LA Day Trip: LACMA & More!
I finally got to explore LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and it did not disappoint! This art museum has been on my list of LA museums I’ve been wanting to visit. We actually made an LA day trip of museums and fun strolls because they’re all pretty close to each other.
We visted the Petersen Automotive Museum just a block away and a quick walk from LACMA. This museum impressed me more than I expected. You’ll see cars and mechanical gear/car accessories through the ages and get a clear, pretty cool, picture of the history of cars. They also have cars from famous films. The outside architecture is unmistakable, and it’s worth just walking by to see the building for a cool photo op. [see picture below]
Petersen Automotive Museum: https://www.petersen.org/visit
Tickets: Adults $16/ Children $11
[Left] the first practical care from 1886. It had a top speed of 10 mph.
[Right] My childhood dream car, Ferrari F40 1990. I would steel the Hot Wheels version of this car from my brother all the time.
Also, right across the street from LACMA is the new Academy of Motion Pictures Museum. When I visited it was just a couple weeks from opening, but will be open to the public by September 30th. I’d love to come back to this museum. I read they have the ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz! Learn more about this new museum here.
Another stop that’s RIGHT next to LACMA and FREE to see are the La Brea Tarpits. You can pay a fee to explore the museum but just experiencing the tar pits is easy! Considering I grew up in Southern California, I’m stunned I’ve never seen this spot. I had no idea what to expect and was surprised to see not only large fenced off tar pits for viewing, but also little spots around the grass area with cones to caution people to the little puddles of tar—like what? The bubbling pond was a cool sight too, but didn’t smell great. It was just cool to know that forever ago it was a treacherous place for dinosaurs and giant sloths to travel through—and then present day have the tar pits share a property line with Downtown Los Angeles.
We went to the Petersen Museum first, then to LACMA and then strolled the La Brea Tarpits before heading home.
But I digress... LACMA!
Of course we visited the famous outdoor street lamp art installation called “Urban Lights” that you might recognize. I thought this was a really fun fact about the art piece:
Urban Light is a large-scale assemblage sculpture by Chris Burden located at the Wilshire Boulevard entrance to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The 2008 installation consists of restored street lamps from the 1920s and 1930s. Most of them once lit the streets of Southern California.
This is the quintessential LA photo op spot and you know I had to take full advantage, and did a little photoshoot with my book 😉
I love the fact that LACMA contains art from around the world and exhibits an expansive range of art histories, cultures, and experimental work, along with some well-known names like Picasso, Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keefe, just to name a few. You can always count on LACMA for having a well-rounded showcase that changes often. Personally, I can’t wait to come back to see the Obama Portraits coming later this year.
Check to see what LACMA is doing:
LACMA was established in 1910 as part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art in Exposition Park, but it’s in 1961, that LACMA became a separate, art-focused institution and opened in its Wilshire Boulevard location to the public in 1965. LACMA also became the largest art museum in the western United States and contains more than 147,000 art pieces!
Pretty neat, huh?
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Location: 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tickets:
$20 for Los Angeles County Residents
$24 for Everyone Else (outside LA)
Parking: $18
Check the website for updated hours and admission prices.
FYI:
Currently they require you to purchase your tickets online in advance. We didn’t know this and just purchased from our phones when we got there.
Check COVID protocols. When we went (September 2021) we
Had to wear masks indoors
Before entering the museum you must answer a few questions and get your temperature taken
MY FAVORITE PAINTING:
This piece by Calida Rawles titled, "The Space in Which We Travel," was my all-time favorite painting of the day. The colors, the depth and the feeling it gave me was incredible. I wish I could hang this in my house.
MY FAVORITE EXHIBITS:
Yoshitomo Nara
I love the art displayed in this exhibit. Yoshitomo Nara is among the most beloved Japanese artists and from the album covers and muted colors, to fun, cartoony, exaggerated emotions displayed through illustrations, I felt transported to the artists world. This exhibit was quite expansive too and I found out that the artist had a love of music and has special curated playlist that you can listen while walking through. You can find the exhibit playlist here.
Legacies of Exchange: Chinese Contemporary Art from the Yuz Foundation
This was another exhibit I enjoyed but was also such a trip. This exhibit is in partnership with the Yuz Foundation in Shanghai, China, in an effort to create collaborative exhibitions and to provide both museums with greater access to a more diverse collection of artworks. It displays many different Chinese artists showing the thought provoking and sometimes strange encounters, exchanges, and collisions between China and the West. From classic oil painting combined with depictions of the Camel Cigarettes mascot, to a particularly disturbing display of a chimpanzee seemingly committing suicide after reading The Origin of the Species. You can get a closer look of this in my LACMA video.
Pablo Picasso
They have a whole room dedicated to Picasso, and I’ve never had such an awesome opportunity in my adult life to bask in his cubism, surrealism and expressionism works. I also learned a lot about how he had many relationships and how he treated women—so, although his work is stunning, his love life was cringe, but he says it’s also part of his art. Hmm...
FOOD
LACMA does have some dining options, but I didn’t want to eat at the museum in case it was overly expensive and not great. It might be amazing—I don’t know, but when in Rome—err, LA I wanted to see if I could find something delicious AND affordable.
LACMA Dining Options:
C+M Grab & Go: located in the plaza this place has a casual menu with First-come, first-served seating
Ray’s and Stark Bar: Reservations are recommended. This spot has gourmet farm-to-table cuisine and table service (outdoor and indoor seating available).
Just a .3 mile walk from LACMA we found Blazin' Birds....Chicken Done Hot! It was a little over $30 for 2 people but our food was super good! Highly recommend taking a short stroll to get some chicken. I got the two chicken sandwiches combo and was able to choose sauce/spice level which was cool.
So, that was our fun day trip to LA! We never felt rushed and really enjoyed all the museums. I hope this was helpful if you’re looking for a simple day of LA museum exploring.
