Music for the Masses: Illuminated Choir BooksTL and I enjoyed a beautiful day at the Getty Center today. Yes, I know, I can't stay away. Of course, I am intrigued by any kind of illustrative works from contemporary ads to ancient manuscripts, and this exhibit did not disappoint. The "masses" of the title alluding to religious services, these choir books were used by monks singing age-old chants they already knew by heart. The notations, it turns out, were there to guide them with the pitch, high or low.
While interested in the page as a whole, my main focus was on the illustration of the first letter. For instance, this example is the letter R. Having a one-track mind, I thought of these illuminations as being ideal for tiles! More inspiration...
Some of the examples on display were cut out from the rest of the page. I thought about how our ideas of conservation have changed over the ages, and even mere years. In times past, even recently, the more illustrative or figurative parts of mosaics were cut out and preserved in museums while the borders and fields were left to disintegrate on site. Today we realize the importance of context. Just as with these choir book designs, we understand the importance of seeing the page, or indeed the book, as a whole, no part being more important than the whole.
Although I admit to not having much of a musical ear, I enjoyed the audio of the chants presented with some of the items. It brought the pages to life, hearing the chants as they would have been sung by the monks as they viewed the choir books.
One point we both agreed on, why can't museums make it obvious where one should start viewing an exhibit. A simple "Start here, you idiots" sign would be helpful. We evidently started on the wrong side. When we found the side we should have started at (we didn't even realize there were two rooms at first), a lot of confusing elements became much clearer.
We also enjoyed Edward Weston: Enduring Vision. I've seen various Weston exhibits but this was about the best, with examples of the different periods of his life, and of course, the different women who inspired him! Another wonderful, and unexpected, treat was Recent History: Photographs by Luc Delahaye, images on a large scale. And the garden was in full bloom, nice to take our time strolling through.
The Getty Center is very pleasant on a weekday. Although it is very well attended at any time, my last visit at the weekend I said never again. I can't deal with crowds of people, at least not when attempting to view art.
Photo copyright J. Paul Getty Museum
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