Press Materials

The re-staging of past events presents an opportunity for contemporary photographers to highlight underrepresented stories and to critique established narratives. This exhibition brings together works by seven artists—Eileen Cowin, Christina Fernandez, Samuel Fosso, Yasumasa Morimura, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Gillian Wearing, and Qiu Zhijie—all of whom have utilized reenactment in their respective practices. Presented in three topics - personal history, political history, and art history—the works showcase very different approaches to engaging with the past. Curated by Arpad Kovacs.

The Bauhaus was a German school of art and design whose brief yet highly influential existence rendered it a key site in the development of a new modern vision for arts education. Established in 1919 after the end of World War I, the Bauhaus sought to erode distinctions between crafts and the fine arts through a program of study centered on theory and practical experience.

Marking the one hundredth anniversary of the school’s opening, Bauhaus Beginnings investigates the school’s early commitment to spiritual expression, its innovative first-year curriculum, and its use of diverse media to introduce the work of students and masters to international audiences. The exhibition draws on the Getty Research Institute’s extensive collection of Bauhaus material—including course exercises, teaching aids and notes, and rare prints, drawings, and photographs—to offer a colorful and surprising reexamination of the founding principles of this landmark institution.