KEEPING TRACK AT THE GETTY MUSEUM

The Getty Museum lived up to all of my expectations, and then some.

It’s been on my list for years. Not any more.

Ever since my first school field trip to the Coos County History Museum in North Bend, Oregon, I’ve been a museum fan.

My question then, and now, is, ‘Where did all of this stuff come from?’

I have a pretty good idea.

Build It And They Will Come.

The Getty site is a work of art on its own.

Instead of a piecemeal accumulation of haphazard buildings put up as a result of uneven fund raising, this place is a cohesive structure with an over-arching theme.

It’s what happens when a one-time richest man in the world dies and leaves most of his fortune to his museum.

 

A Purpose Built Building

The Getty was never intended to be anything other than what it is, an Art Fortress On The Hill.

Not a former castle, college, community center, of office, it was built for art.

From the moment you drive up and park you feel like you’re in certain hands.

It’s the driving part in Los Angeles that’s uncertain.

GPS knows the difference between the Getty Center and Getty Center Parking. Remember that on your visit.

If not, you’ll enjoy finding your way through one nice neighborhood after another.

It’s especially nice if you like narrow streets bordered by parked cars instead of wide streets with sidewalks and curbs.

If you’re looking for an English country road driving experience on a hillside, this works.

 

The Getty Center In All Of Its Glory

It’s a castle? Nooo.

A marble, steel, and cement edifice. Nooo.

It’s an art museum, an ART. MUSEUM.

The richest art museum in the world, and it looks every bit the part.

And it’s free with a $25 parking space.

Park the car, then walk up the hill or take the shuttle, a two train operation with a short wait.

That’s when the no-expense-barred feeling hits.

Even the elevators have marble floors, and there’s a lot of them.

The bathrooms, also plentiful, are statements.

Instead of warehouse-feeling galleries, the art is hung in smaller rooms, lots of them.

I’m walking the museum walk and soaking in the atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

My museum experience is limited to those in Paris, London, Washington D.C.,Philadelphia, Portland, and North Bend.

I was a museum worker for twenty years, finishing as a museum collection manager. I know where the stuff comes from, but instead of a jaded eye, I’m still amazed going into new places.

The Getty Center would be worth the effort to see even if it were empty.

Between the Center and the Villa, it draws over two million people a year.

That’s the kind of audience any museum would love to report.

 

 

While the Louvre pulls in almost nine million a year, the Getty prevents overcrowding by scheduling fans by appointment.

No drive ups, no drop in. Make plans, make an appointment, and avoid the disappointment others have found instead of works of art.

While no one is asking for advice from a blogger, the Getty needs to make a call of their own.

Click here for virtual museum tours.

The call I’d make is for traveling exhibits in line with the Getty mission.

Even better, make a wish list of stunning objects and paintings, make the contacts, and do an over-the-top show on long-term loan.

Create an unforgettable, outrageous, custom show spanning particular time periods.

What would the outcome be?

The fees paid by the richest art museum in the world would help other museums in the art museum industry expand their scope and improve their facilities, which is a benefit to all.

It’s the sort of thing that might alleviate the sort of pressure the Smithsonian is under today.

 

 

But, I know that’s asking too much.

We know what we know, and if we read well, we learn more.

We like what we like without being spoon fed. Am I wrong?

 

The Drive To And From The Getty

I came in from Manhattan Beach, or El Porto, to be exact.

The directions were clear on GPS.

But, I missed a turn, then another, and still showed up on time.

When it came time to leave, without a visit to the Gift Shop, it was four o’clock and the traffic on the 405 going my direction was still looking good, a LOT better than the traffic going up the hill.

I missed the important turn, again, the one important turn for 405 south and ended up in the jam going north.

I swore at my bad luck, then navigated further up to go the right direction.

 

 

An accident soon backed traffic up going my way and GPS showed a surface street solution.

Needless to say I missed another important turn, which is always better than yanking the wheel for a last second correction.

After a short swearing outburst at GPS for leading me astray, we found our way to Highland and 40th two blocks off the beach.

I shook it off, found a liquor store, and iced up a tall gin and tonic on the balcony.

Cheers.

 

PS: Whatever your attitude about LA, or any Biiiiig City, just be a good driver. Am I a good driver? I’ve been recently tested.

PSS: Four thousand miles to Santa Fe, New Mexico and back to Portland without a scratch? Yes. One thousand miles in England south to north and back without a scratch? Yes.

LA freeways and roads? Let’s go.

In the meantime I’ll be out here making my own Hopper-inspired images of the town.

I call it the Nighthawk Cars.