Made by elementary school and college students, the images were created as part of the Digital Scavenger Hunt project designed by artist John Divola for the Getty Artists Program.
Each year, the Getty Museum invites one artist to take part in its Getty Artists Program, creating and implementing a project of his or her choosing. Divola, who works primarily with photography and digital imaging, proposed the scavenger hunt as a way for students to work together on a piece of art.
“We have looked to artists whom we know have an interest in and engagement with education or audiences,” explains Toby Tannenbaum, assistant director for Education at the J. Paul Getty Museum. “John’s project offered students at very different levels a chance to engage with the Getty’s collection while creating collaborative, unique artworks that we are delighted to share with our visitors.”
Challenged to locate and photograph specific items at the museum, including skies, brightly colored shoes, gold and silver, heads with hats and helmets, plates, bowls, vases, and doorways, photography students from Santa Monica College, East Los Angeles College, Pierce College and College of the Canyons worked with Divola and college faculty. As part of the Museum’s multiple-visit program Art Together, students from Hooper Avenue Elementary School were loaned digital cameras in order to capture images during their Museum visits. Their photographs were then combined to create large, collective works of art. This playful and open-ended project provides a unique introduction to the museum experience.
“As photographers we delight in the medium because it generally pulls us out into the world, both literally and figuratively, in a heightened sense of awareness,” explains Divola. “This project presents a straightforward invitation to that process for students.”
The results are on view at the Getty Center in the Museum Entrance Hall and also online, along with a video interview with Divola and footage of students participating in the hunt.
The Getty Artists Program was launched in 2010 in order to extend the Education department’s existing artist-based programs to include individual artist projects. Past participants have included artists Mark Bradford and Jennifer Steinkamp.