So Many Museums....

...So Little Time!

There are so many amazing museums around this world of ours and I try to visit as many as I can when I travel.  On my most recent trip to Los Angeles, I planned to spend two nights in L.A.  specifically to visit the Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  When mapping out my hotel in proximity to those two museums, I discovered a museum I had never heard of before, The Hammer Museum.  It was founded by Dr. Armand Hammer and designed to not only showcase Dr. Hammer's extensive art collection but to also introduce new audiences to emerging artists.  The museum is now under the management of the University of California.  

My plan was to squeeze in a visit to this museum sometime within those two days in L.A.  

That first evening in the area, my friend and I walked from our hotel into the Westwood district for dinner at a recommended restaurant.  On our walk back to the hotel, we came upon a large group of people waiting outside a building as though waiting to get in.  I found myself right in front of The Hammer Museum and obviously an event was going on.

A very nice security man standing guard spotted us gazing up at the museum and he asked if we would like to go in.  I said yes, and he opened the door and held it for us.  How lucky for us!  

There was indeed a big event going on inside the museum.  The building surrounds an outdoor courtyard that was packed with party-goers filled with music playing.  However, that left the galleries relatively quiet so we took the opportunity to examine the art.

The museum was featuring a new exhibit called "Made in L.A." representing 32 artists aged 29 to 97.  Their work exemplifies the diversity and creativity of today's Los Angeles.  

The top two photos above are works by Jade Gordon and Megan Whitmarsh.  I like the way they were able to represent both emotion and diversity with just basic facial features.

This hand woven art was created by Diedrich Bracken whose work is influenced by the complexities of African-American identity.  

One of my favorite artists in this show was Celeste Dupuy-Spencer.  Her paintings focus on people.  The painting to the left is of her friend and fellow artist Eve Fowler.  Here you see her taking a break from her work to give her dogs some welcome attention.  I love it.  It's such a normal, every-day scene.

These large pieces are by Naotaka Hiro whose work is touched by the artist himself.  He tends to use parts of his own body to create expressions and patterns in is work.

This last piece was huge and extended to the wall to the left.  It was situated around the stairs from the street level to the second floor.  This abstract piece is by Eamon Ore-Giron and it's called "Angelitas Negros".  I love the geometric shapes.

I was lucky to not only get to see this museum and this interesting show but, I got to see it in the evening in a party atmosphere.  On the way out, I thanked that guard at the door for expediting our visit to another great museum.  The timing was perfect.