Oral History Center University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Merritt Price Merritt Price: Building the Design Department at the Getty Getty Trust Oral History Project Interviews conducted by Amanda Tewes in 2020 Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley ii Since 1953 the Oral History Center of The Bancroft Library, formerly the Regional Oral History Office, has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* Copyright in the manuscript and recording is owned by the J. Paul Getty Trust, which has made the materials available under Creative Commons licenses as follows: Manuscript is licensed under CC-BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and recording is licensed under CC-BY-NC (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Merritt Price, "Merritt Price: Building the Design Department at the Getty" conducted by Amanda Tewes in 2020, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2021, under the auspices of the J. Paul Getty Trust, 2021. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iii Merritt Price and Teddy Getty at the opening of the J. Paul Getty Life and Legacy exhibition, September 24, 2016. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iv Installation view of Foundry to Finish: In the Studio of Adriaen de Vries, June 29, 1999-April 9, 2000, courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum. See page 77 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley v Disputa mural from Raphael and his Circle: Drawings from Windsor Castle, October 31, 2000-January 7, 2001, courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum. See page 81 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley vi Installation view of Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen, November 13, 2001-February 3, 2002, courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum. See page 99 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley vii Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Terrace design sketch, Merritt Price, 2006. See page 107 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley viii Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Terrace, 2007. In the foreground: Seated Woman, designed 1958-59, cast 1975. Henry Moore (British, 1898-1986). Bronze, H: 203.2 x 96.5 x 129.5 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Gift of Fran and Ray Stark. © The Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved. / ARS, New York / DACS, London. See page 108 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley ix Getty Villa Family Forum, 2005. Photo © 2005 Richard Ross with the courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved. See page 97 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley x Getty Villa Gallery 209, "Art Support," 2005. Photo © 2005 Richard Ross with the courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved. See page 90 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley xi Getty Villa Gallery 209, 2005. Photo © 2005 Richard Ross with the courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved. See page 90 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley xii Installation view of J. Paul Getty: Life & Legacy, September 27, 2016-ongoing, courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum. See page 86 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley xiii Installation view of Michelangelo: Mind of the Master, February 25-November 1, 2020, courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum. See page 101 for discussion in text. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley xiv Merritt Price leading "Visitor Experience" workshop with frontline staff around 2015. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley xv Abstract Merritt Price is the former head of the Design Department (now Museum Design Department) at the J. Paul Getty Trust, which he ran from 1995-2020. Price grew up in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, and moved to Toronto in 1980 to attend the Ontario College of Art (now Ontario College of Art and Design). Price worked for several design firms in Toronto, including starting his own practice called Tangram, before accepting a position with the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1990. He began his work with the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1995, founding what was then the Exhibition Design Department. In this interview, Price discusses growing up in rural Ontario; attending University of Waterloo before transferring to Ontario College of Art to study industrial design; working at Toronto design firms, including Keith Muller Ltd. and his private practice called Tangram; teaching university-level design throughout his career, including through Ontario College of Art and Otis College; working with the Art Gallery of Ontario (1990-1995), including learning to run an in-house design studio for a museum; founding the Exhibition Design Department at the Getty in 1995, including determining scope of work and hiring multidisciplinary employees; the Getty Center project, which opened in 1997, including working with Richard Meier & Partners Architects, designing wayfinding systems for the campus, as well as designing opening exhibitions and other visitor experiences; working on redesigns at the Getty Villa; memorable exhibitions, including Foundry to Finish: The Making of a Bronze Sculpture and J. Paul Getty Life and Legacy; collaborating with other departments and programs at the Getty Trust; the process of design, including mockups and visitor testing; challenges under Barry Munitz's leadership; the impact of financial downturns on the Getty; his decision to retire; the impact of COVID19 pandemic on Design Department work, as well as plans for reopening to the public; and his reflections on changes at the Getty, as well as the organization's contributions to the field of exhibition design. Copyright © 2021 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley xvi Table of Contents Interview 1: September 9, 2020 Hour 1 1 Birth in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, in 1960 — Childhood in Belleville — Family business of roadside restaurant and gas station, grandfather's ministry in the United Church of Canada — Exposure to the arts — Growing up in rural Ontario — Parents' involvement in the church — Role models from television — Family's pet bears — Attending University of Waterloo in 1979 — Transfer to the Ontario College of Art in 1980 — Designing for medical products and services — Year traveling around Europe — Work with Roberta O'Brien and archaeological site in Toronto — Creation of the InSite Project exhibition — Work with Keith Muller Ltd. Starting in 1985 — First projects at the company, partnership with Stuart Ash — Signage project with Keith Muller — First experience with Adobe — Changes in design technology — Work with design students in Hong Kong and visiting manufacturing sites in mainland China in the 1980s Hour 2 17 Work at Adamson Industrial Design starting in 1987 — Design project at the National Gallery of Canada — Creating private practice called Tangram — Freelance work for the Royal Ontario Museum — Coca-Cola exhibition about Wayne Gretzky — Move away from private practice Interview 2: September 22, 2020 Hour 1 23 Decision to pursue teaching — Teaching "Design for Social Need" at Ontario College of Art — Later teaching at Seneca College and Otis College, and hosting students from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Extension in the Getty Design Studio — Expectations for young