Extra Credit Event 2: The Getty Center

Visitor Card, stub for visit to the J Paul Getty Museum

For my second Extra-Credit event, I visited the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center. I am now a proud Californian, and can now proudly claim that I finally went to the Getty Museum after living 10 years in Los Angeles. Already entering the Museum from the parking lot, the Museum greeted us with a super clean, quiet and modern tram that took us over the mountains into the center.

Architecture of the Main Getty Center building

Walking into the main building of the Getty Center, I was flooded with the beautiful architecture, which every detail seemed to be intricately calculated. The architecture was designed to bring as much sunlight into the building, conserving much energy yet still looking so modern and artistically attractive. Although the lectures never touched on the topic of architecture, I personally believe that architecture can also become a branch of Mathematics+Art, part of our Unit 2 lectures.

2D  cave visuals, entrance of 3D room

2D visuals, entrance of 3D room

For this trip, I think my experience at the exhibit for Cave Temples of Dunhuang really allowed for an integration of technology+art. The exhibit of "Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China's Silk Road" features displays of rare objects originally discovered from Mogao in China, three full-size cave replicas, and lastly a 3-D virtual experience of Cave 45 from the eighth century.

Selfie with Uniformed Getty Center Employee.

The most significant part of my visit was the 3-D virtual experience, where the audience -in groups of 10-20 people- were guided into an entirely darkened room with a ceiling to floor screen wall, in which later the wall was projected with a first-person visuals of the Cave 45 from Magao China. We were given 3D glasses, and the experience was surreal. it truly felt as if I was in Cave 45, in Magao China, in the 8th century.

My own technological approach :)

This cave in real life was only witnessed by certified and pre-authorized researchers, however this virtual experience allowed the general public to experience the site while physically still in Los Angeles, CA. Technology allowed for art to be appreciated over barriers of time and distance, and I believe this truly integrated the technology+art genres.

I would recommend visiting the Getty Center to all my classmates, as the Museum was accommodated with cafes, restaurants, and rest areas; moreover, beautiful architecture, statues, and fine art exhibits. More importantly, for all foregoing reasons, I would recommend my classmates to go specifically to the Cave Temples exhibit before it ends in September 4,2016.