Author: Cheryl Preston

I'm a freelance writer/editor in the Communications Department. Previously, I was a writer/editor in the Education Department of the Getty Museum.

Scent as Art

Saskia Wilson-Brown of the Institute for Art and Olfaction has taught workshops at the Getty, inspired by the art and exhibitions on view.

She brings an experimental approach to the field of perfumery, inspired by the belief that scent can and should be used as a contemporary art medium—but that it first needs to be understood as a valid creative medium within a broader historical context.

To her, inspiration is “an initially unremarkable experience that triggers action—often months or even years later.”

Read more about Saskia on The Iris >>

The Victorious Athlete

Italian writer and poet Gabriele Tinti shares his poem about human strength and fragility inspired by the Getty bronze, Statue of a Victorious Youth.

Actor Robert Davi reads “The Victorious Athlete,” by Gabriele Tinti.

LISTEN on SoundCloud

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/250939276″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

The Victorious Athlete

where now
is your
garland of olive?
where
your rapid
supports?
where the judge
who placed
on your head
the precious wreath?
we are not even
given to know
who you are
your haughty yearning
is lost in the void
now
the contest is deserted
the shouts and the glory
far away
all is calm
icy silence
cold quiet
there where you are
because
all is vain
and all disappears
and you too
like us
will not be able
to save yourself
from that darkness
that abyss
where there is no more
past or future
where there will be no more
possible memory of man.

Recording and poem courtesy of and copyright Gabriele Tinti, used with permission.

Learn more about the poem and its inspiration >>