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The Getty
© 2002
by Darryl Musick
DISCLAIMER: Right off the bat, let me tell you as a disclaimer that I am no art expert. I know what I like, but that's about it. Please excuse me if I don't go into enough detail about the art exhibits at the Getty or show any expertise in the displays.
At one time, J. Paul Getty was the world's richest man. The Bill Gates of his day, Getty died in 1979. Earlier, he had established the Getty Art Museum in Malibu. He left an endowment worth billions to the museum and a new, ultra-modern state of the art facility was built in Brentwood on a hilltop with a commanding view from Hollywood to Malibu. There is so much money in the endowment that the Getty does quite well living on the earnings and interest alone. The museum is so rich it doesn't even have to charge an admission fee.
It's a hazy, summer Sunday as we head north on the 101 toward our destination. A quick left on the 405 and a couple of exits later we're at the Getty's parking structure. Being a weekend, reservations were not necessary. If you're driving in on a weekday, a reservation for a parking space is required. You can get them online at www.getty.edu/visit/forms/parking.html or you can call (310) 440-7300. There is a $5.00 parking fee.
MTA bus line 561 and Santa Monica Big Blue Bus line 14 also serve the Getty with accessible transportation for those who don't drive. A taxi can also be taken here. No reservations are required for those who don't drive.
The handicapped parking fills up quite fast here. In fact, for
a huge parking structure that extends seven levels underground, the number
of designated handicapped spaces seems inadequate. I drop off my
wife and Tim at the first level and descend five levels underground before
I find a place to park in a non-handicapped space. I take the elevator
back up to meet them.
An Automatic Accessible Tram Provides Transport from
the Parking Structure
Up on top of the parking structure is a tram station. An automatic cable driven tram takes us up the half-mile to the top of the hill. The tram is accessible and is built with such tight tolerances that the gap between the platform and the car is less than a half-inch.
After the short ride, we arrive at the hilltop campus. The center is huge. It's a bit like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., in that you would be very hard pressed to see it all in a day.
An information counter just inside the entrance gives us several brochures to help us plan our visit and find our way around. A very pleasant courtyard with fountains, benches, and snack bars greets us after we exit the entrance lobby. As this is our first visit, we are a little overwhelmed so we sit for a few minutes to get our bearings and decide which way to go.
State-of-the-art Natural Lighting Provides Great Close-up
Views
Our first stop will be the West Gallery where the European masters paintings are exhibited on the second floor. This is where you'll see the Monets, Manets, and a Van Gogh. I see a lot of art that enthralls me to no end. I can't tell you much about it except that I could have spent hours here.
Kids are funny sometimes. You never know what they're going to like. Our son, Tim, for example loves architecture. He's spent hours touring Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and studying skyscrapers around the world...yet, as you can see, Van Gogh's Irises doesn't thrill him a bit. Me, I'm excited getting a close up view of the paint swirls on the painting keeping in mind that old Vincent himself wielded the brush on this particular canvass
Unlike His Parents, Tim Doesn't Find Anything Thrilling
from Vincent Van Gogh
Downstairs is the Ancient Art exhibit where sculptures, vases, and jewelry that are thousands of years old are kept. An amazing gold crown of leaves and flowers astounds me with it's intricate detail. Tiffany's would be hard pressed to created such a beautiful piece today.
Across the courtyard, we enter the South Gallery where decorative arts (furniture) are displayed on the ground floor. It's like stepping onto the set of a particularly good episode of Antiques Roadshow. The German furniture with all its hidden drawers, knobs, and many utilitarian features is what really impressed me here.
Outside, we take a walk over to the colorful main garden with its waterfall and pond maze. It's all ramped so wheelchairs have an easy time getting to every level. The Travertine marble that all the buildings and walkways are clad provide more entertainment as people hit them to hear their different chiming melodies.
TheColorful Main Garden at the Getty
The garden itself is a great place to sit, meditate, and maybe just recharge your batteries for awhile. A grotto-like sculpture with ever dripping water drains into a small stream which makes its way down the hillside. After going under a small bridge, it cascades down a waterfall into the pond which has a planted maze as a centerpiece. Surrounding the pond is an explosion of colorful flowers.
On this note, we head back up to the patio above the garden and enjoy a cool drink before heading back to the tram station. We'd been here four hours and had just scratched the surface.
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