visual blog: behold the getty.
Apr. 6th, 2008 01:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
duchess_of_pieone thing i really love about LA is the art galleries. i did my fair share of gallery-hopping in minneapolis and seoul, but there's just so many more of them here. what's more, the museums are nice places to just visit and spend time at. my favortie one is just up the 405: the getty.
so you're coming up the 405 on a steady incline, and you see it up atop the hill looking all grand and moneyfied.
i forgot to get pictures of the tram, but it's a good ride up the mountain to the complex. once you're there though, there's a nice clear view to the north...
and then you turn south and walk up the entry steps. looks like gabe's happy to be here. he'd better be. (i like to drag him along.)
then you climb on up to the entry hall (restrooms, lockers and store to your left, orientation hall to your right),
and out to the grand pavillion.
anyone here played "legend of zelda: twilight princess?" 'cause it always reminds me of the oocoo city, all marble-y and up in the air like.
the getty's a huge complex that houses all kinds of art including rotating contemporary photo exhibits, world classics by monet and diego and vermeer, and portrait and sculpture galleries...you know. like usual. but it's all housed in an amazingly beautiful compound.
the stop most people make here, is at van gogh's "irises." it's usually so crowded that it took me a good 15 minutes of patience to get this shot.
i love that guard. he's all about his job.
my favorite wing is the one where they show off the gilded manuscripts. they change them and turn pages every so often, so there's always new ones to see, and old stories from the dark ages to read. they have quite a big collection, and it's always shocking to see how detailed and well-preserved they are.
but, apart from the art, there's plenty to do if you want a relaxing day. there's an outdoor cafe patio; as you can see, gabe likes to study there.
the patio overlooks the gardens (a little brown this time of year)
and you can go down to them and walk all over the grass (a rare thing in LA). on any given weekend, there's usually a lot of people taking mid-gallery-tour afternoon naps here.
there's some beautiful landscaping going on here, and that means lots of funky plants. i really dig a lot of the plantlife out here because it's strange and alien...much like it has landed here to take over our puny oxygen-based planet.
there's just so many types that are desert-bound and you'd never see in minnesota. i know a lot of plant names back home, but i've taken to naming things out here. among the new names are "fat grass" (a sort of aloe-plant textured grass), "coral plant" (as seen above), and "cactus cabbages."
but these i know. the bird of paradise has always been a favorite of mine.
and they grow like crazy up on the south pavilion patio.
this is one of my favorite spots. if you look to the north, you see the san gabriels.
and to the south, the santa anas. well, kind of. you can just barely see the tops over the smog.
turn a little to the south east, and there's a view of century city, where i used to work. it butts right up against beverly hills.
look at all that toxicity i breathe in every day. it's no wonder i like to get up here in the mountains every now and then. hey look. from here, you can see the fox tower, aka nakatomi tower from "die hard." also, big yay, the building i used to work in, pfffft.
the clean air aside, there's also a lot of wildlife around. here's a picture i took of a hummingbird for my mom:
and that's where we saw two deer, a couple of white tail does down by the sculpture garden.
but yeah. that's the getty. it's a good place to spend a saturday.
and what's more, the getty family is LOADED. so, all that grandeur? all the art and property value? a tram and ample parking lot? (not to mention the getty estate for tour on the other side of the highway...) free. well, i mean, you have to pay for parking, but it's less than a ticket to most places. free free free. thank you, getty estate!
so you're coming up the 405 on a steady incline, and you see it up atop the hill looking all grand and moneyfied.
i forgot to get pictures of the tram, but it's a good ride up the mountain to the complex. once you're there though, there's a nice clear view to the north...
and then you turn south and walk up the entry steps. looks like gabe's happy to be here. he'd better be. (i like to drag him along.)
then you climb on up to the entry hall (restrooms, lockers and store to your left, orientation hall to your right),
and out to the grand pavillion.
anyone here played "legend of zelda: twilight princess?" 'cause it always reminds me of the oocoo city, all marble-y and up in the air like.
the getty's a huge complex that houses all kinds of art including rotating contemporary photo exhibits, world classics by monet and diego and vermeer, and portrait and sculpture galleries...you know. like usual. but it's all housed in an amazingly beautiful compound.
the stop most people make here, is at van gogh's "irises." it's usually so crowded that it took me a good 15 minutes of patience to get this shot.
i love that guard. he's all about his job.
my favorite wing is the one where they show off the gilded manuscripts. they change them and turn pages every so often, so there's always new ones to see, and old stories from the dark ages to read. they have quite a big collection, and it's always shocking to see how detailed and well-preserved they are.
but, apart from the art, there's plenty to do if you want a relaxing day. there's an outdoor cafe patio; as you can see, gabe likes to study there.
the patio overlooks the gardens (a little brown this time of year)
and you can go down to them and walk all over the grass (a rare thing in LA). on any given weekend, there's usually a lot of people taking mid-gallery-tour afternoon naps here.
there's some beautiful landscaping going on here, and that means lots of funky plants. i really dig a lot of the plantlife out here because it's strange and alien...much like it has landed here to take over our puny oxygen-based planet.
there's just so many types that are desert-bound and you'd never see in minnesota. i know a lot of plant names back home, but i've taken to naming things out here. among the new names are "fat grass" (a sort of aloe-plant textured grass), "coral plant" (as seen above), and "cactus cabbages."
but these i know. the bird of paradise has always been a favorite of mine.
and they grow like crazy up on the south pavilion patio.
this is one of my favorite spots. if you look to the north, you see the san gabriels.
and to the south, the santa anas. well, kind of. you can just barely see the tops over the smog.
turn a little to the south east, and there's a view of century city, where i used to work. it butts right up against beverly hills.
look at all that toxicity i breathe in every day. it's no wonder i like to get up here in the mountains every now and then. hey look. from here, you can see the fox tower, aka nakatomi tower from "die hard." also, big yay, the building i used to work in, pfffft.
the clean air aside, there's also a lot of wildlife around. here's a picture i took of a hummingbird for my mom:
and that's where we saw two deer, a couple of white tail does down by the sculpture garden.
but yeah. that's the getty. it's a good place to spend a saturday.
and what's more, the getty family is LOADED. so, all that grandeur? all the art and property value? a tram and ample parking lot? (not to mention the getty estate for tour on the other side of the highway...) free. well, i mean, you have to pay for parking, but it's less than a ticket to most places. free free free. thank you, getty estate!
