LA Farmers Market Fairfax and 3rd
I was in Los Angeles about a week ago at the end of a trip that started in the Bay Area, took in magical Monterey, and wound down the coast. We chose our LA hotel to be within a short walk of LACMA, the LA County Museum of Art. I know–- walking in LA - what a concept! I recommend the hotel, The Farmer’s Daughter, a cheery, funky-chic update of a 60’s motel with a good little restaurant, and the location, right across the street from LA’s authentic old Farmer’s Market. The Farmer’s Market was a real find, full of great food stands of every possible spot and stripe, teeming with life, fun, and colorful people.
The Penitent Magdelen 1638 Georges de la Tour
LACMA was a bit dull by comparison, I’m afraid. Granted it was mid-August, a slow time in the museum world, but still...… I took a group of students to LACMA once. We had a grand time and I hold a memory of it as a very exciting place, with a spectacular collection of Pre-Columbian art, a Japanese pavilion that provided a hushed, transcendent experience, and a stimulating collection of European and Classical art. I’ll never forget the boy who, in near tears, came to tell me that he had actually seen George de la Tour’s Magdalen - he’d done a research paper on the painting so he’d met a beloved friend.
Mayan Vessel Classic Period
It’s been a few years since that trip, well before the recent Renzo Piano renovation that was intended to bring a sense of unity to the various buildings. I could spend this post quibbling, but I’ll just hit a few sore points. I think revisions to the setting for the superb Pre-Columbian treasures do them a disservice – the cases are poorly and unevenly lit, the labels seem aimed at small children or people in wheelchairs (considerate, of course, but hard for the rest of us), the striped wood paneling that flows through the galleries is clunky and awkward.
The Broad Contemporary Wing seemed much ado about very little - but again, I came at a slow time when they seemed to be between shows. One big gallery was full of big photographs of people standing next to big rocks, part of the Levitated Mass project. I asked, but the guards couldn’t point me to anything else going on in the building, except the elevator by Barbara Kruger with black and red stripes of words - a cute sort idea but a gimmick rather than a real work of art. The entry up a long steep escalator, with a view of clouds in a perfect blue sky, was the best part of the visit.
Levitated Mass 2012 Michael Heizer
But the biggest, most expensive, most over-hyped yawn was outside in the courtyard. The Rock. Officially known as Levitated Mass, by the artist Michael Heizer, the Rock was brought at enormous expense from a quarry in Riverside County, 60 miles from LA to be installed over a purpose-built concrete trench; it opened to the public on June 24. Much has been made of the trip, the size of the Rock (340 tons) and the significance of the installation, relating it to Stonehenge, mortality, asteroids, etc.
As a rock, it’s impressive, but as an installation, it’s a rock.
As a rock, it’s impressive, but as an installation, it’s a rock.
Levitated Mass 2012 Michael Heizer
The ‘levitated’ part doesn’t really work. It sits firmly on supports on either side of the concrete trench; walking under is a pleasant, curious experience, but doesn’t come with a spine-tingling portent of imminent doom from all that solid weight crashing down on your head (I think that was the intent). As I headed up the slope on the far side, the couple behind me expressed much the same as I was thinking, but a little girl in a hat and a light summer dress said it best. Turning to her younger companion as they raced down the trench toward the rock, she stated firmly, ‘Don’t worry. It’s not very scary.”
Mulholland Drive 1980 David Hockney
If you’re in touch with the universe at all you don’t really need a Big Rock to see eternal themes in nature - you can find them in a pebble at the beach or a chance leaf fallen from a tree. In LA, to top it all off, the de la Tour Magdalen was on loan to another museum. But not all was bleak and disappointing - I got a good look at David Hockney's rich and beautiful Mulholland Drive (The Road to the Studio), as idyllic and gorgeous a view of LA as can be.
Enough of my grumbling - let's hear yours! What are your 'Big Yawns' in art?
photos by the author
Hockney painting courtesy of LACMA website
http://www.lacma.org/
http://www.farmersdaughterhotel.com/
http://www.farmersmarketla.com/
Enough of my grumbling - let's hear yours! What are your 'Big Yawns' in art?
photos by the author
Hockney painting courtesy of LACMA website
http://www.lacma.org/
http://www.farmersdaughterhotel.com/
http://www.farmersmarketla.com/
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