The Getty Museum in Los Angeles is recognized across the world. Vast amounts of people visit the U.S. just to visit the Getty. But, why is that? It’s only an art museum to many locals, and many assume there isn’t anything that special there. While, yes, it is an art museum, I feel the Getty is different from other art museums.
While all art museums promote an appreciation for art, the Getty feels as if it intensely focuses on art. Not just the paintings of the Renaissance and 17th-19th century Europe, but of art as a whole. The depth of their collection goes beyond the pieces of art.
Even the vistas you can see from the museum, which were designed to frame views of the surrounding area like paintings. Patrons look out on the hills of Los Angeles and see the foreground, mid-ground, and background of these beautiful vistas. Even the walls of the courtyard are blocks of Italian stone with fossils visible across their rough surface.
Prior to my most recent visit to the Getty, I went there a few years ago, and I didn’t really get it. I wrote a lot of stuff off as just art, and didn’t put too much thought into it at all. This way of thinking led me to have a lot of apathy for this next visit. I was just waiting to get it over with, however, I decided to soak in everything and look at what was being shown on display.
It’s very easy to admire the picturesque views the museum offers, but it’s not so easy to appreciate the art. Looking at a sculpture is different from acknowledging a sculpture. When you look at something, you don’t think about it, you don’t think about the enduring and arduous process that led to the art itself. By only looking at the art, you do yourself a disservice. You miss out on a whole entire world of appreciation for art and culture.
Even if classic European art isn’t your cup of tea, there’s still a large amount of art that you might find interesting. There are sculptures, obviously, but one art form I would like to point out in particular is holographic art. You might be familiar with holographs as an idea, for example, on some rare cards for card games, like Pokemon, there are holographic cards where the picture has a shine and a little bit of dimension to it. The holograph pieces in the Getty are different from that. The images literally pop out of the frame and seeing it in person is an experience that is so fascinating, yet so intriguing at the same time. Physically seeing the picture pop out of the frame and follow you was something that I never expected to see before.
Either way, the Getty Museum surprised me in a number of ways. I saw pieces I had already seen with a new appreciation for the skill and techniques it took to make them. But I also saw new things, new pieces, and new art forms. Those new pieces were something that I would have never even considered to be in the same museum as classical art. There’s so much to see at the museum, and I recommend that people go there and just observe. Observe and admire. Observe the individual carvings on a marble statue. Think about how long it took to get the statue to look that way. There’s a lot to see at the Getty, and even if you’ve already been there in the past, and didn’t think much of it, going again could give you some appreciation for the works on display.
If you wish to visit the Getty Museum, admission is free, however, you have to reserve a time slot. Additionally, there is a fee for parking, which is $20. The museum is closed on Mondays and is open on every day of the week. On Tuesday through Friday and Sunday, the museum opens at 10 AM and closes at 5:30 PM. However, on Saturdays, the museum will stay open until 8:00 PM
