A Visit to the Getty

Art’s influence on the world, as well as the world’s influence on art, can be almost imagined when visiting the Getty.  Works from assorted eras of art and science filled various exhibits, ranging from decorative art in the 1700s, to World War I propaganda helped me get a grasp of what role art played in the development of science, technology and the public’s understanding of the world.

The first exhibition that truly, for me, exemplified art and technology intertwined was the decorative arts section.  In this area, I was presented with ornate desks, beautifully crafted chairs and beds, and gilded tools like clocks, porcelain and silverware.  One such object is the grandfather pictured with me below.

This clock is crafted like any other work of art, with attention to detail, precision and talent; however, the utility inherent in the clock implies a different time in history where technology and art were almost inseparable.  In all of the decorative arts, we realize that today’s world, which is obsessed with efficiency and convenience, lacks the old mentality that art and science are beautiful crafts which both lend themselves to the improvement of human society and daily life.

During the early 1900s, as portrayed by a World War I exhibit at the Getty, art is used as a type of technology used to provide society with ideas and opinions.  While the example of propaganda is often connoted as negative or sinister, art used to be the media to provide the public with information (even if biased).  As shown by the enlistment propaganda below, the world used to be greatly influenced by art as a route for information, and not used simply for enjoying and interpreting.