Lumen at the Getty

As the overall sponsors, the Getty undoubtedly had a leg up on creating an exhibition that fit into PST’s “Art & Science Collide” theme, and they took advantage by pulling together “Lumen: The Art and Science of Light.” There was one remarkable object after another, a plurality from England but extraordinary loans also from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark and U.S. museums in New York, Washington, Cleveland, San Diego and nearby Los Angeles. The least impressive loans were actually from the Getty as, aside from illuminated manuscripts, the “Long Middle Ages” of 800-1500 isn’t in their wheelhouse.

The Getty exhibition was physically broken into two discrete spaces, which reflected two very different approaches to light, the common denominator. The first area addressed the science of light: instruments that measured the movement of celestial bodies, records of observation, the study of astronomy and geometry. There were handsome objects, but more science than art. Science necessarily disappeared in the exhibition’s second area, which focused on religion, especially light’s role as an emanation of the divine. Here we found the art, with depictions of the Annunciation, halos and heavenly angels. To my astonishment, there was a painting by Giotto (from San Diego) of God the Father. Most of the loans are objects I would likely skip over in the context of an encyclopedic museum visit; few are famous per se. But one after another repaid the close attention that this exhibit prompted us to give.

“Lumen” had a perhaps unplanned impact when encountered ten days after a totally discouraging American election that seemed to elevate the baser instincts of our population and lead to elite-bashing by the commentariat. Here were examples of our own species pursuing higher callings, striving to understand the workings of the physical heavens and the meanings of the spiritual realms. Man could be driven by something finer than greed, jealousy and the quest for power. There are finer things in life, and art and science are two of them.

On the subject of science, climate change is our most existential issue and was the subject of more PST art at the Hammer Museum in a show called “Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice.” Here was art by labels, a phenomenon I first encountered at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in the ’90s. Virtually nothing made sense, or could be appreciated, only by looking; you had to read the label to learn what the artist was communicating. A suite of marine animal portraits was perhaps the most traditionally appealing artwork, but only by reading the label did one learn that these were painted with fuel oil and represented species that had died out from oil spills. Everything was pretty much of the moment, which is okay, but one doubts that, unlike the pieces in Lumen, crowds will be admiring them a millennium from now–even if, of course, our species makes it that far.