Getty Museum is continuing its digital exhibition offerings, which is great for us in New Zealand wanting to explore what’s on offer without making a big trip! Here is a selection of this month’s showcases:
The fanny packs of medieval times
As fall brings cold days and we fumble for warm pockets, a new episode of Becoming Artsy explores the surprising history of these relatively new inventions. Jessie visits with Cynthia Konow-Brownell, an expert in historical textiles, and learns to make a tie-on pocket, the must-have of the medieval middle class. Meanwhile Larisa Grollemond, assistant curator of medieval manuscripts at the Getty Museum, shares examples of pouches and purses featured in artworks of the time.
Saving lost feminist video “letters”
Jonathan Furmanski—an art historian by training who learned the technical aspects of preserving old media on the job—has spent the last 20 years rescuing fragile audiovisual materials like VHS cassettes and old-school tape reels. Most recently he has been digitizing videos born of the protest movements of the ’70s, artifacts of a time when women, newly equipped with consumer-grade video cameras, began to make their own television.
“This is unique material that doesn’t exist anywhere else in a digital landscape”
NEWS & STORIES
The fanny packs of medieval times
As fall brings cold days and we fumble for warm pockets, a new episode of Becoming Artsy explores the surprising history of these relatively new inventions. Jessie visits with Cynthia Konow-Brownell, an expert in historical textiles, and learns to make a tie-on pocket, the must-have of the medieval middle class. Meanwhile Larisa Grollemond, assistant curator of medieval manuscripts at the Getty Museum, shares examples of pouches and purses featured in artworks of the time.
Textile expert Cynthia Konow-Brownell and host Jessie Hendricks make a tie-on pocket, an example of medieval “middle-class couture.”
Saving lost feminist video “letters”
Jonathan Furmanski—an art historian by training who learned the technical aspects of preserving old media on the job—has spent the last 20 years rescuing fragile audiovisual materials like VHS cassettes and old-school tape reels. Most recently he has been digitizing videos born of the protest movements of the ’70s, artifacts of a time when women, newly equipped with consumer-grade video cameras, began to make their own television.
“This is unique material that doesn’t exist anywhere else in a digital landscape”
Jonathan Furmanski’s lab is outfitted with monitors, meters, and other tools to repair analog audio and video tape.
A podcast-inspired tour for families
In If Objects Could Talk, the newest series from Getty Podcasts, artifacts leave the museum vault and come alive to share their side of the story. Now that you’ve heard the episodes, we’ve designed a self-guided tour for you to continue the fun—in person in our galleries!
A new way for kids and parents to experience the Getty Villa
Advice from a Getty Marrow alum
Joseph Valencia first came to the Getty Center 10 years ago to begin a curatorial Getty Marrow undergraduate internship in the Department of Photographs. He had no idea how impactful the 10-week position would be. “I left that summer with a strong sense of what being a curator is, at least at a large institution like the Getty Museum.” Valencia shares some of his career highlights and tips for students seeking arts internships today.
Valencia’s advice for aspiring curators
See new works by Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin
The Getty Museum has just installed two newly acquired portraits—a husband-and-wife pair—by French painter Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin (1809–1864). Flandrin is not a household name today, but in the mid-1800s his reputation was formidable.
Just launched: ReCurrent, Season 2
In the new season of our podcast series ReCurrent, host Jaime Roque explores how culture builds community—how a camera passed from mentor to student, a long-lost record, or a familiar icon screen-printed onto a jersey can bind people across time. In this week’s episode, “Backlot & Barrio: From Star Portraits to Eastside History with George Rodriguez,” hear how photographer George Rodriguez’s lens links two very different LAs.
Visions of womanhood in a medieval French manuscript
New to Getty’s collection, a French manuscript created around 1470 contains biographies of famous and infamous women from antiquity through the Middle Ages. The stories were intended as behavioral models for the “generous, gentle, and virtuous” Countess Andrea Acciaiuoli of Florence, and the women’s roles included that of musician, warrior, mistress, wife, writer, artist, philosopher.... Surprisingly, the list goes on.
Explore this new online presentation
Soot to soil
Artist Rodney McMillian isn’t precious about his work—he embraces the marks of time, viewers, and the environment as part of its evolving story.
In the Getty Conservation Institute’s latest Artist Dialogues video, McMillian discusses his wide-ranging practice, which spans painting, sculpture, video, installation, and performance.
Need a great podcast rec?
Getty podcast producer Jaime Roque takes his mic into the field to uncover hidden tales of cultural heritage. “It’s about looking at the culture around us: looking at intangible and tangible cultural heritage and how it affects us all whether we know it or not,” he says. Roque reflects on the cultural heritage he found in downtown LA’s jewelry district when his parents did business there; in church; in the music he played with his uncles and grandpa; and in teaching elementary school kids before joining Getty.