Black Arts at the Getty

Getty Tuesday: Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985

The Getty doesn't have fancy frappes, so I started my visit with an iced mocha latte accompanied by a small bag of Garden Salsa Sun Chips.

One of these ducks hovered around my table while I snacked; a few minutes later I noticed both of them basking in the warm early March sun.

"Pictures told, for those who could not see themselves, of the strength and the beauty of the people, of the hostility and anger of the opposition, and of the promise of a world free of racism." Julian Bond, 1940-2015

The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, organized the exhibit and showed it there before it traveled over to here.

I didn't imagine counting how many photographs or how many rooms it all encompassed. Although I did imagine the Getty website would say something about that, it didn't, so I'll say it was extensive. I found the detailed but not endless descriptions most helpful

A lot of the pictures featured well-known leaders of the civil rights movement. It's no surprise most of the photography was black and white. Some were done in a private venue or by a regular person – participant or observer – with an unnamed camera and unidentified film; most were from newspapers, a few for magazines. I'd guess a press cameras (such as a Speed Graphic) captured most of the people and events, and the newspaper shots would have been printed at a resolution around 200 ppi or less. That overall style propelled the viewer back in time.

To end my day off, I'd planned and counted on Subway to celebrate Tuna Tuesday and continue the Sun Chips theme, but when I got there the small shopping center was closed because of a water main not draining, so I got El Pollo Loco instead. It tasted great and even provided leftovers!