If someone mentions Los Angeles, what would be the first thing that pops into your mind? Probably Hollywood, with all of its stars and glamor. Maybe, you think about the tours that show you where the biggest Hollywood stars live, or you’ll follow the steps of some giants of the industry in the Walk of Fame. That’s the way Los Angeles works. Sometimes its entertainment industry is so shiny that it blinds us from other treasures of Los Angeles. This California jewel is much more than home to Hollywood (which by itself is a pretty big deal), because it has breathtaking landscapes, astonishing beaches, and an incredible diversity of cultures that has built the city into an eclectic and vibrant place, filled with the most scandalous dreams and the most incredible success stories.
Now, for today we were thinking that we could change the narrative about Los Angeles slightly, although we’re still going to talk about art. However, we want to focus on the colors, innovation and creativity of artists, and the different ways they have become essential to Los Angeles’ identity. In the end, it is impossible not to talk about films or TV shows when discussing the artistic and cultural scenes of the city, but what we can do is focus on how it all began, and how Los Angeles became the epicenter of one of the most massive and lucrative industries in the world. Keep reading our blog to discover some of the most interesting artistic and cultural places in Los Angeles and its influence in the city. You’ll see that they are a fundamental part of the mosaic that creates one of the most charming and fantastic cities in the world.
Getty Center:
Magnificence is certainly part of Los Angeles DNA, and that’s something that you can confirm by visiting the Getty Center, a billion-dollar art museum that’s a work of art in itself. As if an impressive art collection ranging from medieval triptychs to baroque pieces and impressionists paintings wasn’t enough, the building is a work of Richard Meier and his marvelous architecture, and the gardens are the final touch of a beautiful scenery. But, the sight of the museum is as lovely as the sight from the museum, because it is located high above Los Angeles, which means that the panoramic views encapsulate the city’s hillside mansions and the extraordinary Pacific Ocean. Within the Getty Center, you’ll find five different pavilions where collections of drawings, manuscripts, photographs, furniture and other artifacts, as well as pre-20th-century paintings are exhibited. Particularly, people are eager to see paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and Rembrandt, but you can easily find other hidden gems in between so many works of art.
The Getty Center is a place that’s a work of art in itself. Aside from the fantastic architecture and gardens, on the inside it is filled with works by world-renowned artists.
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
We’ve seen the sophisticated part of Los Angeles through the Getty Center, but now, we wanted to focus on the colorful and diverse side of the city. To do this, we’re going to talk about LA Plaza, a museum that celebrates and explores how Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and Latin people have impacted Los Angeles throughout history. And there’s quite a lot to unpack here in LA Plaza, because the topics discussed and exhibited in the museum go from the Spanish colonization of the 18th century to the Mexican-American War where the composition of the US and Mexico changed significantly. Additionally, you’ll get the chance to learn more about the life and work of activist César Chávez, as well as the impact that the Chicana movement has had in the community and the city. Something that makes this a very special place is that it has become a community hub, somewhere where members of the Latino community can express and explore their culture and its significance through exhibitions, music, dance and the culinary arts, while other spaces for storytelling and artmaking are also available. The museum/community center is housed in two historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles, near the Mexican market on Olvera Street. Just across the street from the museum, there’s LA Plaza Cocina, a teaching kitchen and unique museum dedicated to Mexican and Mexican-American cuisine, which offers cooking classes and demonstrations. This place certainly offers a pretty different perspective of Los Angeles.
LA Plaza is a museum and community center focused on exploring and celebrating the way in which Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and Latino people have influenced the city of Los Angeles.
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures:
At the beginning of our blog, we talked about the fact that you cannot separate Los Angeles from Hollywood, but there’s a very special way in which you can understand this relationship beyond the red carpets and Hollywood stars. In September 2021, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened in Los Angeles, creating one of the most comprehensive journeys through the history of cinema. It is the largest museum in North America that is dedicated to the arts, science and artists that make movies possible, and in 50,000 square feet of exhibit space, there are more than 5,000 objects that movie lovers are going to recognize immediately. Regardless of how much you know about movies, you’ll probably love this museum, because it has some treasures from beloved, classic and very popular movies, such as Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939) or the extraterrestrial headpiece of Alien (1979). This means that there’s at least a couple of films and characters that you’ll recognize, and as for the rest of them, you can discover them right there and then! What’s more, you can even feel like a movie star yourself at the museum, because with the Oscars Experience, you can give your own speech as if you’ve won one of the most prestigious awards in the world.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures showcases a part of Los Angeles heart: Hollywood.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA):
LACMA is the largest art museum in the western US, and of course, to fill up something that big, there are over 100,000 works of art and artifacts that date back to antiquity and come from various parts of the world: there are Chinese, Japanese, pre-Columbian, Greek, Roman and Egyptian, and the museum also has one of the world’s most incredible collections of Islamic art. But that’s not it, because the museum also has a fine collection of works of art by some of the world’s most renowned painters, such as Rembrandt, Cézanne, Magritte and Cassatt. If you’re wondering about the distribution of the LACMA, here’s your answer: Between 2008 and 2010, Renzo Piano designed two galleries on the western side of the property, one called the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, and the Resnick Pavilion, made for temporary exhibits. As for the rest of the buildings on campus, they are still going through major renovations, so some of the galleries, such as the Pavilion for Japanese Art, will remain open, while other parts of the collection will have temporary homes elsewhere around Los Angeles. Fortunately, fun at LACMA doesn’t stop at the exhibitions, because there’s also film screenings, reading and art classes on Friday nights. Last but not least, don’t leave the museum without appreciating Urban Light, an installation made by Chris Burden, a Los Angeles sculptor.
LACMA is a diverse museum where you can find pieces and artifacts from all over the world and from different periods in history
Well, if there’s something clear, is that Los Angeles is filled with art in all shapes and forms, and that it’s such a culturally rich city, that you’ll need more than one day to really discover every little secret that has created this incredible melting pot. Of course, cinema and the entertainment industry as a whole has made Los Angeles inseparable from Hollywood, but in that intersection, there’s much more that simply glamor or stardom. Definitely, art and culture are at the heart of Los Angeles.
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