The Getty Museum: Round Two

This week I ventured up the California mountainside via a modest white tram and arrived at the Getty Museum for my second visit. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles exhibits a wide array of art, including European sculpture, paintings, manuscripts, artifacts, and European and American photography. During this visit, the French Bronze exhibit impressed me as much as any sculpture exhibit would with its wonderfully detailed subjects crafted from copper and tin. The subject matter of the pieces ranged from biblical to mythical to political and royal, but I decided to focus this blog on a different exhibit: the Walls of Algiers: Narratives of the City, an exhibit focused on the history and subsequent bloody battle of the African city Algiers.

The French occupied Algiers in 1830 and held this occupation until the War of Independence ended in 1962. While in power, the French segregated the city into the "Arab" sector and the "European" sector. The exhibit at the Getty Center highlighted this with old photos taken of the people of Algiers, including mandatory snapshots taken by a photographer ordered to document every Arab citizen. These photos were used to issue each citizen a French Identity Card. Think of every ID card or license you've had to get over the years. Usually the problem with ID photos is how goofy your smile is or that your eyes are half-closed and you now have to live with that photo in your pocket for the next few years. The listless expressions on the faces of the men and women I saw were cold and strong. There were no smiles and their eyes were all wide open. They had a much different problem. They looked very much like people who had something to say but had no choice but to sit or stand in the middle of the street and receive an identity they didn't believe in.

If you are interested in learning more about the War of Independence, you should check out The Battle of Algiers, a classic black and white film that came out in 1966 and highlights the brutal tactics that both the French and the Algerians utilized in attempts to gain the upper hand during the war.

This exhibit can be viewed until October 18th. The rotating exhibits and breathtaking views at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, make it worth a repeat viewing.

Parking is 15$ and entry into the museum is free.

For more information visit-
http://www.getty.edu/