CAN YOU GET EXCITED about little stone cubes that are 3000 years old? YES! Greek and Roman mosaics are pavements from ancient architecture, and are among the most durable forms of decorative art to have survived from antiquity. What kind of knowledge did it take to create this masterful art form? How did ancient people do this work without benefit of the technology we now have? Looking deeply at the dynamic and mythical imagery, we get a sense of scope and influence of the Roman Empire. From mosaics we learn how they hunted, what they ate, how they dressed. We learn how they loved, fought and conquered. We get to know the bounty of plants, animals, birds, and fish that made up their natural world.
from the J. Getty Paul Museum permanent collection
I HEAD OUT THIS WEEK for a month-long series of ARTIST-at-WORK DEMOS and POINT OF VIEW GALLERY TALKS at the fabulous GETTY VILLA in Malibu, California where I’ll bring the ART OF MOSAICS alive for the museum-going public.
The Villa houses the antiquity collection of the J. Paul Getty Trust, with a focus on archeological finds from ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan cultures. It is a fascinating and beautiful place to spend the day. The Villa is designed after the Herculaneum, and is busting with gardens, fountains, sculpture, and gorgeous mosaic floors throughout. They have a very good collection of Roman mosaics on view in their permanent collection.
My live ARTIST DEMOS will feature various mosaic processes, with hands-on activities to see what it’s like to set a real mosaic.
March 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 25, 26, and 27th
at 11:00 AM and again at 3:00 PM.
POINT OF VIEW: Lillian Sizemore on Ancient Mosaics – Walk the galleries with me as I discuss the Getty’s permanent collection of mosaics from an artist and maker’s point of view on:
Thursdays, March 24th and 31st,
at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM
Opus Sectile pavement at the Getty Villa
IF YOU LIVE IN LOS ANGELES area, or plan to travel there during the month of March please check out the calendars, or go directly to the getty.edu wesbite, AND please come say hello!
MORE INFO at my new website and also here on this blog > see the green bar above: Classes/Events.
