“While on assignment to document poverty in Brazil for Life magazine, American photographer Gordon Parks encountered one of the most important subjects of his career: Flávio da Silva. Parks featured the resourceful, ailing boy, who lived with his family in one of Rio’s working-class neighborhoods known as favelas, in his 1961 photo essay “Freedom’s Fearful Foe: Poverty.” His reportage resulted in donations from Life readers but also sparked controversy, particularly in Brazil, where the popular picture magazine O Cruzeiro issued a scathing condemnation of Life’s coverage.

This exhibition explores the celebrated photo essay, tracing the extraordinary chain of events it triggered and Parks’s representation of Flávio over several decades.

This exhibition has been organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Ryerson Image Centre, Toronto, Canada, in collaboration with The Gordon Parks Foundation and Instituto Moreira Salles.” – per website

– for more information on additional images from this event please contact EMS at [email protected] or Instagram at @ericminhswenson

“Almost mythic in status, the Bauhaus is seen as one of the most influential schools of art and design of the 20th century. Established in 1919, the Bauhaus sought to erode distinctions among crafts, the fine arts, and architecture through a program of study centered on practical experience and diverse theories. Until the school’s forced closure by the Nazi regime in 1933, students and masters worked with a variety of traditional and experimental media and continually reconceived the role of art and design in contemporary society. Despite its relatively brief, itinerant existence, the Bauhaus occupies an outsize position in the cultural imaginary. 

Marking the 100th anniversary of the school’s opening, Bauhaus Beginnings reexamines the founding principles of this landmark institution. The exhibition considers the school’s early dedication to spiritual expression and its development of a curriculum based on elements deemed fundamental to all forms of artistic practice.” – per website

– for more information on additional images from this event please contact EMS at [email protected] or Instagram at @ericminhswenson

Dance of Malaga

GETTY CENTER

Harold M. Williams Auditorium

This is a past event

Occurred on Wed May 08 2019

To conclude the Getty Scholar Year Symposium on the theme of monumentality, keynote presenter Theaster Gates—current artist in residence at the Getty Research Institute—will screen his recent film, Dance of Malaga(2019). The film is a monument to the people of Malaga Island, Maine, and a meditation on love and race in America. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the Research Institute’s deputy director, Andrew Perchuk. 

Theaster Gates is an independent artist based in Chicago, Illinois. An urban planner, sculptor, and potter, he is internationally renowned for his artistic installations related to social justice issues. A professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago and founder of the Rebuild Foundation, Gates’s work blends art, community engagement, and urban development to reshape neighborhoods and revitalize cities. 

– for more information on additional images from this event please contact EMS at [email protected] or Instagram at @ericminhswenson

Encore

Reenactment in Contemporary Photography

Contemporary artists who reenact older works of art often put a new spin on the original themes. Featuring seven photographers—Eileen Cowin, Christina Fernandez, Samuel Fosso, Yasumasa Morimura, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Gillian Wearing, and Qiu Zhijie—this exhibition explores how re-staging can highlight underrepresented stories and critique established narratives. Presented in three categories—personal history, political history, and art history—the works showcase very different approaches to engaging with the past.

Pontormo

Miraculous Encounters

February 5–April 28, 2019, GETTY CENTERP

Featuring one of Jacopo da Pontormo’s most renowned works, the Visitation, this exhibition presents this innovative altarpiece along with two exceptional portraits and preparatory drawings that reveal his creative process. Completed during Florence’s political upheaval at the end of the 1520s, the artist’s paintings from this period resonate with acute psychological intensity. Recent conservation of the Visitation reveals its stunning range of colors and exquisite details, which led to its first-time travel from Italy to the United States.

Generously supported by Janine and J. Tomilson Hill. Additional support provided by the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture (FIAC).

Organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum; the Morgan Library & Museum, New York; and the Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence.

The exhibition has been organized to raise support for the conservation of the Parish Church and the former Franciscan convent of San Michele Arcangelo in Carmignano.