, a Filipina American nurse. Filled with anguish, Estoy recalls the inevitable events that led up to the murder. This freely adapted version of Aeschylus’s Oresteia is an epic saga of power, displacement, and crime in an immigrant Filipino family.

Learn more and get tickets

¡SPANGLED!

Thursday, November 30, 7:00 pm
Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium

Musical legend Van Dyke Parks shares the stage with Guatemalan-born singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno and the Cory Beers Cimbalom Band for a night of spectacular music that crosses genres and borders.

Get free tickets