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180--California: The Getty Museum @ CherieSpotting     Feb 03 2004 - 16:40 PST cherie writes: How do you have fun at a museum? I used to think museums were boring. I hated learning about things I didn’t care about. Then there was the guilt. I figured I must not be very cultured, if I couldn’t appreciate the magnificence of a museum. Now I realize that paintings are just a story on canvass. I tell my stories with words and pictures, and artists tell their story with a paint brush. I recently went to the Getty Museum which is nestled on 750 acres of land in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Getty’s architecture is a 1.2 billion dollar work of art. Its immensity inspires you to think grand thoughts. For example, Greg thought: “How can I make 1.2 billion dollars so I can buy a place like this?” Admission to the museum is free and begins with a peaceful tram ride. The electric trams actually hover above the tracks. Operated by a cable-drive system, the trams float over a thin cushion of air. The tram snakes through the lush pepper trees and five minutes later drops its passengers off at the museum. The Getty is filled with interesting manuscripts, ancient sculpture, priceless paintings and even modern photography. My advice—skip the tours. I always get some guide who goes into amazing detail about something I don’t care about. It was a flashback to my recent African safari. My African guide explained the biological origins of every plant we saw. Finally I had to scream “I want to hear about the giraffes—not the geraniums!” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a plant-hater. I enjoyed the Getty’s gardens which delighted my senses by lacing the air with sweetness. I just wished I was allowed to walk through the water-maze near the waterfall. It is an incredible labyrinth of 400 azaleas surrounded by a glistening pool of water. But I did go to the “family section” of the museum, so I could dress up like some of the characters in the paintings. Click on each picture to see it full size. read comments (0) | write comment| views: 6740    | rated: 0.0    printer-friendly version   If a museum gets boring--you just need to stretch. Cherie poses next to "Self Portrait Yawning" at the Getty Museum. *Photo by Greg Greg admires "Bust of a Man" by Francis Harwood. Fancy room! "Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven Years of Age." Cherie at 32-years of age. What's the story? Greg in the middle of magnificence. The marble boulders in this fountain are from California's "Gold Country." Museum goers try to understand what is going on in this painting of Venus and Adonis. (I see this as evidence of what happens when you don't listen to your godess. Adonis is later killed by a wild boar.) Artist Paul draws his own impression of Paul Gauguin's "Head of a Tahitian Woman." "A Boy Holding a Pear" by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. My hand juxtaposed against the marble curves of a statue. Louis XIV would have been a huge hit in the 80s with his big hair. My hair for my junior prom in 1988 was almost as big as Louis XIV's. Time for a breath of fresh air. Gentlemen having an afternoon snack. Getty was designed by Richard Meier. Cherie has an "Alphalfa" moment. Flowers boil over their pots. Cherie takes a break in a sliver of sun. *Photo by Greg. Lines and curves. Winter in Los Angeles. What a great place to spend the day. *Photo by Greg The museum's arrival plaza. Beauty in form. Cherie by a painting by Rembrandt. *Photo by Greg Greg likes any painting with boats in it. One of my favorite paintings this one by Hendrick Ter Brugghen. Cherie posing like Agostino Pallavicini. Agostino Pallavicini painted by Anthony Van Dyck, circa 1621. Carved in marble by John Deare this painting is called: Venus Reclining on a Sea Monster with Cupid and a Putto. (A putto is a child with wings.) Did you know the "bird of paradise" is the official flower of Los Angeles? Lot's of paradise here! Look--a free "stair-master!" The peaceful rush of water. A maze of 400 azaleas. Getty's garden. The waterfall with a hint of purple. What century am I from? This guy needs some asprin. Was Lorena Bobbit here? "After the Bath" by Edgar Degas brought back the horror of my own Turkish bath. *Photo by Greg Me and Monet. *Photo by Greg Greg gets close enough to see the individual brush strokes. I've weathered storms like the one in Claude-Joseph Vernet's "A Storm on a Mediterranean Coast."