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Guide to the Getty Research Institute, Steve Lanzarotta records, 1983-2001
IA30001
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Table of contents
Title: Steve Lanzarotta records
Date (inclusive): 1983-2001
Number: IA30001
Creator/Collector:
Getty Research Institute
Physical Description:
1.7 linear feet
(4 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Institutional Records and Archives
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
archives@getty.edu
Abstract: These records were created and maintained by Steve Lanzarotta during his employment with the Getty Research Institute (GRI)
and its predecessors, the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities and the Getty Center for the
History of Art and the Humanities (GCHAH). The records primarily reflect his work with the GCHAH Administrators Group; the
GCHAH Compensation Advisory Group; and the construction of spaces for both the GCHAH (401 Wilshire Boulevard) and the GRI
(Getty Center in Brentwood). Materials date from 1983 to 2001 and include memos, photographs, brochures, and minutes and agendas
of meetings.
Request Materials: To access physical materials at the Getty, go to the
library catalog record for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for
general library access policy . See the Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific to the records described
below. Please note that some of the records may be stored off site; advanced notice is required for access to these materials.
Language: Collection material is in
English
The Getty Research Institute (GRI) is dedicated to the study of the visual arts, approaching the topic from broad historical
and cultural perspectives. The GRI's goals are to promote innovative scholarship in the arts and humanities, to bridge traditional
academic boundaries, and to provide a unique environment for research, critical inquiry, and debate. The GRI is an operating
program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic organization serving both general audiences
and specialized professionals. The Trust is a not-for-profit institution, educational in purpose and character, that focuses
on the visual arts in all of their dimensions. As of 2009 the Trust supports and oversees four programs: the J. Paul Getty
Museum; the Getty Foundation; the Getty Conservation Institute; and the Getty Research Institute.
The Getty Research Institute grew out of the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities (GCHAH), which was established
to advance and disseminate research in the history of art and the humanities. The GCHAH was one of the original programs established
by the J. Paul Getty Trust. In 1981 the Trust began a year of exploration to determine where it would focus its resources
and energies in order to make the greatest possible contribution to the field of art and art history as a whole. In 1982,
following extensive international deliberations with knowledgeable individuals, the trustees made commitments to three new
entities, a Conservation Institute, a Center for Education in the Arts, and a Center for the History of Art and the Humanities
(GCHAH).
From its inception the objective of the GCHAH was to foster advanced research in art, its history, diversity, and meaning
in our culture and to do so by engaging scholars from various disciplines in the humanities. The proposed center was to include
a residence program for scholars, a major expansion of the library, a modest publications program, and an art photo archive.
The activities of the center were also to focus on preserving historic materials in the field of art history and the development
of new reference tools for the field, using the latest in information technologies. The plan was approved, and in July 1983
the program known as the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities opened in Santa Monica, California.
The GCHAH progressed quickly toward fulfilling its objectives during its first few years. The first director, architectural
historian Kurt Forster, added the Archives of the History of Art to the GCHAH in an effort to create a premier repository
for manuscript collections related to artists and the field of art history. Not only did the archives serve as a repository
for materials related to art history, but it also housed the historical records of the J. Paul Getty Trust and its Museum.
In the fall of 1985 the GCHAH launched the Visiting Scholar Program, inviting 17 scholars to explore the theme “Aesthetic
Experience and Affinities Among the Arts.”
Due to expanded operations and limited space at the original J. Paul Getty Museum in Pacific Palisades, California, the various
programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust were located at different sites throughout the Los Angeles basin during the 1980s and
early 1990s. The Trust's vision was to bring together most of their programs at a single site; until that vision became a
reality, the GCHAH was located in the First Federal Building at 401 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. Meanwhile, the Getty
Center in nearby Brentwood was under construction. In 1996, in order to avoid confusion with the soon-to-open Getty Center
in Brentwood, the GCHAH was renamed the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities. The Getty Research
Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities moved to the Getty Center in I997. In 2000 the program's name was shortened
to the Getty Research Institute (GRI). The GRI occupies a round, five-level building at the Getty Center that includes an
exhibition gallery, a lecture hall, meeting facilities, offices for staff and scholars, and the Research Library.
