From Street Art to the Oscars, A Look at Great Cultural and Museum Options in Los Angeles (Plus Two Fab Hotels)

LOS ANGELES – A new museum dedicated to the magic of the movies. A classic art centre celebrating its 25th anniversary. An African American museum. Wonderful street art. And hotels with brilliant art displays of their own.

Los Angeles has long been known for its celebrities and convertibles, but it’s collection of impressive cultural centres and museums continues to grow. Here’s a look at some great options.

THE ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES

The folks behind the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures could have easily focused on Leo and Kate, or Bogart and Bacall. But the Academy Museum doesn’t settle for the obvious, and it doesn’t avoid the difficult issues.
Designed by Renzo Piano and situated alongside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in midtown L.A., the museum opened last September and is a must-see for movie fans.

One of the best parts is the entry area off the lobby, where there are several screens showing snippets of classic movies; everything from Charlie Chaplin to “The Godfather” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

The second and third floors have displays about the use of backdrops in classic movies such as Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, which had a backdrop of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota that was so realistic (and, in parts, violent) that it upset the U.S. National Park Service. You’ll also find displays of old movie cameras and film-making technology changes, of which there have been a few.

One of the most popular areas is a circular room with Oscar statuettes from popular films such as “Star Wars.” You’ll also find a large room that shows Academy Award winner acceptance speeches and a room with wild movie costumes, including one from “Rocket Man.”

Other fun exhibits show a working script for “Thelma and Louise” and other movies, displays about Bruce Lee movies, a sizable exhibit about “Citizen Kane,”, and a large “Wizard of Oz” section with Dorothy’s ruby slippers and explanations about the makeup used for the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. There’s also a note that says the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was temporarily cut from the film after test screenings, which seems impossible to believe now.

They’re not afraid of the tough questions. There are exhibits that tackle the Black Lives Matter movement and offer up details about Spike Lee films, as well as movies about Malcolm X and Jackie Robinson. The museum also examines the stereotyping of American Indians in Western movies, and there’s an exhibit about the recent sexual abuse cases in Hollywood. Some might wish for a non-political approach, but it’s to the museum’s credit that it doesn’t paper over serious issues.

One of the cool things to try is the Oscars Experience. For a special fee ($15 USD, which is on top of the admission fee), guests walk along a red carpet and are given an actual Academy Award statue to hold. They then show you a screen shot of cheering celebrities, as if you were on stage accepting your award, and take a brief video of you with your statue. When you’re finished, they e-mail you a short video with your name as the Oscar winner and your brief acceptance performance. There’s no sound, so you can’t thank your co-stars or the grade nine teacher that convinced you to take drama class. But it’s a ton of fun.

I also found some Canadian content. Most notable was the Oscar statue given to Toronto-born Mary Pickford, who went on to become known as “America’s Sweetheart” and won the Academy Award for best actress in “Coquette” in 1929. There’s a small story attached to the win, as Pickford was a founding member of the Academy and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, was the first president. Some felt that was a little fishy.

The top floor has a small, entertaining Pixar Toy Story 3D Zoetrope exhibit that’s got 214 maquettes that spin around at a feverish clip. There are also rotating exhibits. On now is Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 to 1971. There’s also an exhibit about Melvin Van Peebles and his “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s.

Be sure to check the on-site cafe and outdoor dining terrace.

Entry is $25 for adults, with discounts for seniors and students. No charge for those 17 and under. Timed entry to the museum must be reserved online in advance.
https://www.academymuseum.org/en/visit

25 YEARS OF THE GETTY

The Getty Center Museum sits high on a hill in West L.A. and is one of the most visually stunning museums you’ll ever see. There are several gorgeous pavilions set around lush gardens and fountains over 700 acres, all fashioned out of pale travertine stone imported from Italy.

Of course, there’s also wondrous art from the collection of J. Paul Getty, one of the world’s richest men during his time on earth and one of the most avid art collectors in modern times. Van Gogh’s “Irises” is one of the best-known paintings on display, but there are also magical works from Cezanne, Rembrandt and Manet. Visitors who take the tram to the top of the hill also will find sculptures from Giacometti and tiny, pink and white striped chairs once owned, and presumably sat upon, by Marie Antoinette.

The gardens are nirvana for anyone who loves succulents or bright, blooming flowers. They also have a garden terrace cafe and a very good full-service restaurant with a patio and tremendous views of the coastline, all the way from Santa Monica to Catalina Island. I had a delicious butternut squash risotto with bacon for lunch. Order a glass of sparkling wine with your meal and live like a Getty for a few minutes.

