Los Angeles

Application deadline: Oct 1, 2018

Art and Ecology (Research Institute)

The 2019/2020 scholar-year theme invites scholars to address the strategies and forms through which ecological concepts are generated, adopted, staged, and negotiated in the realm of the visual arts and architecture. The intersections of art and ecology raise important questions about how artistic practices have sought to understand our place in nature and the deep entanglements of natural and cultural formations throughout history. The terms are to be taken broadly: art as product, practice, or skill; and ecology as biological environment, built system, or metaphor for interdependence and connectivity.

From Paleolithic figurines to sculptural interventions in the landscape, or from sacred gardens to the golden ratio in architecture, ecological considerations in art range from the stylistic to the geopolitical, from the material to the philosophical. This multivalent discourse on art and ecology incorporates conservation efforts in the age of the Anthropocene as well as critical endeavors to decentralize the human in favor of the animal, the natural, or the post-human. At the same time, technological advances in archaeology, climate science, and the digital humanities are opening new pathways to ecological understanding and merit scholarly reflection.

Applicants are invited to address the theme of Art and Ecology in light of current ecological concerns, historical inquiries, artistic responses, and experimental explorations.

The Classical World in Context: Thrace (Villa)

The Getty Scholars Program at the Villa for the 2019/2020 term will consider the ancient culture of Thrace, in particular its relations to its southern neighbor Greece and, in a later period, Rome. The Thracians feature prominently in Greek history and are well attested in literature, art, and archaeology. No doubt interacting already in the Bronze Age, Thracians had particularly close relations with the Greek colonists who settled along the Black Sea coast in the seventh century BC, including those who took an interest in the gold and silver mines in Thracian territory. Although adversaries during the Persian Wars, Thracians were later employed as soldiers to fight beside the Athenians and became a familiar sight in Greece. The Odrysian kingdom united the various Thracian tribes in the mid-fifth century BC and survived into the first century AD. The rich archaeological remains of Thrace, including royal burials with superb gold, silver, and bronze works, attest to the sophistication of the culture, which combined local, Greek, and Persian elements. In turn, Thracian religion, including Orphic beliefs and the worship of the goddess Bendis, had a profound influence in Greece.

Priority will be given to research projects that are cross-cultural and interdisciplinary, and that utilize a wide range of archaeological, textual, and other evidence.

For more information about the theme please visit: http://www.getty.edu/research/scholars/years/future.html

Detailed instructions are available online at: http://www.getty.edu/foundation/apply/

Please address inquiries to:

Phone: (310) 440-7374

Fax: (310) 440-7703

E-mail: researchgrants@getty.edu