My brother prefers the Getty Villa. He feels the space here is too large, too modern, overwhelming. I didn’t get through a quarter of the collection myself and I was exhausted. Still, I’m inclined to think that with return visits, I’ll come to consider this locale familiar. The architecture was impressive, not just for line and scale, but detail: every knob, every light fixture, every step was considered. I had a great week for comparative architecture, what with a trip to Santa Barbara for the mission and all, and I must say the Getty stands up with the best of them. One thing mentioned in conversation with my sister is modern architecture in form and scale might be reference history, and imbue our experience with the awe of those ancient spaces. The Getty in particular tends toward the classical, in spite of the dramatic curves on so many postcards. There are proportions and symmetries positively Hellenistic to my eye, and in the light of an autumn afternoon, the site felt graceful and eternal.
© 2010 Ele Munjeli
