Ancient
objects displayed in motif exhibit at
Getty
By
Marissa Pendergrass
On-line Forty-Niner
Ten
different pairings of ancient Greek, Roman
and Etruscan artwork and objects will
draw viewers of all ages and artistic
interest to "Transforming Tradition:
Ancient Motifs in Medieval Manuscripts,"
an exhibit at the J. Paul Getty Museum
in Los Angeles.
The
artwork will reflect back on how medieval
artists transformed Pagan motifs dating
from sixth century B.C. to first century
A.D. into manuscripts.
"In
this exhibition we have teamed up with
the Antiquities Department to explore
the ways in which medieval illuminators
appropriated motifs from ancient visual
culture and turned them to their own uses,"
Associate Curator of Manuscripts Kurt
Barstow, said.
These
ancient manuscripts and artifacts will
represent the exquisite artistic value
of those centuries, and reveal their relationship
to the development of religious ideology.
"Manuscript
illuminators of the Middle Ages responded
to the heritage of antiquity in many ways,
adapting ancient motifs to a new medium,
to new artistic purposes and to a new
religion," said Deborah Gribbon,
director of the museum.
These
highlighted medieval artists in those
periods involved in the exhibit highlight,
the direct connection to today's artists
because they use many of the same techniques
and ideas.
A
statuette of a Greek mythological beast
called "the griffin" will be
one of the pieces on display made purely
from bronze. "The griffin" will
sit next to a page of the religious manuscript
the "Ruskin Hours." The two
pieces will compliment one another by
telling a story of mythological and spiritual
meaning dating from about the third century
B.C. Biblical manuscripts and ancient
pottery will also be on display.
"I
think all of the individual objects in
the exhibition are beautiful and of aesthetic
and historical interest in their own right,"
Barstow said.
EVENTS
LISTING
What:
"Transforming Tradition: Ancient
Motifs in Medieval Manuscripts"
When: 10-9 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 10-6
p.m. Tues.-Sun.
Where: The Getty Center Museum 1200 Getty
Center Drive Los Angeles, CA
(310) 440-7360
