Around The Center Of Getty

After taking a roundabout route (stuck traffic on the 405 and a surface street detour), Robert (Event Coordinator for the outing), his good friend Tamara, and I eventually arrived at the Getty Center. The afternoon began with the tram ride up the hillside to the art complex. The last time I was here was on Sunday 23 November 2003, which was for a then LAPC event led by Ingrid. Today, when we exited the tram at the Arrival Plaza, I took a photo of the sculpture titled “That Profile” by Martin Puryear. We took the stairway from the Arrival Plaza to the Plaza Level and the three of us began the Getty afternoon with the exploration of the Garden Terrace and the Central Garden.

Tamara, who had recently assisted in a Biology class that was studying Botany, was especially excited to see all the plant life and flowers in the garden. We slowly wandered our way down the terrace and I snapped shots of the small waterfall that outlined our path to the garden. We went around and down into the Central Garden, admiring the different flowers and the unobtainable plant maze at its core. Shot a number of the plants and flowers as we walked inside the garden. Such a variety of colors and forms to please the eye and to inspire an artist’s palette. However, the needs of a different type of palate required attention, so after making our way back to where we began, nourishment was next on the day’s agenda.

First we checked out the menu and prices at the Restaurant on the Plaza Level, but as tempting as the lunch menu was (the prices weren’t), we opted for the Café on the Lower Level. Our gastronomic fuel choices were a sandwich for Tamara and salads for Robert and me. I had an antipasto salad and orange juice which were good and a welcomed change from my usual fare. Guess the walking up and down stairs (some of the time) put me in a healthier frame of mind.

After the prelude of flowers and food, it was time to discover what framed and free-standing art the Getty Center had to offer us. We made the obligatory stop at the Information desk to pick up materials to help us during our visit. At the conclusion of a short discussion on our possibilities of where to begin, we headed towards the East, as in the East Pavilion.

We entered the East Pavilion on the Plaza Level and on this level of the pavilion Sculpture and Decorative Arts are displayed. Two of the pieces here I really liked were – “Basin with Scenes from the Life of Cleopatra”, designed by Bernardo Strozzi and sculpted by Francesco Fanelli and “Side Table”, designed by Johann Paul Shor. Both pieces are from the Seventeenth century, but appeal to different aspects of what moves me artistically. While slowly walking through the exhibits, Tamara had moved faster and had headed to the Upper Level of this pavilion which displays Seventeenth century European paintings. When Robert and I met up with her, Tamara expressed a desire to see Impressionist paintings. And surprise, that’s when I found out we both like Claude Monet! Tamara asked a guide and he said that the Impressionists were in the West Pavilion. We headed out West.

Monet and other Impressionist painters are on the Upper Level of the West Pavilion. Of the four works of Monet’s that the Getty has, I like “Still Life with Flowers and Fruit” and “Sunrise (Marine)” - the former because it is not a type of painting usually associated with Monet and the later because it reminds me of “Impression, soleil levant” which is in the Marmottan Museum in Paris. It is also on this floor that Vincent van Gogh’s “Irises” is located. Tamara was happy that she had seen the Impressionists, so we proceeded to the South Pavilion by going outside and walking on the connecting terrace between pavilions. Great views of Los Angeles from the Getty’s hillside position; however, there was a distant haze that prevented complete clarity of the sights.

Arrived at the Upper Level of the South Pavilion which displays Eighteenth century paintings. After walking around the floor, Robert mentioned a painting he had seen on a previous visit that had been displayed in a small dark room with just three spotlights illuminating the portrait. Of course he wanted to see it again and after he described it to one of the museum guides, Robert was told the painting was in the East Pavilion. So we went back East, traveling once again on the outside terrace and I took some shots of one of the statues there. The work that Robert wanted to see was the “Portrait of Agostino Pallavicino” by Anthony van Dyck. The portrait is now in a large exhibition room with general lighting. Glad we were able to find Robert’s painting.

The final stop of the day was the Museum Store. Of course I bought postcards – of the museum and of Monet’s and van Gogh’s paintings mentioned above. As we waited on the platform for the tram to arrive, I took one final shot of the sculpture “That Profile” across the tracks. Robert was kind enough to drop me off near my home, saving me a bus trip. I enjoyed the visit to the Getty and I hope it won’t be long until I return.


Images:
Left: Central Garden from the website getty.edu
Central: Side Table from the website getty.edu
Right: Still Life with Flowers and Fruit from the website getty.edu