Formatted like the ends of discarded film strips, visual artist Tacita Dean's brilliantly colored prints represent stills from JG, a 35 mm anamorphic film inspired by the intersections between J. G. Ballard's short story "The Voices of Time" (1960) and Robert Smithson's earthwork Spiral Jetty (1970). The prints, on display as part of the GRI's exhibition MONUMENTality, feature iconic frames from JG and are handcrafted and layered through a technique patented by Dean called "aperture masking." Handmade stencils are inserted directly into the camera aperture, producing superimposed shapes with striking details of the monumental landscapes of Utah and California, including Utah's salt flats, regional wildlife, the Great Salt Lake, and the desert sun.

Gallery tours are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. through April 18.

Learn more about MONUMENTality.

Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell discusses An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden, her biography of the renowned 20th-century African American artist. Bearden is known for work that explores universal themes through the celebration of African American culture. A book signing follows this talk.

This program is organized in collaboration with Spelman College and the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and is part of the GRI's African American Art History Initiative.

Reserve a free ticket.

Learn more about the GRI's African American Art History Initiative.

Following World War II, Otto Wittmann was a key member of the Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU), aiding in its efforts to gather and analyze intelligence on and uncover art looted by Nazi Germany. The archive documents his work across Europe in 1946—particularly in Germany, France, and Switzerland—through personal notes, meeting agendas and notes, draft analyses, and news clippings, among other ephemera. Once his work with the ALIU was completed, Wittmann joined the staff of the Toledo Museum of Art and went on to become its long-time director.

Browse the finding aid.

French philosopher, critic, and writer Denis Diderot's masterful presentation of 18th-century knowledge in the multivolume Encyclopédie inspired designer and printer Ken Botnick to publish the Diderot Project (2015). Considering contemporary intersections of craft and creativity that allow for innovative combinations of materiality and content, Botnick's lecture—held in conjunction with the GRI's 2018 exhibition Artists and Their Books / Books and Their Artists—details the research and creative process undertaken for this award-winning book in the context of his 35 years in publishing.

Watch the video.