Extra Credit Event 1: The Getty Museum

The Getty Museum is like Disneyland. There are just too many things to do and see in one day! I went with two of my friends from this class and we have all already talked about how we are going to come back for the whole day! Going to the Getty Museum and seeing all that it entails, it is hard to believe that it only opened as recently as 1997!
The famous picture that almost
got us kicked out of the Getty Museum!!
         The Getty is composed of drawings, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, and decorative arts. In fact, one of my friends Hannah got in trouble for going too close to a sculpture. For me, I can see a lot of evidence that math and art coexist when looking inside the galleries. First, I ventured into the Renaissance Art in North Italy and Northern Europe exhibit. In that exhibit, I saw art composed of such interesting angles and perspectives. It made me think back to Frantz article where he talks about vanishing points and looking at art. Marc Frantz, shows the unity of math and art with his vanishing point theorem, “If two or more lines in the real world are parallel to one another, but not parallel to the picture plane, then they have the same vanishing point. The perspective images of these lines will not be parallel. If fully extended in a drawing, the image lines will intersect at the vanishing point,” (Marc Frantz 2000).  This shows how so much art can express mathematics even without that being the intention. He brings up the point how “if we view art from the wrong viewpoint, it can appear distorted—a cube can look like a dumpster,” (Frantz 2000). He then goes on to say how “the majority of perspective works in museums are done in one-point perspective, with clues that can help determine the viewing distance,” Frantz (2000). To do all this, you have to find the main vanishing point. That is the best technique to appreciate, understand, and enjoy many wonderful works of art. The vanishing point and golden ratio represented in all the art shows the "ultimate connection of math and art" (Mathematics pt. 1 Video). 
         I thought the set-up of the Getty Museum was excellent. I couldn’t take 5 steps in before being handed a brochure explaining where everything was as well as a detailed schedule of everything offered. The Getty Museum showed its mix of technology with art with the usage of “Getty Guides” for visitors to look up the placement of specific exhibits and art pieces. These guides not only show the technological side but also the nano-technological side since these guides contained nanoparticles. This meant that science, technology, math, and art were all being connected whether they wanted to be or not. This shows that although they may not be directly in link with one another, they do support one another.  
         Going to the Getty Museum, I learnt that Italy is commonly regarded as the birthplace of the Renaissance. On one of the little side notes when walking into the Getty Museum, the poster read that "During this period, a fascination for classical sculpture, architectural, ornamental forms, and mythology was reflected in the work of Italian artists. A similar interest also developed in France and other parts of Northern Europe through royal patronage, traveling Italian artists, and the transmission of images and designs via drawings and prints." The Getty Museum truly expresses what this class has been trying to teach us! That every culture can be seen in other cultures and inspire all future innovations and explorations. 
         I find the appropriate way to end this blog is going over my favorite artifact of the exhibit. I loved the sculpture of Apollo Crowning Himself. It reminds me of my time spent in the Renaissance section of the Musee de Sculpture Moderne at the Louvre. I learnt from the Getty Museum that in this sculpture, Apollo’s idealized body and balance pose recall ancient representations of nude male figures. The statue was Canova’s earliest Roman work in marble and his first full-fledged Neoclassical sculpture. Although not entirely successful in its command of human proportion, it shows the classically inspired, graceful style that became Canova’s trademark.

  I am excited to go back to the Getty Museum. I think it takes so much more than a day to experience and truly take in all the beauty of the museum. My only complaint about the museum is how expensive the parking is!!! It’s easy to make a day out of the museum with all the exhibits as well as little tours/shows strategically placed throughout the day.



Sources

"BBC - Culture - MC Escher: An Enigma behind an Illusion." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. 

Frantz, Marc. "Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art." Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. 

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