A grand staircase, stunning statues, distant music growing louder with each step, the excitement of hundreds of L.A. college students, including LBCC students, was palpable as they made their way to the Getty Museum’s main plaza for College Night.
With the opportunity to view many of the Getty’s exhibits for free, as well as a complimentary meal and drinks many people came to the event with their friends, happy to spend an evening with some of the museum’s most interesting exhibits.
Two LBCC students, Jourdan Freeman and Loren Layla, found out about the event through instagram.
As friends, the two often go out together to explore L.A. and have fun.
“We’ve been trying to go to more college events, any chance to do something different,” Layla said.
Students could view exhibits that the Getty houses through guided tours or solo exploration, including “Blood: Medieval/Modern” an exhibit focused on cultural perceptions of blood over time.
The exhibit includes a pair of “satan shoes” from musical artist Lil Nas X’s collaboration with Mschf. The shoes were rumored to come with one drop of real human blood within the air bubble sole.
These shoes, alongside other medieval and contemporary artworks, all play into the story that museum curator Larisa Grollemond hoped to tell with this exhibit.
Touching on subjects such as menstruation, the AIDS/HIV crisis, and feminism through the analysis of blood’s status in medieval manuscripts, “Blood” aims to mix the contemporary with the historical to start a conversation on the power blood still holds in modern culture.
“I hope a show like this will give people the tools to make these connections,” Grollemond said.
As a medievalist historian, Grollemond recorded a series of videos about medieval-era daily life, which eventually helped her find inspiration for this exhibit in particular.
“By far the most asked questions were about menstruation, and the nitty gritty of how women dealt with it in the past and the social status of women’s blood in such a time,” said Grollemond.
On top of exhibits, students were able to participate in various hands-on activities, including silkscreening, candle making and print pulling at various stations set up around the Getty’s central plaza.
Those interested in viewing any of the exhibits hosted at the Getty can do so for free by reserving a timed-entry ticket in advance at the Getty’s ticketing website.