Reflections: Nicole Budrovich on a Debate Plate
b'We\\u2019ve asked members of the Getty community to share short reflections on works of art they\\u2019re thinking about right now. These recordings feature stories related to our daily lives.\\n\\n\\n\\nThis week, curator Nicole Budrovich reflects on debate and discourse through an ancient plate. To learn more about this work, visit: www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/10598/.\\n\\n\\n\\nOver the next few weeks, look for new recordings every other Tuesday.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nTranscript\\n\\n\\n\\nJAMES CUNO: Hi, I\\u2019m Jim Cuno, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. In a new podcast feature, we\\u2019re asking members of the Getty community to share short reflections on works of art they\\u2019re thinking about right now. We\\u2019ll be releasing new recordings every other Tuesday. I hope you\\u2019ll find these stories about our daily lives\\u2014from laundry on the line to a dog at a scholar\\u2019s feet\\u2014thought provoking, illuminating, and entertaining.\\nNICOLE BUDROVICH: Hi, I\\u2019m Nicole Budrovich, a curatorial assistant at the Getty Villa. With Election Day and political debate in the air, I recently found myself thinking about an object in the Antiquities collection\\u2014a large silver platter, about the size of a baking sheet, which I\\u2019ve come to call the \\u201cDebate Plate.\\u201d\\nAt the center of the plate, two older men are seated on either side of a celestial globe. A woman stands behind each man, and above them sits a figure on a throne. The men chat, books in hand, and the women lean in, taking part in the conversation. Thankfully the artist has included names above the figures identifying them.\\nThe man on the left is labeled \\u201cPtolemy,\\u201d the astronomer and mathematician. The woman behind him is captioned \\u201cSkepsis,\\u201d a personification of skepticism and inquiry. She thoughtfully holds a finger to her chin and a book in her other hand. Ptolemy\\u2019s debate opponent is labeled \\u201cHermes.\\u201d This is Hermes Trismegistos, a god of writing and secret wisdom. His female companion\\u2019s name is not preserved, but she must be another personification, perhaps Sophia, knowledge, or Pistis, belief.\\nA discussion is clearly underway, but what are they debating? The creation of the earth and planets? Scientific inquiry versus Faith? In any event, in today\\u2019s heated political climate this complex object is oddly comforting\\u2014these figures appear to be having a civil debate supported by logic and reason, reference books ready. While their worldviews may differ dramatically, they seem to be talking it out, presenting their arguments, and listening.\\nLooking at this object, I can\\u2019t help but reflect on my high school debate team, all those years ago, and the challenging thrill of presenting and defending a position to someone with an opposing view. While we may not have discussed the origins of the world, we dug into divisive issues around voter representation, marriage rights, and bioethics\\u2014our talking points scrawled on 3x5 notecards.\\nThis plate also reminds me of how, during high school, politics would come up at the family dinner table, and discussions would often get heated\\u2014but even in disagreement, we would find our way to the heart of the issue with mutual respect.\\nAfter a tumultuous election season, this \\u201cdebate plate,\\u201d serves as a heartening reminder of the enduring tradition of civil discourse\\u2014a tradition, I hope, we have the tools to maintain, both in our private lives and on the public stage.\\nCUNO: To view this Byzantine plate with relief decoration, made between 500-600, click the link in this episode\\u2019s description or look for it on getty.edu/art/collection.'