|
The Getty Center comprises a research complex (left) and several buildings like the one at right that house permanent and traveling art exhibitions. Admission to the museum is free, but you do pay to park and take a monorail up the mountain. It delivers you to a stunning complex of white rock and modern design that overlooks the Los Angeles basin. While we were there we saw an exhibit of Rubens and Brueghel collaborative paintings, an exhibition of Eliot Porter photographs, and wandered through much of the main permanent collection. We thought the research wing looked so futuristic you could film a "Star Trek" episode of an alien planet colony there.
 The Getty Center tour
|
|
|
The main exhibit buildings are clustered around an expansive courtyard that has stage spaces, shady spots for resting, a few snack bars, and a shimmering fountain. We found ourselves out here a few times between buildings, and stopped here for lunch and snacks throughout the day.
|
|
|
From the main courtyard you can look down a gorgeous garden and beyond, to Long Beach and Santa Monica.
There are other gardens tucked here and there, including a fabulous succulent patch (right), just off the south exhibits building that overlooks the western part of Los Angeles. We really lucked out—the day was really pretty clear! |
|
|
We took plenty of time to savor the view from the various balconies around the museum. The weather was wonderful that day, not too hot and with a gentle breeze blowing up from the ocean (off to the west).
|
|
|
The gardens were lush and packed full of various flowering plants. A carefully designed stream flowed down the hill into a pool. It was an aesthetically pleasing way to rest up between visits to the various art exhibits. There were many people in the gardens, but the pathways are designed to hide visitors from each other as they wander around.
|
|
|
It was fun to wander around the gardens, contemplating the maze at the center of the main pond, and then resting now and again and watching others enjoy the views.
Carolyn took a break under some shady fruit trees, while Mark checked out the maze.
|
|
|
People were lounging around on a beautiful lawn that overlooked the gardens. It looked like it might be a great place for an outdoor concert, too.
At the top of the lawn, underneath a stone overhang, Mark found a really cool optical illusion. Does the vase shape stick out or is it carved into the wall?
|
|
Then it was off to one of our "usuals" when we're in this town, the Chart House restaurant in Malibu. The ocean gloom had set in, so there wasn't much sunset viewing to be had. But it was a nice dinner and we took the long way home back to our hotel.
Chart House Malibu
Hilton Hotel Glendale
|
|
Then, it was on to Griffith Observatory, where we spent most of the next day seeing the astronomy exhibits in various stages of installation and visiting with Mark Pine (the exhibits manager for FOTO, the Friends Of The Observatory) and Ed Krupp, the director of the observatory.
Griffith Observatory
|
|
Griffith Observatory (left, in a Warren Aerial Photography image from the Griffith Observatory website) basks on top of the Hollywood hills north of downtown Los Angeles. It has been there since 1935, showing the sky to anybody who wants to come up the mountain. It's been under renovation for more than four years and is set to re-open later this year. Carolyn has been under contract to write the words for the expanded and renovated exhibits, many of which were being installed.
Mark Pine took us on an extensive tour of the building, which was a major treat! |
|
|
These are two different types of exhibit panels Carolyn worked on. On the left is a primary panel, which gives an overview of other exhibits to be found nearby. This one is talking about the elements in the universe and where they originate. The panel it's next to is an interactive exhibit which was just being installed.
On the right is what the design team jokingly called the "Not H-R diagram." It shows how stars are sorted by temperature and mass and brightness, but is explained in very non-technical language in the panels. So why is a movie of Mars showing in the video wall? It was being used at the time only to test the playback system.
|
|
|
Another major exhibit is "Beyond the Visible", illustrating how the universe would look to us if we had light sensors for the different wavelengths emitted by objects in the cosmos. The exhibit was in the final stages of installation when we were there (hence the cart with the broom). Another exhibit, which we couldn't take a wide enough picture of to show here, depicts a tiny portion of the sky that you could cover with your finger at arm's length — but imaged with a sensitive camera. The resulting "Big Picture" covers a spectacularly huge wall, and is worth a visit to Griffith even if you don't see anything else (but of course, you will see all kinds of other cool stuff there).
Looking at the Big Picture is a statue of Albert Einstein — covering that tiny patch of sky with his finger — that just begs for folks to sit down and have a chat. Mark Pine does just that for our camera.
|
|
|
Of course, Mark and Carolyn had to get into the act, too!
|
|
|
As we were inspecting the Big Picture, which is part of a larger space called the "Richard and Lois Gunther Depths of Space," director Ed Krupp wandered out to talk with us. It was good to see him again; Carolyn worked closely with him and Mark Pine on the exhibits.
Mark points out the words Carolyn worked so hard on in the main primary panel for the exhibit.
|
|
After admiring the LA view from the Observatory, we then headed down the hill to lunch at Louise's Trattoria. Carolyn then had a meeting with the artists at the Griffith Observatory satellite, then it was off to the rental car return at LAX, and our date with a 747.
Griffith view
Louise's Trattoria
Griffith Observatory satellite
Avis
|
© Copyright 2006, Loch Ness Productions
Last update: 21 August 2006
|
