Thomas Gaehtgens on Connecting Seas, Connecting Cultures (Excerpt)
Connecting Seas, A Visual History of Discoveries and Encounter, a Getty Research Institute Exhibition
Connecting Seas draws on the Getty Research Institute's extensive special collections to reveal how adventures on other continents and discoveries of different cultures were perceived, represented, and transmitted in the past, when ocean travel was the primary means by which people and knowledge circulated.
Featuring rare books and maps, photographs and panoramic vues d'optique, prints, and even Napoleon's monumental folios on Egypt, the exhibition traces the fascinating course of scholarly investigation and comprehension of cultures in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Intriguing works from around the world, dating from the 16th to the 21st century, chart diverse narratives of discovery, exploration, commerce, and colonization, and illuminate the multiple levels of encounter at the roots of today's globalization.
Connecting Seas will be the first exhibition in the Research Institute's newly expanded galleries.
Producers: Liz Mc Dermott, Alicia Houtrouw
Cinematographer, Editor: François Maurin
Cinematographer, Editor: François Maurin
Stills Photography: John Kiffe