The Art of Alchemy Colloquium (Video 1 of 4)

January 19, 2017, The Getty Center
Presentations by Matteo Martelli and Gabriele Ferrario
Introductory remarks by David Brafman
Alchemists were notorious for attempting to make synthetic gold, but their goals were far more ambitious: to transform and bend nature to the will of an industrious human imagination. For scientists, philosophers, and artists alike, alchemy seemed to hold the key to unlocking the secrets of creation. Alchemists' efforts to discover the way the world is made have had an enduring impact on artistic practice and expression around the globe. This colloquium explores how the mysterious art of alchemy transformed visual culture from antiquity to the industrial age and the ways in which its legacy still permeates the world we make today.
“The Graeco-Egyptian Origins of Alchemy: Chromatic Transformations in the Byzantine and Syriac Traditions” by Matteo Martelli
“Ṣināʿat al-Iksīr - The Art of the Elixir: Alchemical Ideas and Practices in the Arabo Islamic world” by Gabriele Ferrario
This colloquium complemented the exhibition “The Art of Alchemy,” on view at the Getty Research Institute from October 11, 2016, through February 12, 2017. More about this exhibition: www.getty.edu/alchemy/
Learn more about this event: www.getty.edu/research/exhibit...

[@mathmusicandlooks]

1:28:50 The ancient alchemists were the first to discover the efficacy of clickbait 😂

[@christopherellis2663]

Scarce, rhymes with scare, care fare, bare, share mare, dare, rare, tare, ware, stare, snare, hare, pare square ⬛️
The woman asks bizarre questions. Does she not understand Trade Secrets?

[@karleeharris6942]

Blah blah blaaaaaah. I cannot get past all the boring conversation.

[@christopherellis2663]

What were you expecting?