Nakagawa is known for his installations that explore sound, and identity. Myth Not Myth deconstructs misperceptions about ancient art through conversation and sculpture. Nakagawa was interested in how the term “myth” is used both to describe the narratives and belief systems of the past and to describe stories that we consider to be untrue, false, or fictional.
Nakagawa conducted a series of conversations with Getty Museum staff about oft-misperceived topics in the study of Greek and Roman antiquity, including the role of color in statuary and architecture, artistic representations of the phallus, and materials used to paint Romano-Egyptian mummy portraits.
Myth not Myth consists of four witty and interactive sculptures inspired by those conversations.
Cycloptic Psychedelia consists of a black box with a small peephole revealing a fantastical and color-saturated miniature Classical landscape, populated with anachronistic and futuristic elements that interrupt this reimagined look into the past.
Misogynia, made in collaboration with ceramicists Wayne Perry and Nathalie Sanchez, pays homage to depictions of the phallus dating from antiquity to present day. The sculpture further comments on the representation of gender by incorporating an audio recording of seven female artists—Suzanne Lacy, Faith Ringgold, Yong Soon Min, Mickalene Thomas, Lezley Saar, and Amy Uyematsu—who share their wishes for the future of women. The pot’s form is based on a Bronze Age bowl in the Getty’s collection that depicts scenes from everyday life.
Enter to Win is a sandwich board-style sign that playfully pays homage to the Getty’s Fayum mummy portraits. Nakagawa’s painted portraits depict the recently deceased pop musicians Prince and Amy Winehouse.
Nakagawa’s April Fools’ Vase, made in collaboration with ceramicist Wayne Perry, recreates a terracotta vase of a Minotaur from the Getty’s collection. Nakagawa combines the vase with a turntable and visitors will be encouraged to “play” the vase as they would a record. The sculpture is based on a news report, later revealed to be an April Fools’ joke, claiming that a new laser technology could detect sound from the ancient past through a reading of minute etchings on the surface of Greek vases.
Myth Not Myth will take place in the Villa’s Outer Peristyle garden as a series of presentations by the artist on Saturdays, June 11, 18, and 25, 2016 at 1:00pm and 3:00pm Admission is free and reservations for the presentations are not required. However, an advanced timed entry ticket is required to visit the Villa. For more information, please visit the event page.
Audio highlights of Nakagawa’s conversations with Getty Museum educator Erin Branham, curator Ken Lapatin, and conservator Marie Svoboda are currently accessible online at the event page and will be available for visitors to the Getty Villa on GettyGuide iPods from June 8 to July 4, 2016.
About Alan Nakagawa
Alan Nakagawa is a Los Angeles-based interdisciplinary artist who creates sound-based installations that explore the physical properties of sound frequencies and memory. He’s interested in how we listen, how sound defines architecture and how sound relates to personal histories. Nakagawa studied video art and performance at Otis Art Institute (BFA) and UC Irvine (MFA), trained at the UCLA Oral History Program, and is a Monbusho Scholar. During the summer of 2015, he was invited to research the history of the hearing aid at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. He is also a recipient of the C.O.L.A. Fellowship, California Community Foundation Mid-Career Artist Fellowship, the Art Matters Inc. Award, and is currently artist-in-residence with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.