Page 5 of 5
Los Angeles, California
When I think of you in the city, the sight of you among the sights
There are a lot of slideshows that go to Los Angeles (I like it and also had a lot of work trips there), but each one has some reason in my mind that separates it from the rest. Sometimes it’s a specific art exhibit, or an event (like a baseball game or two), or something I haven’t seen or I haven’t done before (like The Huntington). This one though will probably not be remembered for a hot as hell Angels game or a walk through a garden in Pasadena as much as it will be for my first time inside here, The Broad.
First things first- The Broad isn’t pronounced like you probably think it is. It doesn’t rhyme with odd as much as it rhymes with road, and it’s named after the same guy whose name is on the contemporary art museum at LACMA where the Richard Serra sculptures are. The next thing to know is that it’s free, but that you can get a reservation to guarantee admission. The third thing to know is that you will not be the only one getting reservations for that day and for that time, meaning that you’ll still find yourself in a great big line pretty much no matter when you go. After all, everyone else also wants to see what’s inside too.
The Broad was designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, and it’s a fantastic design and a great building. It’s concept is pretty simple, with a ground floor lobby and a top floor gallery, and getting between them is a great big, up only escalator. It leaves the chaos of the street behind, punches through its cavern like walls and heads straight up into the light. What a great way to enter the galleries.
As soon as you get upstairs, you notice how bright it is and how the outside façade seems to wrap the entire space, even the ceiling. The walls are white, and the art, which can best be described as “contemporary fun,” really pops in the galleries. The museum isn’t really all that big, but it’s so damn pretty and the art is so damn fun that its lack of size and depth really don’t even enter your mind.
Everything that goes up must come down, so after ascending into the light it’s time to go back down. Diller, Scofidio + Renfro thought of that too, as a lone staircase winds down through the cave back to the lobby. On its way, the staircase offers windows into the storage and conservation parts of the museum, areas you likely never knew about or, more likely, never cared about. It’s a fun way to make the journey back more memorable, and as other new museums routinely ignore vertical circulation, it’s a pleasure to see it so well thought through here.
This slideshow started with a visit to the brand new Kimbell Museum addition in Fort Worth, a thoughtful, well done building that is so safe that it becomes a bore. After starting there, it’s so nice to see a museum that rethinks things, or at least thinks things through. Imagine what the Kimbell addition could have been like and should have been like if it’s architect who I will not name (but one whose name rhymes with Penzo Riano) took some risks, or realized that the last thing a famous work of architecture wants is a boring ass neighbor. Just ask the Broad and its next door neighbor across the street, Frank Gehry’s look-at-me Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Enough of me complaining about world renown architects at the prime of their careers. We’re headed down south to San Diego and stopping at the Santa Fe Depot, where one day high speed rail may connect it back to Los Angeles instead of the super slow, slightly faster than walking train that seems to run now. The trains might not be ready but the station sure is, a real gem on West Broadway.
We’ll finish off this mini Southern California slideshow within a slideshow by enjoying a harbor cruise in San Diego, where the downtown skyline looks (at times) close enough to touch.
We’re not done yet
The 2016 Weekend Trips Slideshow continues with world famous bridges, national parks, hidden gems, architectural models, really good BBQ and getting possibly too close to an equally terrified koala. Continue on, if you dare.
