One of my favorite museums that I’ve visited is the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades. This location of the Getty focuses on Ancient Mediterranean art, specifically the art of the Romans, Greeks, and Etruscans. The materials in the Getty Villa are categorized by the object type and the object subject matter. They have objects of the same type or subject matter exhibited together in sections or rooms. For example there are rooms for “Silver Vessels” and “Terracotta and Marble Vessels”, corresponding to object type, as well as “Gods and Goddesses” and “Stories of the Trojan War”, corresponding to the subject matter. This is definitely a logical way to organize materials and it creates an environment that is conducive for viewers to make comparisons between objects, since the pieces are presented alongside similar objects. It is not very clear from the map of the museum if there are more specific subcategories that the museum uses; they probably do not need many subcategories because their general categorization is pretty specific.
I think that categorizing their exhibits in this manner shows that the museum is trying to highlight the similarities between the art of Romans, Greeks, and Etruscans. Having a section such as “Gods and Goddesses” would show objects from all the Ancient Mediterranean cultures that feature their gods and goddesses. This setting is perfect for drawing comparisons and contrasts between different cultures’ depictions of the same subject matter or the way they created the same objects (such as silver vessels). This categorization provides a specific theme that is easy for the viewer to see and make impressions about.
One alternative way to categorize all these pieces would be to separate them based on the culture that they came from: Greek, Roman, or Etruscan. This would mean that each section would really focus on one culture; they objects they made and what they depicted. This would give viewers a very different experience of the museum. They would end up with very complete ideas about each culture in general, seeing all of that material at once, and after experiencing all of the exhibits they would be able to draw more general comparisons and contrasts between the cultures. I don’t believe that either way of categorizing these objects is better or worse, they just give slightly different experiences; however, separating the materials based on culture might be a little overwhelming because it is hard to know what to focus on.
I also wrote about The Getty Villa! It has been one of my favorite museums since I was in elementary school. I agree with your point that while an alternate mapping plan could be to group galleries together by culture, it may be overwhelming or confusing for a visitor, especially if it is someone who is visiting or learning about the cultures of antiquity for the first time. I wonder if a solution to this might be a project for an interpretive/exhibit designing team – to incorporate visitor feedback into the exhibit planning to make sure the Villa’s mission of preserving and relaying the history of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans is still in tact.
I have yet to visit the Getty Villa and am hoping to very soon! Your description helps me to understand the layout of the museum and reasonings for why it was designed this way. I think it is unique and interesting that the designers decided to pair exhibits by object type and subject matter rather than by culture which I think is a more commonly used type of organizational structure in museums. I think both types of organization work well and I like that the Getty Villa ventured out and decided to try something different.
It’s interesting that they used two different types of categorization, because I’m sure some of the Trojan War-related pieces could have been classified under the material it was made out of instead, and vice versa. I imagine it would have been difficult to curate this way and decide which pieces best exemplify a material and which fit best within a subject-focused exhibit. While it might be more consistent to stick with just one category and layout the entire museum according to culture, like you mentioned, this organization probably results in a better and more well-rounded understanding of the art for the visitors.
It’s great to hear what you (and those in the comments) have to say about the Villa’s thematic/material approach, and that a culture-based organization might be preferable. I wonder if they are responding to similar feedback for the upcoming, more-chronologically-based reinstallation, though I also agree that the current exhibition scheme allows for a more comparative understanding of themes concerning these cultures.