Event 1: The Getty Villa

The Getty Villa was an excellent way to start our family vacation at the beginning of this summer.  I have often heard people talking about this museum, but never had the chance to visit until my family came to visit. I was amazed by the beauty of the museum campus's architecture as well as the magnificence of the outdoor gardens.

     

During our stay, I learned quite a lot about the Getty Villa. The villa is a recreation of a first-century Roman country home, Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, that was buried in the 79 A.D. eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Located in the luxurious Pacific Palisades, the Getty Villa is actually the second gallery J. Paul Getty made to house his bountiful European art collection. Additionally, the Getty institute, in partnership with UCLA, offers one of the best masters programs in Conservation through the Cotsen Institute of Archaelogy.

While examining the museum, I was fortunate enough to take part in the guided garden tour with my mother. It was quite inspirational and incorporated quite a lot of the concepts we discussed in the second week of class, regarding the way math is incorporated in art. As seen in the photograph above, the museum was designed with geometric purpose. The tour guide informed us that the backyard gardens were designed with the purpose to medicate the mind, body, and soul, that learning and conversation would thrive. This is why the campus's herb garden featured so many remedial plants like oregano and lamb's ear.

The original counterpart of the garden depicted below provided a tranquil and fruitful environment for children's daily lessons, as plants used for various medicinal purposes populate the entire East garden. The prominent element of geometry is being explained by the tour guide in the photo below. She was telling us how the symmetry of the mosaic epitomizes Roman architecture. As we learned in the "Math + Art" section of this course, Roman art accentuates the essential elements of the mathematical elements behind art that examples such as the Vitruvian man and Golden Rectangle depict.

  

The indoor gallery was just as spectacular as the outdoor visuals. I appreciated the head statue of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, and Hercules, Roman name for the divine Zeus' heroic son. I thought it was pretty interesting that the reason Aphrodite's nose is missing is not from deterioration that accompanies old age but because Christian groups did not appreciate the secularism that the deity represented. Obviously, art defamation is not a new concept!

    
    

One of the last photos I took that day was actually of the floor design inside the museum I thought it was so cool that I even had it as my phone's wallpaper for while. The design ties in a final element of mathematical prominence within the museum, depicting the ways in which lines can create three-dimensional appearance in two-dimensional atmosphere.

   

Though I did not take a picture with the curator pictured above, the picture below  is proof that I was at the museum. I would highly recommend that anyone staying in Los Angeles visit this luxurious art center, as it sincerely provides the feel of a European environment. The tours are also quite fascinating, as they teach about the purposes and uses with the various designs and plants within the museum's facilities. I had a wonderful time and hope to return again sometime next year!

 Works Cited and Sites Worth Visiting

 Dartmouth College. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. <https://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit7/unit7.html>.

 The Getty Villa. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. <http://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/architecture.html>.

 The Getty Villa. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. <http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/exploring-the-herb-garden-at-the-getty-villa/>.

"Outer Peristyle." The Getty. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. <http://www.getty.edu/visit/images/gtc_2013-07-26wald0001_sm.jpg>.

UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
     <http://www.ioa.ucla.edu/conservation-program/introduction>. 

 University of Georgia Mathematics Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. <http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emat6680/parveen/Math_and_Art.htm>.