Entry to the museum is free but, for now, requires a timed-entry reservation. There is a fee for parking.
https://www.getty.edu/museum/

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

L.A. Art Tours takes guests on great tours of the downtown Arts District, which is increasingly being gentrified but still has several pockets of engaging street art. Guide Kevin Flint shows me a marvellous set of paintings on Palmetto Street, just east of South Alameda Street. Many of them were painted by a local artist named Shandu, who Flint reveres the way a teeny bopper might have worshipped John, Paul, George or Ringo in 1964.

He tells me that spray can “taggers” know how good these works are, so they tend to leave them alone.
As we walk about and examine massive likenesses of the late Kobe Bryant, L.A. street scenes and other bits, Flint explains that there’s a kind of code among street artists. If somebody is really good at what they do, and someone else comes along and copies them, the copied work is likely to get covered up or inexplicably damaged. The copycats are derided by true artists as “biters,” someone who bites off another person’s work, he says.

One amusing story he tells me is of a group of artists called yarn bombers, who take small bits of yarn and affix them to walls or chain link fences, like some kind of graffiti grandmothers.

L.A. Art Tours has a variety of tours to offer, from $18 up.

Group Tours

CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM

This is an art museum, not a museum of African American history. The focus of this museum just south of downtown is on contemporary art from African American artists, with an emphasis on California and the west coast.

You’ll find five galleries in all, each with different exhibits. I was struck by the bold, colourful works of Matthew Thomas, whose works explore basic life principles and are meant to invoke a sense of harmony, said curator? Cameron Shaw. Another gallery featured a powerful work from a local artist who superimposed sketches of young people killed in acts of police brutality on old-style school folders that tended to feature white youth.

The piece that hit me the most was from Albert Chong, a Colorado artist of mixed Chinese and Black heritage who took an old, sepia-toned photo of a black man named Ben Esau Ingram Jr. and added layers that include in a $500 bill of sale from his grandmother, who was sold into slavery in 1825 at age ten.

Entry to the museum is free.
https://caamuseum.org/

THE BROAD

This is a small but striking museum in downtown L.A., right next door to the silvery, wavy Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The top floor is reached by a long, escalator that slowly reveals a beautiful space as you get closer to the top, with a white, bubbly roof design and lots of natural light. The first piece most people will see is a group of brilliant red, blue, green, purple and yellow balloon-like creations from Jeff Koons, who also has a large, blue dog on display that looks like a balloon animal.

The Broad has several classic works from Andy Warhol, including Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor works, and a large display of jazzy works from Roy Liechtenstein. You’ll also find a U.S. flag from Jasper Johns, a giant wooden table and chairs that you can walk under, and several inventive works from Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Entry to the museum is free.
https://www.thebroad.org/

ARTSY HOTELS

Fairmont Century Plaza – This is a classic hotel from the 1960s that was recently stripped to its bare bones and re-built as an homage to the arts and Hollywood. The sleek and stylish lobby opens up to the outside with giant glass doors, giving the place a real inside-outside feel. You’ll find gorgeous pieces of art on display from artists from Mexico, Denmark, the U.S. and other countries. Every American president since Lyndon Johnson has been here, and they recently hosted a luncheon for Academy Award nominees. Rooms are gorgeous, and they all have balconies. Lumiere restaurant serves up tremendous French cuisine and superb cocktails in a romantic brasserie setting. I had a lovely duck dish for my main and perfect Crème Brûlée for dessert. There’s also a lovely, quiet patio, a stylish spa with modern treatments, and a fine rooftop pool. https://www.fairmont.com/los-angeles/

The Shay – Located in trendy Culver City, about 20 minutes west of downtown, The Shay opened late last year and has made a huge splash. Many artists have been priced out of the city, so they’ve tried to represent as many local artists as possible. One prominent piece in the lobby is a series of three screens by artist Kevin Cooley, with red, blue and white swirling bits that look like smoke inside a test tube. Most of the art work has a small sign to tell you about the artist, much like you’d find at a gallery. The lobby is smart and stylish, rooms are fun and engaging, and the rooftop pool is a beauty. The rooftop restaurant, Canopy Club, serves up everything from salads to burgers and umami salmon, while the main floor etta focuses on Italian food. https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/california/the-shay/laxdi

GETTING THERE

Air Canada flies direct to Los Angeles from a number of Canadian cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.