Days 0-1: Los Angeles

Day 0: E-ville to LA

I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They're beautiful. Everybody's plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic. Andy Warhol

Weather: Warm to hot during the day, clear (shock!), and cool at night...in other words: IDEAL!!!!!!! Traveler's heaven


Pics: Removing the poles after utilities undergrounded in E-ville, DB scores another Yayoi in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica utility box, new Ellsworth Kelly designed exterior of a gallery in West Hollywood, LA sunset, Marcel Duchamp piece and the man himself, giant composite road sign, Rico Lebrun

We decide to drive to LA since we are doing parental unit visits on either side of the Oakland Art Museum trip (to dig deeper into a major LA cross-museum effort called Pacific Standard Time, or PST, of mid-20th century art, design and architecture). Lunch with THB’s mom at Mori Sushi (excellent, as usual), and dinner with DB’s dad Sam and partner Miriam at Café Montana, very good and quiet.

Day 1: Pasadena

A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires. Hedy Lamarr

The usual: fitness center and pancakes at John O’Groats (whole wheat with bananas for DB, lemon curd for THB, $25 with coffee and side of yogurt), and then we meet up with one of the professional co-leaders from DB’s Japan trip, Anne, and head to Pasadena, arriving at the Pasadena Asia Museum around 10:35. We think we’re gonna be way ahead of the rest of tour; they are arriving in Burbank on SWA at 10am. Hah! They are there shortly after us, flight was early, bags are coming off the carousel as they leave the gate; they are up on the bus and at the museum in no time!

The museum has lots of Asian stuff (DUH!), and has set aside two galleries to show off the early days of modern art in LA because at one time this building held contemporary art. They even held an early Duchamp exhibit (see pics), including being the site of the famous picture of Marcel playing chess with a beautiful (and naked) young woman. The curator leads us through the exhibit, fascinating to hear and see, including one fabulous early (light) work by Robert Irwin. They also have a Keinholz (see pic) that is a piece in a shroud where the buyer could tear off the shroud and see what was underneath. This piece was still intact, and thus apparently much more valuable for never having shown the hidden part. Aside: DB and THB made a special trip to LACMA in December to see a rarely shown Keinholz: Five Card Stud, which was easily one of the most powerful art pieces ever made, a commentary on racism in the 50s (and beyond).

Lunch is upstairs: bento boxes of chicken, something breaded, rice, cauliflower, beans, cole slaw (this is one complete bento box), and cookies supplied by THB and DB from Tavern (excellente!!). Included.

Then we walk across the parking lot to the Pasadena Museum of California Art for another PST exhibit, LA Raw, emphasizing figurative artists who worked in LA in the 40s and 50s. The curator for this exhibit leads us through, and his passion for the work and connections among the artists comes alive. Also turns out that Mom has some work by one of the key artists in the exhibit, Rico Lebrun (see his pic). Big advantage to seeing the show through the curator’s eyes, many connections made that you can’t get if you do this on your own.

Check-in at the Langham Huntington, a huge place that may have been a Ritz-Carlton. We’re in the Lanai building, only a 10 minute walk from the chicken disk. Room is very nice, and then THB enters into internet hell: the “free” access won’t enable a connection. Uh oh: what will THB’s followers do without real-time blog updates? Half hour later, 3 phone calls, and a non-answer from the tech line, THB gives up.

We visit two private collections, one so close we walk to it from the hotel (THB and DB warm-up with the 10 minute walk back to the chicken disk). First collection emphasizes Latin American artists from the last 50 years, and is spread over two houses (the collectors bought the house behind theirs!), and contains some work we are familiar with (e.g., Robert Graham, definitely not Latin American, and Toledo).

The second private collection turns out to be 5 collections: tribal art, books, emerging artists, rocks, and photography. Needless to say, it is a bit excessive for THB’s taste. And, the house is a mid-50s ranch style that apparently was really two houses, the upstairs and downstairs being complete with their own kitchens and bedrooms.

Dinner is at the private Valley Hunt Club. For those of you not familiar with what “private” meant during PST days of yore: think Masters Tournament circa 1955. Both of our parents had the same reaction when they heard we were eating here: can you get in????? Oh yeah, the club is actually more well known for having started the Tournament of Roses.

Well, now they let anyone in because a) they have to and b) it was pretty empty. Vodka gimlets, lamb for THB (nicely done) and fish for DB (not so good). Included.