Today, Massimiliano and I visited LACMA. It's a great museum, with an excellent selection of art movements and styles, although it doesn't seem to have a permanent photography exhibit. On the other hand, it seems to cater well for kids, as there were several interactive art-creation stands in and around the campus.
I enjoyed the docent talks on abstract expressionism (of which I knew nothing) and Robert Motherwell. I'm not sure if I could say that I enjoyed Motherwell's Elegy to the Spanish Republic (100) but I loved David Smith's piece, next to it. I can't find a picture on-line but this one is quite similar and is outdoors, which is where they were intended to be displayed. Want.
But I suppose that it was inevitable that having travelled over 4,000 miles from Belgium, the painting I most enjoyed from the collection was this one from Magritte, one of Belgium's most brilliant artists. It's always struck a chord with me. I expect it stems from my love of paradox and patterns. And as much as the statement is true (it's an image of a pipe), it's also funny.
Before visiting the museum I hadn't realised quite how close it is to the La Brea tar pits. I've wanted to visit them ever since seeing them in movies when I was a child. Standing next to them, smelling the tar and seeing it bubble away was excellent fun.
The museum and the tar pits both look like they're worth a second visit.