Pity the second-tier monsters of ancient myth. “Ethon, no one’s heard of him,” laments mythology buff John Harris. “And what about the little-known Teumessian Fox? He was way cool.” B-list beasts might finally win your love with My Monster...
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Centuries ago, a marble sculpture known as the Agrigento Youth took a violent fall, losing his nose and parts of his arms and legs. The cause? Likely an earthquake. The statue, loaned to us by the Museo Archeologico Regionale...
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In the entire 500-year history of the printed book, it is difficult to imagine a time of more innovation and change than now. Just a few short years ago, readers had the simple choice of hardback or paperback when...
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Rumors of the short story’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Only an appearance by Mark Twain himself could have capped an evening of well-crafted, funny narratives this past weekend at Selected Shorts, an annual series that pairs actors with...
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How long does it take to install a painting in the Museum, from loading dock to gallery wall? For J.M.W. Turner’s Modern Rome—Campo Vaccino, the answer is seven days: really busy days, with lots of people working together to...
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For 25 years the Getty Research Institute has been inviting scholars from around the world to visit, do research, and ask provocative questions. During his recent stay, Zhu Qingsheng (LaoZhu), director of the Center of Visual Studies at Peking...
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It is the week of return—of the vernal equinox, and of the shooting stars—the blue blue-violet alliums in Robert Irwin’s Central Garden at the Getty Center. We’ve been waiting. In late-ish February, green shoots began rocketing from the rich...
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Andrei Codrescu has some bad news for you. You, Web user, are running out of time. You may already suspect that you work for Mark Zuckerberg and your screens. But did you also know that you are on your...
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Writing the gallery label for a painting can sometimes feel like an art form in itself, a kind of circumscribed descriptive poetry not unrelated to haiku. How, in fewer than 100 words, do you capture the essence of an...
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I wouldn’t have become a museum educator if I didn’t believe in the potential magic of an art museum. I’ve had enough experiences at the Getty Villa to know that I’m not crazy—that special experiences can be had with...
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The body, being, and humanness are Zhang Huan’s primary mediums and subjects.
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For our Getty Perspectives lecture series, filmmaker Peter Greenaway came to speak about his new work creating immersive environments inspired by masterpieces of European painting. At the event, and on Facebook and Twitter, we put out the call for...
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