Event 1

My life changing trip to the Hammer Museum

Picture from outside the museum

This past Saturday, April 21st, I was able to experience some incredible art found at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, CA. Eager to find some interesting combinations of art and science, my friend Cole and I arrived 20 minutes early because they did not open until 11 am. The nice people of the museum were understanding and allowed us to play with the wooden block exhibit in the lobby. This was a great start, as the seemingly “kiddie section” proved to be a lot harder than I could imagine. There were different kinds of blocks and I had plans to create something spectacular, but my lack of artisticness and expertise prevailed. In the 20 minutes I had, I was only able connect a few together to build a simple box. This was humbling, and showed that even the most simple art takes time and true genius.

Though there were many mind-blowing exhibits to see through the morning, one that really sticks out in my mind is The Tyranny of Consciousness. I had not seen anything like this piece of art before.  It consisted of a projection of 44 sunsets, a clock opposing it that counted down from 18 minutes, and a voiceover recording of Lady Bunny, a famous drag queen. She pretty much carries out a rant of how much better the world would be if people were not greedy and if they practiced peace. She is trying to say that we are all doomed if we do not change that. It was an interesting contrast to the sunsets that were projected because it shows that there is true beauty in the world, and it can be a great place if we make it that way. The exhibit tied in perfectly with our class because it showed that not all art is a sculpture or a painting; a lot of art uses modern technology in order to convey its point.

It was hard to look away from the jaw-dropping 44 sunsets!

There is no question in my mind that I would recommend this event to a classmate. In all honesty, it opened my eyes to the world of art more than any other activity we have done in this class so far. Seeing the art in person is a different experience than seeing something on a screen. It was one of those events where I lost track of time because I was so engulfed in the exhibits on hand.

Julia at the front desk was quite helpful!