Getting to the Getty.

Last week during the break, Lisa whisked us away to L.A. for a day. The four of us had never been to the Getty, so to the Getty we went.



We wandered through the exhibits, stopping on a balcony to admire the cityscape. The entire museum was overlaid with travertine marble, inside and out.



We strolled through the gardens, welcoming the ocean breeze. Even though it was too hazy to see the water, you could feel it was there.



The exhibits were stunning, and I almost wish I'd taken more pictures of them, but I think that would have diminished their impact. One section featured the works of German photographer August Sander, whose most powerful pictures featured those who would have been eliminated in his native country during the Holocaust: "The Last People," those with physical disabilities. Another collection celebrated Maria Sibylla Merian and her daughters, accomplished women living during the 1600-1700s who melded their knowledge of science with their love of art.



One of the exhibits that lended itself well to photography was the video installation titled "Please be Seated," which projected the sitter's image into shifting rooms on the mounted screens.



Visitors were encouraged to seat themselves, and by doing so, become part of the work. We gladly obliged.



The permanent collection included French decorative arts, which Shannon took to immediately. I found the array of 19th-century paintings and drawings breathtaking, from Van Gogh to Gauguin to Seurat to Monet to my special favorite, Renoir (my mom once told me I looked like a Renoir, and I still hold it as one of the highest compliments she has ever paid me).



I was also delighted to find my old friend Albrecht Dürer tucked into the Sibylla exhibit, as an example of one of the first to ever paint a stag beetle. In high school, I adorned my binder with a print of his after encountering his engraving of Melencolia in AP Art History.

I think we all had a really good time. I know I did.