After the conference ended, I met up with an old friend of mine to check out the Tim Burton exhibition at LACMA. Wow, LACMA is pretty cool! I wish I had more time in Los Angeles to check out museums because the LA art scene is really something different compared to whatever we have in Toronto. I wonder how it compares to New York...
Anyway, my friend drove me downtown to go to the museum, and you know what I've realised? After all these years of going to LA (I've been here at least 6 times) I have never seen downtown Los Angeles. Boy was I excited!
Unfortunately, I was actually terribly tired. Although it was the end of the conference, the lack of sleep had caught up by then. So I tried to keep my eyes open as much as I could but I couldn't fight falling asleep in the front seat. So I guess that means I need to come back another time, when I'm more awake.. lol.
Surprisingly though, downtown LA looks quite worn and everything seemed sun-washed out.
Antique market on the street! If only I could jump out of the car.
I’ve heard lots of good things about the Tim Burton exhibition ever since it launched at MoMA, but I never got to check it out, even when it was in Toronto (haha I know, how shameful). So this was really exciting. On top of that, I’m not even an avid fan of Tim Burton’s work. Or at least I didn’t think I was. I never really appreciated his animated works because his style is so.. gothic-y. But the exhibition was really good. I spent a lot of time in there just going through everything. Other than his animated works, he directed movies such as the Batman Returns and Edward Scissorhands. (I didn't know they were his!) And we could see his development as an "artist" from his sketchbook work. He drew on everything, and kept everything as well. There were even newspaper clippings with doodles on top of it and those were on display. The process of his development was also nice to see: drawings from his youthful imagination transitioned to an adult with a much more refined skill (thanks to CalArts) with that same kind of boyish childish imagination. Coming out of the exhibit I think I can now appreciate Tim Burton's works so I think they really did do a good job.
After the exhibit it was dinner time and even though I wanted to see all the other buildings at LACMA, I was way tired. So I didn't get to really explore the space except for the main ticket purchasing area, and the parking lot.
LACMA exterior
1. Canada moose represent...? 2. I've spotted a planker!
1.David Smith, Cubes and Anarchy exhibit just outside the Tim Burton one, 2. Urban Light, Chris Burden. Outdoor installation at LACMA.
We had dinner at Umami Burger. It's like a fast food-ish burger restaurant who makes these Japanese style hamburgers. It was really good, but I think it was the bread, it was very buttery in the way Chinese bread is. On the other hand, my friend describes it as hip minimalist burgers that don't fill you up (and pay a premium for), welcome to Los Angeles.
The last place we went to was the outside of the Church of Scientology so I could take a picture. I didn't go in but I was really excited about it because this is sooo American lol.
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