The art of casual conversation made us a nation. While we are no longer separated by distance and poor roads, we are most certainly isolated by earbuds and screens. Can you run a complex society in which nobody talks to each other? Especially in an election year?
The Odyssey has made history at the box office, taking $600million in global ticket sales in its opening weekend. Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey film fits the modern brief that depressing means intelligent, but art can respond to our dark age less predictably. Bring on a sense of lightness and a bit of colour.
The latest Bridget Williams Book to hit shelves continues the publishers legacy of digging deep into Aotearoa New Zealand, our society and our people. The Valley: Crime and Punishment in a New Zealand City follows three men (one a lawyer) from the Hutt Valley through the criminal justice system — and through hospitals, rehab, boarding houses and welfare offices in addition to courtrooms and prisons.
The Odyssey has made history at the box office, taking $600million in global ticket sales in its opening weekend. Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey film fits the modern brief that depressing means intelligent, but art can respond to our dark age less predictably. Bring on a sense of lightness and a bit of colour.
You’ve probably heard a lot about The Odyssey—the latest box office spectacle by director Christopher Nolan (opens July 17). Since the film is based on the epic Greek poem attributed to Homer, composed around the eighth century BCE, we thought we’d show you art from Getty’s collection that depicts Odyssey characters, and pair those with the corresponding members of Nolan’s star-studded cast.
Meet characters from The Odyssey in our collection and on film
Since Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey hit theaters last month, you could say it’s a good time to be a scholar of ancient history. So what did our scholarly experts think of Nolan’s take on it? Wanting to find out, we assembled a panel eager to see the latest interpretation of this centuries-old story. They walked away brimming with thoughts.
Did Christopher Nolan’s version do the ancient tale justice?
In this video, curator Miriam Schefzyk tells us about one of her favorite objects in the Getty collection: a mechanical table made in about 1760 in Paris. Its elegant five-sided legs and intricate floral marquetry conceal a host of ingenious features that remain hidden when the table is closed. A simple key serves as the 18th century’s version of a password.
Observe your thoughts like passing clouds through this week’s episode of Getty’s meditation podcast OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation, inspired by Simon Joseph Alexandre Clement Denis’ painting Study of Clouds with a Sunset near Rome.
To celebrate the last weeks of summer, we created a playlist of surfing classics that pairs well with recent stories like Harry Gesner’s ocean-inspired architecture, artist Raymond Pettibon’s surfboard, or images of Malibu as it crested into an international suring destination.
The latest Bridget Williams Book to hit shelves continues the publishers legacy of digging deep into Aotearoa New Zealand, our society and our people. The Valley: Crime and Punishment in a New Zealand City follows three men (one a lawyer) from the Hutt Valley through the criminal justice system — and through hospitals, rehab, boarding houses and welfare offices in addition to courtrooms and prisons.
Next year, it will have been forty years of Nuclear Free New Zealand, and with the topic back in media headlines right now, it felt like a good time to reflect on the vast cultural contributions to our understanding of nuclear both locally and internationally. Different forms of nuclear media have developed across the globe in tandem with specific cultural experiences of, and reaction to, nuclear power and disaster.
With ANZAC Day just passed and numerous global wars ongoing, many of us are in a state of reflection and remembrance of those who have fought for us and those who suffer in wartime. Books can be a useful tool to guide us in these times, and the below titles promise to offer insights, experiences and responses on the ANZACs and more broadly, the concept of war itself
Easter is one of those occasions that tends to blur the line between art, craft, tradition and home life. It is less about perfection than atmosphere. More about gesture than performance. A hand-painted egg, a carefully styled table, a homemade wreath, a seasonal arrangement, a baked gift or even a child’s slightly chaotic Easter masterpiece on the fridge all belong to the same broader creative instinct: the desire to mark a moment of the year in a visible, tangible way.
