Thursday, April 7, 2011

Trip to Los Angeles

I just got back last night from an incredible one day trip to Los Angeles for my contemporary art history class called Art Now with Claudia Mesch. The entire class flew up to California in the morning, and we had a very full day of going to galleries and museums in the Los Angeles area. We only had about an hour or two to spend at each location, so I definitely want to go back and spend more time at some of these places.

The first stop was at the LA Louver Gallery at Venice Beach. It was a beautiful gallery right by the beach. We were graciously given a tour of the entire gallery, including behind the scene spaces.


So close to the beach!



There was a fascinating exhibition by Terry Allen titled "Ghost Ship Rodez: The Momo Chronicles" which was about what might have gone through the mind of French artist Antonin Artoud after he had gone through a mental crisis and had been straight jacketed and put into a mental institution.

This video installation showed different parts of a woman's face while she spoke.








We had a few minutes to step onto the beach! Oh how I miss the ocean!


The next stop was Bergamot Station, which had several galleries and the Santa Monica Museum. We also stopped there for a quick lunch.




I really liked these paintings by Suzan Woodruff at the William Turner Gallery.

Next stop was the Getty Center, which was incredibly beautiful. I had no idea that this place existed in LA!


You have to take a tram to get up the hill it sits on.










There was a lot of art to see at the Getty Center, but they would not allow any photographs inside. They also had an elaborate garden that they give tours of, and an incredible view of the city.


We also went to see the Fowler Museum at UCLA to see Allan DeSouza's work, and we went to the Hammer Museum. I didn't get any images of these two museums because my camera battery went out at that point. Overall it was a great day, and I can't wait to go back and spend more time at these places!