Hostile Terrain 94 (detail), 2020. Part of the Undocumented Migration Project, the Manila tags represent the identified bodies of undocumented migrants who have died crossing the border, while the orange memorialize the over 1,000 deceased who remain unknown.

This month we introduce a new lecture series that redraws the borders of a global art history; artists and curators challenge conventional representations of Los Angeles; a new finding aid reveals the storyboards of an enigmatic French artist; and a cultural historian excavates the colorful history of Sunset Boulevard's pop music haunts.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Getty Research Journal, no. 12

Getty Research Journal Call for Submissions

We are now inviting submissions to the upcoming issue of the Getty Research Journal. Published twice a year, the journal considers submissions of original scholarship on all cultures, regions, and time periods. We seek to include a diversity of methodological approaches; topics and cultural perspectives that remain marginalized in art history and related fields; work by scholars of underrepresented backgrounds and/or in early career stages; and articles that expand narratives on global culture. Submissions received by January 1, 2021, will be considered for the Spring 2022 issue.

Learn more and view instructions for authors.
Read the journal online.

Beyond the Borders, Beyond the Boundaries Lecture Series

The new Beyond the Borders, Beyond the Boundaries lecture series brings together speakers whose work expands art historical scholarship beyond the intellectual and geographic constraints that have traditionally defined it. Presented by the Getty Research Institute Director's Office , the series' topics range from depictions of race in 18th-century painting to participatory art about undocumented migration, provoking new ways of thinking about how practices of inclusion and exclusion have shaped the field. The series kicks off this month with Anne Lafont's lecture "Blackness Is in the Making: Materials of the 18th-Century." See below for details.

EVENTS

Eight Studies of Heads, Antoine Watteau, ca. 1715–16. © RMN, Musée du Louvre

Blackness Is in the Making: Materials of the 18th-Century Artist

Virtual Conversation | December 6, 2020 | 11–12:30 pm | Online

As the first installment of our conversation series Beyond the Borders, Beyond the Boundaries, art historians Anne Lafont and Lyneise Williams discuss the materials, techniques, and challenges involved in 18th-century artistic representations of Blackness in works from across the Atlantic world. Lafont and Williams explore how European conceptualizations of African subjectivity were expressed through images and how the artistic materiality involved in figuring Black bodies and subjects contributed to the visual construction of race during the Enlightenment.

Sponsored by the Getty Research Institute Council, the annual Thomas and Barbara Gaehtgens Lecture series is dedicated to highlighting leading research in the field of global art history.

Learn more and register to attend this event.

Blind Pig #3 (detail), Edgar Arceneaux, 2010. Courtesy of the artist

Imaginaries of LA

Virtual Conversation | December 10, 2020 | 5–6:30 pm | Online

The first installment of our conversation series, "Imaginaries of LA," brings together artist Edgar Arceneaux and art historian Julian Myers-Szupinska, who discuss how archives, histories, and lived experiences impact the social and political production of urban space.

Since its founding in 1781, Los Angeles has existed on contested land. Although long recognized as a diverse and multicultural city, its history is marked by segregation, racist city planning, and harmful urban redevelopment policies. Imaginaries of LA hosts conversations between Los Angeles–based artists and curators that explore the strategies artists use to represent the city, providing a forum for debate about its past, present, and future.

Learn more and register to attend this event.

READ

El Club Continental, Ed Ruscha, 1974. Getty Research Institute, 2012.M.1. © Ed Ruscha

10 Songs for 12 Sunsets

Inspired by Ed Ruscha's archive, cultural historian and USC professor Josh Kun embarks on a sonic tour of Sunset Boulevard. The musical stories of Sunset include key histories of trailblazing racial integration, the expanded influence of Latin American and Chicano scenes, the West Coast outposts of Motown and Soul Train, the boom of disco, the evolution of punk, and the long revolutionary arc of underground queer culture.

Read more on the Getty Iris blog.

PUBLICATION

Visualizing Empire: Africa, Europe, and the Politics of Representation

Edited by Rebecca Peabody, Steven Nelson, and Dominic Thomas

By the end of World War I, France had expanded its dominion to the four corners of the earth. This volume examines how an official French visual culture normalized the country's colonial project and exposed citizens and subjects alike to racialized ideas of life in the empire. Essays analyze aspects of colonialism through investigations into the art, popular literature, material culture, film, and exhibitions that represented, celebrated, or were created for France's colonies across the seas.

Buy this publication.

NEW FOR RESEARCHERS

Guy de Cointet, Storyboard for I Dream (Old Woman), ca. 1969–1971. Getty Research Institute, 2017.M.9

Guy de Cointet Storyboards, circa 1960s–1976

Finding Aid

French-born artist Guy de Cointet, who lived and worked in Los Angeles from 1968 until his death in 1983, was known for his highly conceptual and cryptographic works on paper and performance pieces. The collection features a set of 51 hand-drawn storyboard cards for the film I Dream (Old Woman) that depict scenes of an older person relaxing on a porch while performing domestic activities such as knitting and beating a rug on a railing.

Browse the finding aid.

LIBRARY AT HOME

Praia de Botafogo, Marc Ferrez, 1895. Getty Research Institute, 92.R.14

Gilberto Ferrez Collection

We've recently digitized part of a photo collection of 19th-century Brazil by Marc Ferrez and others, capturing not only spectacular panoramic views of the country's natural landmarks but also documenting the ways that burgeoning infrastructure projects such as railroads and mining were impacting the land. The collection was compiled by Ferrez's grandson, Gilberto Ferrez, a businessman, historian, curator, photographer, and collector who was the first person to write about Brazil's photographic history.

Explore the photos in the Library Catalog.

CHECK FOR UPDATES

Getty is closed to the public as the region works to minimize the spread of COVID-19. The closure impacts J. Paul Getty Museum locations at the Getty Center and Getty Villa, as well as the gardens and grounds, Research Institute, and Library. We will continue to share updates on our response to COVID-19 on our website. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn for more news and resources.

Stay updated.