Review of JdL Interactive at the J. Paul Getty Museum Janet Yeager (yeager@mail.sdsu.edu) One of Mr. de Lancie's lesser known projects is an interactive on Medieval manuscripts located at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California. Unfortunately, this interactive is *not* available for purchase, in either CD ROM, or video format (believe me, I've asked). In addition, it seems highly unlikely that it ever will be. Since that is the case, and because I doubt that many of you would be able/willing to shell out the big bucks to fly out to Southern California simply in order to watch a video, I offer you the following review. For those of you who do live in the area, or are planning to visit in the near future, museum information is included at the end of the review. The museum itself is very impressive, its architecture an (almost) exact replica of a Roman Villa. Housed inside the museum is a vast collection of antiquities, drawings, paintings (including Van Gogh's Irises, purchased by the museum for about $54 million), and, of course, a wide assortment of Medieval manuscripts. The interactive opens with a shot of Mr. de Lancie in a white room, wearing a navy suit, white button down-front shirt and *very classy* paisley tie. He appears very poised; very polished. He gives a brief discussion on medieval manuscripts in general, and then goes on to list the various categories that the viewer can choose to look into. Although he narrates the entire program, he is shown very minimally throughout the interactive. He is seen once at the "introduction" of the video, and then at the beginning of each main category. That is to be expected though -- the point of this interactive is to introduce the viewer to the world of art; which is a little difficult to do if it isn't actually *shown*. His narrative style throughout the program is a marked contrast to his work in both the "Q-In-Law" and "Q-Squared" audios. He is extremely laid-back, very calm, very quiet; his vocal inflections are in what could probably be termed "bedtime-story mode." Anyone expecting to experience "Q as the art history prof" will be disappointed. Granted, the interactive is meant to be very "user friendly," and the cutting arrogance of Q would be out of place to introduce Joe Public to the art world. I personally would have preferred him to be a bit more animated. However, it is seems that his narrative style reflected not so much a lack of enthusiasm as it did the insistence of the director to "keep it low-key." In the interactive on Greek vases downstairs, the narrator, the museum's director, has an equally mellow narrative style. On the other hand, in a select few segments of the interactive, Mr. de Lancie's vocal inflections reflected an undercurrent of the "dark menace" of the Q character. These were most prevalent in the segment on "The Visions of Tondal," a 15th century tale that is remarkably similar to Dante's "Divine Comedy" The text chronicles a soul's journey through hell, purgatory and heaven. The imagery of "Visions" is highly imaginative, with illustrations of sinners being devoured by monsters and cooked alive in "hell's kitchen." Mr. de Lancie did appear much more interested in discussing the horrific fates of sinners in hell, than, say, he did in discussing some of the manuscripts devoted to the description of vegetables. But, then again, who wouldn't? As a whole, Mr. de Lancie seemed interested, and comfortable with his subject. I've been to many an art history lecture that were less entertaining, and art was my minor as an undergrad. He explained some of the more complicated aspects of art history, such as obscure symbolism and the differences between period styles with ease. He even managed to impress my "I hate art and I don't want to spent my Sunday listening to 'that guy'" husband -- so I'd call that quite a feat! The interactive itself is somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour long. As far as I can tell, it is an ongoing program at the museum, and will probably be there indefinitely. On the other hand, technology is not perfect; be forewarned that the program may be "down" on some days (The museum was having some problems with the vase interactive when I went there about a month ago). The J. Paul Getty Museum 17985 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, California 310-458-2003 Directions: From San Diego: I-5 North to 405 North to 10 West. 10 leads directly to the Pacific Coast Highway. Make a right at the intersection of 10 and PCH to head north. The museum is 1/2 mile North of the intersection of PCH and Sunset. From Los Angeles: Take the I-5 South or 405 South to access 10 West The author cannot be held accountable for any freeway/ramp closures Cal Trans currently has in affect. Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm (Closed Monday) Admission is free, but parking reservations are required. Making reservations about 2 weeks in advance is recommended. The interactive is located on the second floor of the museum. Walk through the doorway near Van Gogh's "Irises" into the manuscript room. Head east, through the rooms with the drawings and the "decorative arts" into the "browsing room" (library). The program is located in the two cubicles near the bookcases.