In the following post, the New York Times goes into detail about the construction, architect, exhibitions, funding and more behind the latest art museum in Los Angeles. This museum stood with a $484 million dollar budget with installations encompassing four stories of building. This homage to Hollywood contains the real props used in The Wizard of Oz, real oscars, original animation drafts from Toy Story, original matte sets from westerns, as well as rooms dedicated to Star Wars with original props, Bruce Lee, etc. The final top floor is a rotating exhibition that is strictly enforced to have no photo/video trace off, as they sell it as an individual, special experience. Throughout the overwhelming amount of cool items in the museum, they also educate spectators on everything from the introduction of cinema, editing, and all the way through to influential directors of our time.
Over spring break, I visited the newly-opened museum. It was really interesting to see, as a Cinema Studies student, the Holy Grail of cinematic information, archives, and installations. As artists I think it’s important to expose ourselves to other art in in-person experiences. One of the rooms, I remember, the entire space was pitch black except for a single cushion in the middle in which to sit on. The spectator was to sit in the middle and be immersed in the technology of surround sound at the most high-quality level. In such cultivated experiences, the spectator is able to reflect, appreciate, and be themselves part of the experience.
If you are EVER in LA, I highly recommend this museum, one of the most educational, interesting, and through installations I have witnessed (a tiny bit biased as a film student). But I assure there is at least one entire FLOOR that you can marvel at. There IS a student discount, and showing your PENN ID works to fulfill it!
Additional Photos I took from the Museum:
