talks

3:00 PM
Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center
Free Event; Ticket Required

From the ancient Greeks and Romans to the 19th century, European scholars have been fascinated by pharaonic Egypt. They imagined that the land of the Nile was the oldest and most learned of all civilizations. But it was not until 1822 that the science of modern Egyptology commenced. Jeffrey Spier, senior curator of antiquities, examines the endurance of Egypt's mysterious allure.

7:30 PM
Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater, Getty Villa
Free Event; Ticket Required

Ancient peoples and thinkers had sophisticated ideas about living in harmony with nature. From Greek city-states to Maya civilization, people thought that what humans did—how they planted, how they worshipped, how they conducted themselves—could influence both the Earth’s behavior and their own fate. When droughts or volcanic eruptions threatened crops, rulers had to manage panicked citizens while explaining the cosmic reasons for nature’s revolt. Many ancient societies adopted ecological practices emphasizing individual civic responsibility for the benefit of all, and some ancient thinkers developed such ideas as well. What can the ancients teach us about how collective moral values and social habits can connect citizens to the world around us? What were the blind spots in ancient orders that sometimes led to ecological catastrophe? How can understanding ancient mythologies and philosophies about our relationship to nature help us rethink our own? Princeton political scientist Melissa Lane, author of Eco-Republic: What the Ancients Can Teach Us About Ethics, Virtue, and Sustainable Living, archaeologist and director of the UC Santa Barbara MesoAmerican Research Center Anabel Ford, and Yale historian of Ptolemaic Egypt Joseph Manning visit Zócalo and the Getty to explore what ancient civilizations can teach us about how to live with nature today.

3:00 PM
Auditorium, Getty Villa
Free Event; Ticket Required

Christian Greco, director of the Egyptian Museum of Turin, shows how his museum breathes new life into old discoveries and prevents artefacts from "dying." The insights that grow from multidisciplinary research and dialogue generate new ways to tell the stories of the 6,500 objects on display, while cutting-edge scientific collaboration contributes to their long-term preservation. Greco's enthusiasm for presenting the stunning collection in a new light led to a major renovation with expanded exhibition space, refreshed artifact description, modern displays and lightning, and innovative 3D content.

7:00 PM
Museum Lecture Hall, Getty Center
Free Event; Ticket Required
The Getty Research Institute presents the world premiere of David Lamelas's new short film, In Our Time (2018), with scenes filmed at the Getty Center. Time, location, memory, and love play out in front of artist James Ensor's masterpiece, Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889 (1888). This event will also include a screening of Lamelas's short film, The Invention of Dr. Morel (2000), and a conversation between the artist and curators Kristina Newhouse (University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach) and Glenn Phillips (Getty Research Institute).

7:30 PM
Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center
Free Event; Ticket Required

Eadweard Muybridge, who made the first motion pictures, was a murderer. Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot were both rabid anti-Semites. And Picasso was a brutal misogynist who drove both his wife and his mistress to suicide. Great artists have never been angels. But as we learn more about the crimes and misdemeanors of today’s artists, to what extent can we still separate appreciation of great art from celebrating its compromised creators? Does an artist's bad behavior diminish the quality of their artwork? What does it mean for arts institutions to reject art on moral grounds?

Thursday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM | Friday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM followed by reception
Auditorium, Getty Villa
Registration fee: $50. Includes attendance at both days of conference, on-site parking, coffee breaks and reception.

This two-day conference marks the end of a four-year Getty initiative on the study of ancient panel painting from Roman Egypt. The presentations and posters will be given by project participants highlighting the collaborative work, investigations, observations and data collected to date. The conference is open to the public, however it is targeted towards a scholarly and engaged audience interested in ancient panel painting methods and materials.

In 2013, the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Department of Antiquities Conservation launched the APPEAR (Ancient Panel Paintings: Examination, Analysis, and Research) Project. The mission of this project is to increase the understanding of ancient painting technology, its production, materials, clues to workshop and artistic practice. Participating institutions research their collections and contribute results into a shared database. The collective information obtained from numerous entries not only promotes comparison between the artifacts but helps develop a broader understanding of materials and technology in the ancient world.

More conference information

2:00 PM
Auditorium, Villa
Free Event; Ticket Required

Art historian John C. Welchman considers Plato's influence on three emblematic American artists.

7:00 PM
Museum Lecture Hall; Getty Center
Free Event; Ticket Required

When telling the history of the world from a national perspective, how does one avoid falling into the pitfalls of overblown patriotism or competitiveness? Naman Ahuja, curator of Indian art at Jawaharlal Nehru University, discusses his recent exhibition India and the World, which presented extraordinary masterpieces to place Indian history in a global context. As Western museums have begun telling post-colonial narratives, this exhibition raises universal questions about the future of presenting national histories.

5:00 - 8:00 PM
Auditorium and Café Terrace, Getty Villa
Tickets: $65 with Complimentary parking. 21 and older.

Ancient Greeks took wine and conversation seriously. Come celebrate drinking and thinking at the reinstalled Getty Villa,  where our focus is on the exhibition Plato in LA: Contemporary Artists' Visions. Learn about Plato's relevance today from classicist and Plato expert Kathryn Morgan of UCLA, then enjoy wine, appetizers, and conversation with fun-loving philosophers in the picturesque outdoor setting of the Getty Villa. Ponder exhibition themes, the meaning of truth, and what constitutes a good life.