As LA County greenlights museums to begin opening, many Los Angeles institutions are electing to take a more circumspect route.
Despite being hard hit, both large and small galleries approach reopening with much trepidation. This care and thoughtfulness has long been a hallmark of artistic institutions which have historically taken care of our emotional and intellectual selves, though now they are required to think of our physical safety.
Fear not, gallery-goer! Simply because several large art institutions have indicated they will not open sooner than the end of summer, we are still able to enjoy these stunning and robust works of art – for free! And from the comfort of our homes.
The J Paul Getty Museum is known for its dramatic architecture, lush garden oases and sweeping views of LA. But as we plumb the depths of The Getty’s online exhibitions, our focus turns less to the scenery, and rather to the art itself. Known for featuring artwork dating from the eighth century to the twenty-first century, the Getty collection features European paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and cross-border photography.
For our viewing pleasure, the Getty has placed together an online compilation of both its current (suspended) exhibitions, and provides a sneak peek into coming shows. Michelangelo: Mind of the Master is a well-thought out and high-quality virtual education of Michelangelo’s creative process, and artistic acumen.
Beyond The Getty’s current website offerings, The Getty’s partnership with Google Arts and Culture brings a series of virtual tours to the convenience of your couch. Google Arts and Culture is an entity that partners with over 2000 leading museums and archives in order to bring world arts to your computer, phone, and tablet, while still enabling you to enjoy high quality virtual tours and descriptions of art. Offering complete interactive exhibits, Google Arts & Culture + Getty partnership allows us to even sort and curate our own virtual tour by media, or we can even scroll through by color or conglomerate of paintings themselves.
As we all wait with bated breath for galleries to reopen (safely), we may just find that online exhibitions turn our focus more introspectively, and allow us to sit with more history, quality, and appreciation than we envisioned.
- What’s on at the Getty? http://www.getty.edu/whats-on/
- Google Arts & Culture + Getty Partnership: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-j-paul-getty-museum?hl=en