Five Cameras, One City, the Getty Center Shows Aguilar, Rivera, Rodriguez, Valdez and Valverde

Los Angeles from the 1960s through the 1990s, as five photographers saw it, hangs on the lower level of the Getty Center’s West Pavilion. Every Minute Is History, Five Views of Los Angeles opened September 1 and runs through January 3, 2027, according to the Getty’s exhibition page. The show gathers Laura Aguilar, Reynaldo Rivera, George Rodriguez, Patssi Valdez and Ricardo Valverde. Admission is free with a timed reservation.

The Getty describes five photographers whose distinct approaches helped expand traditional representations of Chicano and Chicana communities in Los Angeles during the second half of the 20th century, drawing on social documentary practice, staged scenes, fashion and the popular press. LAmag reported that Arpad Kovacs, associate curator in the department of photographs, organized it, and that it covers the city’s cultural landscape across those four decades. Time Out Los Angeles also lists the run through January 3.

Five Ways of Looking

The selected works show how far apart the five sit. Rodriguez is represented by “Sunset Strip Riots, West Hollywood,” 1966, and, LAmag reported, by “Delano,” 1969, both gelatin silver prints. Aguilar’s “Jay Jay,” 1987, comes from her series Latina Lesbians. Rivera’s “Gaby, La Plaza” is a 1996 gelatin silver print. Valverde’s “Lotería de Muertos” dates to 1983 and was hand-colored. Valdez appears with “Billie in a Patssi Valdez Fashion,” a 1982 image printed this year as a digital pigment print.

“Through their unique visions, these photographers have challenged conventional narratives and broadened the ways Latino/a lives are represented,” Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, said in a statement quoted by LAmag.

The Los Angeles Times reported on how some of the pictures were made. “I would take my camera, drive around downtown and just walk up and down Broadway for some photos,” Valdez told the paper. The Times noted that Valverde often carried his camera while working as a meter reader for the Department of Water and Power.

Talks, Tours and a Deadline

On Sunday, October 18, at 4 p.m., Valdez, a founding member of the art collective Asco, will talk with the artist Christina Fernandez in the Museum Lecture Hall, the Getty’s calendar lists. Tickets are free but required, and the talk also streams on Zoom. That is the same Sunday the Getty’s Odilon Redon show closes on the Plaza Level of the same pavilion, so one visit covers both. The Getty’s fall programs announcement adds a panel discussion on Laura Aguilar on November 8. Kovacs leads curator’s tours at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, November 24, and Tuesday, December 15.

The run sits close to a long pause on the hill. The Getty says on its renovation page that the Center will close to the public beginning March 15, 2027, with reopening planned for spring 2028.

Practical Details

Every Minute Is History, Five Views of Los Angeles is on view through Sunday, January 3, 2027, in the Museum West Pavilion, Lower Level, at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive. Admission is free with a timed-entry reservation, available six weeks ahead, and parking carries a fee. The exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Reserve through the Getty.