Event 1 - The Getty Center

I went to The Getty Center for UCLA’s College Night at The Getty this year, and took the opportunity to look around for inspiration for an event blog post for this class. First of all, it was a great event (free food—who doesn’t like free food?), and it was the perfect time to visit the Center.

When I arrived, I fully expected to be wandering the rooms looking for a display that I could relate to the class, but instead, I found myself captivated by the area outside of the Center: the gardens and the building architecture. Not only is The Getty a place to display art, it is also a work of art in and of itself.

Architecture is something I mentioned in my very first blog post for this class. To me, it seems to be the perfect representation of the mutually beneficial relationship between art and science. The Getty buildings are a great example of this. They are amazing to look at, and yet are also perfectly suited to their purposes, as buildings and as display spaces.

Figure 1. Some of the amazing architecture at The Getty Center.

I was also fascinated by the gardens outside of the buildings. In my previous visits to the Center, I never had the chance to walk around outside. This time, however, I was able to see the amazing plant sculptures and the waterfall. Again, I see these as more examples of architecture, and the marriage of art and science.

Figure 2. The waterfall in the gardens at The Getty Center.

Take, for example, the sculpture photographed below. This looks to made of welded pieces of rebar covered with plants. Achieving the symmetry of the towers must have taken exacting calculations, and the result is quite stunning.

Figure 3. The bougainvillea arbors at The Getty Center. 

Works Cited

"Architecture, Art or Science?" Architecture, Art or Science? Web. 6 June 2015.

"Gardens | Getty Center." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. Web. 6 June 2015.

Moore, Charles W. "Architecture: Art and Science." Journal of Architectural Education 19.4 (1965): 53-56. Print.

Panek, Richard. "Art and Science: A Universe Apart?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Feb. 1999. Web. 6 June 2015.

"The Getty." The Getty. Web. 6 June 2015.