2010 April - Year of Culture
In 2000, Karen and I embarked on a year of culture. It about killed us. The culture. Running around.
So, of course we decided to do it again this year. In January we went to an art auction. In March, I went to Ashland oregon for plays, while Karen went to Italy.
For April, we went to LA to visit the Getty and see some culture from the other end of the state.
We went to Knotts Berry farm, the Getty Center, the Annenberg Beach House, the Citadel (the Assyrian Outlet Mall), flowers on the Grape Vine, and wine tasting in Paso Robles.
All in all, a great success of culture.
The Getty was itself an delightful exploration. We took the architecture tour, which I highly recommend. It was all about how architecture (the Getty in particular) can prepare you for art. Provide context. Meaning. Color. Walls as art. Lines connecting concepts, even if the lines are subliminal. Even if it's just trees that have been chosen because their bark mimics the travertine marble, which itself has been cut accentuate the stone as art. Nature created. Stone leaves with vines climbing up them.
Then there was the art.
One of my favorites was at the beginning. Medieval - the a letter symbolizing the rebuilding of the temple. It was playful and bright and in the best way of these things communicated a moment from the artist. Coming from the architecture tour, it was a very contextual piece.
And in general, all the pieces were very well chosen in how they related to each other. Too often in museums, it's just a row of pieces. The Getty, like the Taiwanese National Palace museum, which to my thinking is one of the best museums I've ever been to, was about context. How the pieces interacted with each other. How I the viewer, interacted with those pieces. How a visitor becomes part of the art by seeing it.
We had deliberately decided to focus on the paintings to avoid art fatigue. We did well with that. Looking at portraits and thinking, those were people. Famous. Unknown. Personalities peeking from canvas. Alive and waiting for me to turn away to whisper to each other. The night at the museum being every night. Monet's haystacks a moment. Hay under snow. Looking at places and thinking, I've been there.
Heading outside to take in the gardens after. There was this waterfall/stream that was designed to play with different sounds water makes as it flows. Deep. High. Amid all that warmth of the sun. Because it was April in southern california. So, we went to the beach, which was windy. I remember that from childhood.
I even got to go to the Citadel, which was a tire factory built to look on the outside like an Assyrian Palace. Now it's a mall. It fascinated me as a child. Alas, the decor was all exterior. I'd have gone all out myself.
The way back was flowers and wine. Really good wine in Paso Robles. I'd type my notes, but suffice to say wine is sunshine made liquid and we were surrounded by rolling green hills, all over flowers.
2010 LA (112 images)
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