In the first half of a two-part conversation, we hear from John Adams, composer of the Art + Ideas theme music, about his early days and compositions. Adams talks about his childhood in New England, musical education, experiments in electronic music, and influential move to California.
Peruvian-born writer Mario Vargas Llosa published a book titled “Notes on the Death of Culture: Essays on Spectacle and Society” in which he traces the development and what he sees as the decline of culture in modern society. In this episode, Vargas Llosa discusses this, as well his past work, his influences, and his forthcoming book on classic liberalism. Vargas Llosa is the 2010 Nobel laureate in literature and the co-recipient of the 2017 J. Paul Getty Medal, an award that honors extraordinary contributions to the practice, understanding, and support of the arts.
Between 1910 and 1915, Russian painters and poets invented an experimental language called “zaum,” which emphasizes sound and is characterized by indeterminacy in meaning. These artists used “zaum” to create handmade artists’ books that are meant to be read, seen, and heard. Nancy Perloff, author of “Explodity: Sound, Image, and Word in Russian Futurist Book Art,” takes us to the archives at the Getty Research Institute to examine two fascinating “zaum” futurist books and to discuss a number of the visual and literary artists of this period.
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The Central Library in downtown Los Angeles is an iconic architectural landmark with high open ceilings, remarkable murals, and a striking façade. Kenneth Breisch, author of “The Los Angeles Central Library: Building an Architectural Icon, 1872–1933,” discusses the extensive development of the library over the course of several decades, from its founding as a private library association to the construction and design of the beloved building that still stands today. Breisch is associate professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California.
In 2007 an English family decided to sell a small painting in their collection: an image of a man laughing with a label featuring the name Rembrandt. The work was initially attributed to a contemporary of Rembrandt, but scholarly analysis and scientific testing determined that it was indeed a Rembrandt. We visit the painting in the Getty Museum’s galleries with Anne Woollett, curator of paintings at the Getty, who reveals the mystery and magic behind this endearing self-portrait by one of the most eminent painters of the Dutch Golden Age.
Now recognized as the ancestor of modern chemistry, alchemy is a mysterious and often misunderstood blend of science, philosophy, and spirituality. Alchemists were notorious for making artificial gold, but their impact extended far beyond their desire for noble metals. David Brafman, associate curator of rare books and curator of “The Art of Alchemy” at the Getty Research Institute, discusses how this medieval magic has had an enduring influence on scientific and artistic culture.
“India’s history is a curiously unpeopled place. As usually told it has dynasties, epochs, religions, and castes—but not that many individuals,” Sunil Khilnani writes in his book “Incarnations: India in Fifty Lives.” In “Incarnations,” also released as a BBC radio series and podcast, Khilnani explores how the lives of fifty Indians across 2,500 years have shaped India’s history as we know it. We hear from Khilnani about a few of these figures, including the Buddha, poet Mirabai, and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Khilnani is author of “The Idea of India” and professor of politics and director of the India Institute at King’s College, London.
At the Salon of 1882, just one year before his death, Édouard Manet exhibited a painting depicting the actress and model Jeanne Demarsy. This portrait of a chic young woman holding a parasol against a background of lush foliage is viewed as a testament to Manet’s command of color and brushwork, and was one of the few resounding public and critical successes of his career. Scott Allan, associate curator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum, takes us to the Getty’s galleries where the painting is on view and explores the significance of this extraordinary work.
The Roman Empire’s rich and multifaceted visual culture is a manifestation of the sprawling geography of its provinces. In 2011 through the Getty Foundation’s Connecting Art Histories initiative, a group of twenty international scholars began a multi-year research seminar to study, discuss, and ponder the nature and development of art and archaeology in the Roman provinces. Their compelling research resulted in a book titled “Beyond Boundaries: Connecting Visual Cultures in the Provinces of Ancient Rome.”
Susan Alcock, editor of “Beyond Boundaries” and professor of classical archaeology and classics at the University of Michigan, Jeffrey Spier, senior curator of antiquities, and Ken Lapatin, curator of antiquities, both at the J. Paul Getty Museum, discuss the impact of the seminar and various essays from the resulting publication.
In a four-part series, we’ll explore architect Frank Gehry’s Los Angeles and how his practice has evolved during his seventy years as an Angeleno.
In this last conversation of the series, Gehry talks about projects, past and present, in three cities: Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles. We learn about his inspiration for the Walt Disney Concert Hall and for a forthcoming performance space in Berlin named after Pierre Boulez. He also recounts the trials and tribulations he encountered while working on projects in New York. And finally, Gehry shares his plans for the redevelopment of a block on the infamous Sunset Strip and the much anticipated L.A. River project.
