Event 4: Getty Museum - The Universe Next Door

Getty Museum is such a good place to visit not only for artistic exhibition, but also for a wonderful view. I went there to see the Morell's exhibition: The Universe Next Door.  Abelardo Morell is an internationally famous artist for his employment of photography into the expression of visual surprise and wonder. It was interesting to find out that after the birth of his son in 1986, he started to take large pictures around his home to explore ordinary household objects with childlike curiosity. Morell was so creative that he turned to photography expression as a source of inspirations.

There was a section called "From a Child's Perspective". I was so obsessed by the title that I could not  help imagining how the pictures were going to look like with my personal experiences. Morell wanted to examine the differences between a child's view of the world and an adult's view of the world. In "Toy Blocks", he seemed to crawl on the floor with a camera at an eye level of a little baby. A set of wood boxes with cheery imagery was constructed into a tower, which little children like me always played. This picture reminded me of my childhood of spending the whole morning building wood blocks. Morell's work from a child's perspective evoked a preverbal vision of a child.

Toy Blocks

Morell  was a very creative photographer and artist; he had experimented with various photography techniques such as the tent camera with a periscope lens on top,  which projected the scene outside onto the ground within the structure. He used this technique to show a special but appealing image that underfoot ground formed the backdrops, which exhibit a unique background for the image. In the context of our class, Morell is an artist who is working to build a bridge of the two cultures. As an artist, he creatively employed photography techniques to demonstrate and express the surprises and wonders in our daily life, "From a Child's Perspective" for instance. The idea of the language of photography resonates perfectly between science and art, which we are looking for in this class.

Tent Camera Image On The Ground: Golden Gate Bridge

I highly recommend visiting Getty Museum as an event. It will not be closed even after this class! Besides "the Universe Next Door", Getty also has several different exhibitions like European paintings. If you are interested in paintings, this is a perfect place to visit. You can enjoy the beautiful views and ticket is free!

My Ticket

Resources

1. "Getty Exhibition Explores the Fantastic Visual World of Photographer Abelardo Morell."News from the Getty | Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

2. "Abelardo Morell: The Universe Next Door (Getty Center Exhibitions)." N.p., Web. 1 Dec. 2013.