The GRI's Research Library, one of the largest art libraries in the world, is accessible to both on-site and remote users
and supports scholars and researchers around the world. The library's Special Collections department contains rare books and
unique materials, such as drawings, personal papers, unpublished manuscripts, journals, letters, video art, architectural
drawings and models, and other primary sources. The general library collection contains over a million secondary sources,
focusing on the histories of art, architecture, and archaeology from pre-history to contemporary times. Additionally, the
Research Library maintains numerous online databases, which serve global communities of librarians, historians, and museum
professionals; a Photo Study Collection, which contains over two million photographs of art and architecture; and the Getty's
Institutional Archives, which maintains records of enduring value related to the founding and development of the Trust and
its programs.
In addition to supporting the Research Library, the GRI's role includes several other significant activities. Through its
residential Scholar Program the GRI brings together an international group of artists, composers, architects, filmmakers,
writers, and academics to exchange ideas while pursuing their own projects. Since the library's materials are often handled
during scholarly research, and thereby exposed to light, air, physical movement, and human contact, the GRI maintains an expert
conservation team that works to restore and preserve the Research Library's unique holdings. Beyond the residential Scholar
Program and Research Library, the GRI advances research in the visual arts through its publications. The Getty Research Institute
also promotes a broader understanding of the arts and reaches a more diverse audience through its public programs, which include
workshops, conferences, lectures, performances, film screenings, and exhibitions.
Program Director's of the GCHAH and GRI include:
- 1983-1992: Kurt W. Forster
- 1992-1994: Tom Reese (Acting)
- 1994-1999: Salvatore Settis
- 2000- September 2007: Thomas Crow
- November 2007- present: Thomas Gaehtgens
Steve Lanzarotta's service to the J. Paul Getty Trust includes:
- 1982: Volunteer in the Photo Archive, which was then located in the Museum
- 1983, January: Intern in the Communications Department, producing the monthly calendars, press releases, etc.
- 1983, July: General Services Clerk in the Mail Room
- 1985: Administrative Coordinator for the Scholar Program in the GCHAH
- 1988: Operations Manager for the GCHAH
- 1991-2001: Manager of Administration for the GCHAH and then the Getty Research Institute
With the exception of materials that have been marked restricted or confidential, the records described in accession 2001.IA.04
are available for use by qualified researchers.
Please note: selected restricted materials must be removed from boxes prior to access by researcher.
The following types of records are permanently closed: records containing personal information, records that compromise security
or operations, legal communications, legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the
right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.
Contact
Library Rights and Reproductions .
[Cite the item and series (as appropriate)], Steve Lanzarotta Records, 1983-2001, Getty Research Institute. Institutional
Archives, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA30001
The records described in this finding aid are from accession 2001.IA.4, transferred by Steve Lanzarotta of the Getty Research
Institute.
Leah Prescott processed the records and began the finding aid in 2006. Cyndi Shein completed the finding aid in 2009.
Scope and Content of Collection
The records were created and maintained by Steve Lanzarotta during his employment with the Getty Research Institute (GRI)
and its predecessors, the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities and the Getty Center for the
History of Art and the Humanities (GCHAH). The records primarily reflect his work with the GCHAH Administrators Group; the
GCHAH Compensation Advisory Group; and the construction of office space for both the GCHAH (401 Wilshire Boulevard) and the
GRI (Getty Center in Brentwood). Records of interest also include administrative reactions to the Northridge earthquake in
1994 and Getty-wide concern for emergency preparedness. The materials date from 1983 to 2001 and include memos, photographs,
brochures, administration records, and minutes and agendas of meetings.
These records are organized in three series:
.Series I. Administrators Group records, 1993-1997;
Series II. Compensation Advisory Group records, 1993-1997;
Series III. General memos, notes, photographs, and brochures, 1983-2001
J. Paul Getty Trust
Compensation management
Earthquakes--California--Los Angeles Region
Northridge Earthquake, Calif., 1994
Research institutes--Management
Agendas (administrative records)
Brochures
Memorandums
Minutes
Newsletters
Notes
Photographs
Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities
Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities
Lanzarotta, Steven