LA - The Pits and LACMA

Thursday's assignments:

     Shana: Style a fitness infomercial in the key of telenovela.

     Me: Learn how to navigate the LA Metro to see the La Brea Tar Pits and LACMA.

We both got up at the crack of dawn and headed our separate ways. After a tiny bit of fumbling with the bus schedule, I made it to La Brea Tar Pits. My inner 8 year old squeaked out a high pitched "yay" when saw the mastodon statues in the bubbling pits at the entryway. 

Ain't it just the pits?

La Brea Tar Pits - Page Museum

I enjoyed a free tour of the grounds and the fossil collection in the Page Museum. I learned a lot of great facts but of course the weird ones were the most memorable:

     1) You only need 3 to 5 inches of tar to trap a creature from the size of a beetle all the way up to a mastodon. That's all!

     2) A squirrel got stuck in the pits on its back once. Workers freed it but the experience left it with a hairless back and head. Supposedly the balding rodent freaked out visitors to the center whenever I made an appearance.

     3) Several years ago, a camera man helping to film a BBC documentary got stuck in a shallow pool in his boots. After a bit of a production, they got the man, camera, and his boots out.

mastodon

wolf skulls - most commonly found fossil at La Brea

science!

Oh, and here's one more fact. They have an animatronic smilodon gnawing on a sloth that's both dramatic and funny. Behold!

After my prehistoric romp through La Brea, I snaked around a beautifully landscaped pathway to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The breathtaking architecture impressed me even before stepping foot in one of the nine campus buildings. I don't even know where to begin when raving about this treasure of a spot. The collection was vast and impressive, the design of the displays in each building was breathtaking, the campus was gorgeous, and the overall experience was unforgettable. I guess it is best to just let the art speak for itself. 

I started off swimming through Jesus Rafael Soto's spaghetti-like sculpture called Penetrabile.

Next I bee lined to to the Boone Children's Gallery because word on the street was they had watercolors set up to paint with. I quickly painted a souvenir for Thom.

I fell in love with the sci fi meets mid century modern meets traditional Pavilion for Japanese Art. You traverse through the space like a car in a spiral parking garage though I wish I could have floated through in a Barbarella costume.

I spent a long time exploring every inch of Chris Burden's Metropolis II but was bummed that it wasn't turned on during the week days. I could only imagine the 1,100 hot wheels and 18 trains zooming around turn. Here's a video link of it in action for your viewing pleasure.

The scale of these stacked plates and bowls by Robert Therrien was unreal. Thank god I don't have to clean them.

There were so many famous and masterful pieces of art in the galleries but my favorite painting had to be a striking landscape by Jean Metzinger. Once outside again, I watched children weave in and out of Chris Burden's Urban Light lamp posts. The camera loved every angle of the lamps. As I left the campus and walked out onto Wilshire, I got one more small surprise on the sidewalk.

the ultimate ride home

Quite simply, if you visit LA, you MUST to go LACMA!

After my long day of site seeing, I bussed it back to Shana's and we got back around the same time. Before we both lost steam, we jetted off for yummy noodles at Ginger Grass followed by scoops of almond fig gelato at Pazzo Gelato. 

recharging at Ginger Grass

sweet!

Day 2 packed a lot of punch. Tomorrow Shana is back on set and I am thinking about exploring Little Tokyo and the MOCA. I can't wait to see what day 3 brings!