Getty Villa Map/Visitor Guide:
http://www.getty.edu/visit/downloads/gv_interim_map_eng.pdf
The museum I chose to study for this post is The Getty Villa, in Los Angeles between Pacific Palisades and Malibu on PCH. It overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and is regarded as one of the most beautiful museum locations in the US. Its focus on antiquity, and the location, provide an escape to the past. As a visitor, it sort of feels like you are detached from the reality of modern life that, especially in Los Angeles, can feel so hectic.
The three main cultures represented at The Getty Villa are the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Under these categories, the galleries are broken into subcategories by material (such as bronze vessels, glass, marble vessels, etc.) and then some specifically about mythology (stories of the Trojan War) or specific topics (animals in antiquity). There is also a reading room, a family forum, museum theater, and a timescape room, that is described as providing the opportunity to learn more about antiquity through interactive exhibits. Additionally, the gardens are a highlight of The Villa’s location, as well as architecture that resembles that of antiquity, such as a large Roman atrium and an outdoor Greek-inspired theater that hosts plays.
Based on the map’s categorizations, the mission is focused on portraying the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans in an accurate way. In addition to displaying ancient art works and objects, they focus on the architecture of the museum and galleries and the outdoor features of the large gardens and theater, making a visit to The Villa an experience itself. They also focus on the culture of the societies, by dedicating galleries to mythology, to understand the stories these cultures shared and practiced. They make “rational sense out of the world” by breaking down the cultures of the past that still inspire so much of what we do in the modern world (such as democracy, study of philosophy, comedy/tragedy, athletics, and more); there is a lot of wonder and curiosity surrounding antiquity. In order to break it down into digestible amounts, the museum has to decide which categories will serve the public, and how.
I agree with Dillenburg’s assessment of museums as a form of public service, with a duty to educate the public through their collections and exhibits. However, I think it’s difficult to determine how much responsibility the museum itself takes and how much responsibility is put on the viewer to interpret the objects in the intended (or a different) way. To imagine an alternative, I wonder what it would look like for the categorization to allow for a natural, chronological sequence and more interpretation on the part of the viewer to understand objects in relation to the time period and culture that produced it, rather than view, for example, all glass objects in the same gallery. However, it may be more meaningful and comprehensible to place like objects together. I imagine this alternative outlook on the world would suggest more of a focus on history, rather than curation.
I really like your analysis of and idea for the alternative way to categorize the museum. I do think it’s interesting how the emphasis on material draws the focus to the objects’ artistic technique and qualities, as opposed to its place in Greek, Roman, or Etruscan history, and I agree that it highlights the Getty’s curation. I actually think I would prefer to see the museum organized in the way you suggested, by chronology rather than material! I think it would be refreshing to see the way different artistic methods and materials may have influenced each other in an overlapping timeline.
I appreciated the way you related the architectural accuracy the museum grounds undertakes in depicting the culture. Part of the “rationalization” of the experience seems to be an immersion into the culture, for space to be constructed as it would in the Greek, Roman, or Etruscan setting. I wonder if this cultural knowledge translates differently when one is in this space, or a modern, more utilitarian space of learning.