L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 A lthough, to date, the time machine is unfortunately just a sci-fi device, every- body can travel back to the past era of Roman Empire, simply by driving to the Getty Villa, in Malibu. The new, exciting and com- prehensive exhibition, Roman M o s a i c s a c r o s s t h e E m p i r e (March 30 – September 12), dis- p l a y s a r a n g e o f e x q u i s i t e mosaics, spanning from the 2nd through the 6th centuries A.D. Most of them, belong to the J. Paul Getty museum's permanent c o l l e c t i o n , b u t t h e y a r e n o w viewable to the public, for the first time. It's not going to be solely a time travel, but a geographical one, as well. In fact, the magnifi- cent artworks, which used to adorn floors and walls of both private and public buildings, come from the major provinces of the Roman Empire: Gaul - in t h i s c a s e , t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t , called "Gallia Narbonensis"; N o r t h A f r i c a - i n p a r t i c u l a r , "Africa Proconsularis", coinci- dent with present-day northern Tunisia, northeastern Algeria, and western Libya - and Syria - present-day Turkey and modern Syria. Probably, the most incredible piece of art is a majestic floor mosaic, found in a vineyard near Lago di Lucrino in Baiae (just west of Naples), in 1901. In 1971, the Getty Museum purchased twenty-tree panels of the mosaic, portraying a bear hunt. During the Roman Empire, aside from being a common fig- urative theme, "venationes" - the staged hunts of wild animals - were a popular form of enter- tainment, not unlike modern day's bullfights in Spain. I've had the opportunity to hear from the curator of this much anticipated exhibition, Alexis Belis, who, since a very early age, has always loved dig- ging in the dirt, with the hope of unearthing some precious arte- fact. A Princeton graduate and PhD in classical archaeology, Alexis' dream came true, as she took part to several excavations in Greece and on Cyprus. What is your cultural back- ground? M a n y o f m y r e l a t i v e s o n my mom's side are German and still live in Germany, and most of my dad's family was Ukrainian. S o m e o f m y m e m o r i e s , g r o w i n g u p , i n v o l v e e x o t i c f o o d s , b e c a u s e w e w o u l d h a v e t r a d i t i o n a l G e r m a n and Ukrainian dinners on differ- ent holidays. What is your current posi- tion and how does your typical day looks like? I'm an assistant curator in the Department of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum. When I began working here, two years a g o , I n e v e r i m a g i n e d t h a t I would have the opportunity to put together my own exhibition, e s p e c i a l l y o n e o n R o m a n mosaics. E v e r y d a y i s d i f f e r e n t because there are so many peo- ple involved in the exhibition. I spend fractions of each day, working with different depart- ments on various aspects of the exhibition -from conservation and photography of the mosaics, to the design of the exhibition and how the mosaics will be dis- played. I also research the artefacts and work with an editor to write a n d r e v i s e t h e g a l l e r y texts and labels, whom you read in the exhibition. I even spent a day in the recording studio, at the Getty Center, making an audio guide. However, my job is not always exciting, since I have to take care of a lot of paper- work and email correspondence, as well. T h e p a s t s i x w e e k s , I ' v e spent most days in the galleries, while the mosaics, text panels, and wall graphics were being installed. There's also an online p u b l i c a t i o n o n t h e G e t t y ' s mosaics collection, available from March 30 th on, so I've b e e n c a r r y i n g m y l a p t o p around and working on the final editing of that at the same time. Looking at your bio, it's evident that your main inter- est is in classical Greek civi- lization. What fascinates you about the exhibition at the Getty Villa, Roman Mosaics across the Empire? T h e G e t t y ' s c o l l e c t i o n o f Roman mosaics is fascinating, b e c a u s e w e k n o w t h e l o c a - tions where many of the objects were found. Nearly all of the mosaics in the exhibition have two stories - an ancient one and a modern one. The exhibition looks at the original contexts of the mosaics, decorating the floors of villas, baths, and churches, but it also focuses on how they were dis- covered and excavated. As an archaeologist, it's exciting to be a b l e t o p r e s e n t t h i s k i n d of information for any ancient civilization. T w o o f t h e m o s a i c s e v e n c o m e f r o m t h e s a m e R o m a n villa near Villelaure, in southern France, but they have been kept apart until now. For the first time, the Getty's mosaic of the boxers Dares and Entellus (theme from Virgil's Aeneid) and LACMA's mosaic, featuring Diana and Callisto (from Ovid's Metamorphoses), w h i c h w e r e e x c a v a t e d i n 1900, are reunited in the exhibi- tion. T h a n k s t o t h e c u r r e n t exhibit, I've had the opportunity to exchange information related to the mosaics with current resi- dents of Villelaure and the sur- rounding villages, including the results from new excavations of the same villa, that took place in 2006. The exhibition is also partic- u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g b e c a u s e , although most of the mosaics are from the Getty's own collec- tion, some of them have never been on display before at the Villa. What are the biggest chal- lenges you've been facing in putting together this exhibi- tion? One of the biggest challenges has been coordinating the work of so many different depart- ments, especially while putting together the publication of the Getty's entire mosaic collection at the same time. What are the distinctive characteristics of an institu- tion, like The Getty, in terms o f r e s e a r c h , c o n s e r v a t i o n etc...? The Getty is an incredible place to work, because all of these resources are available in one place and this encourages collaborative projects. Every department, I've worked with, has been truly committed to the field and to the museum. The Antiquities Conservation staff at the Villa has done an amazing job, in preparing the o b j e c t s t o d i s p l a y , a n d t h e Getty Conservation Institute ( G C I ) h a s a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d to the exhibition, by presen- ting their MOSAIKON project at Bulla Regia in Tunisia. The GCI's material shows mosaics in situ, decorating the f l o o r s o f h o u s e s a n d p u b l i c buildings. This is especially important for an exhibition, in which all of the objects are dis- played out of context. You have lived in different cities around the world. Do y o u l i k e r e s i d i n g i n L o s Angeles? I really like living in Los Angeles. In particular, I love the mountains and being able to hike all year round. Also, the ocean and the mountains togeth- er remind me of Greece. Curator Alexis Belis at the Getty Villa. Photo Courtesy of Desiree Zenovich A peek at the new Getty Villa's exhibition, Roman Mosaics across the Empire VALERIO VIALE LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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