A visit to the Richard J. Riordan Central Library was a first for us. Located right in downtown, it is both a leading public research library and a major architectural landmark.
Comprised of the original 1926 library and a 1993, it ranks with the Bradbury Building and Union Station as a treasure of the city’s historic downtown. It has been designated a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
I loved the walls of old card catalog drawers. As a fundraiser, people have 'bought' them and have their names inscribed right next to originally named ones. So dang cool.
We were fortunate to stumble into the Getty Gallery for its 21 Collections: Every Object Has a Story. "This exhibition, presented by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles in collaboration with the Los Angeles Public Library, examines the role collections play in telling our stories and those of our communities and Los Angeles at large."
With a diverse range of subjects, the exhibition focuses on collections representing an unconventional take on what warrants our attention, as well as highlighting some of the more unique stories that can be revealed through the accumulation of similar or sympathetic materials, or a repetition of elements.
Like all museums, certain things draw your attention more than others. We were both enthralled with Darlene Lacey's Candy Wrapper Museum. Darlene began her collection as a teenager in the 1970s with “Nice Mice” and it has since grown into one of the most significant collections of its kind, providing a window into American cultural trends and fads, the history of design and advertising, and a powerful nostalgia trip for all but the very young. Who of a certain age didn't eat Space Food Sticks?
Okay, so I like Bottle Houses and combine them with Pencils and I'm hooked. In 1956, at the age of 60, Tressa “Grandma” Prisbrey needed a place to store her collection of 17,000 pencils, many of which had been assembled into folk art pieces. Finding most building supplies too expensive, Prisbrey discovered a nearly endless supply of bottles at the local dump, and began building bottle houses on her property in Simi Valley. A selection of the pencil collages, not seen by the public since the early 1990s, has been restored for this exhibition. Cool right?
The owner of this collection is that Tom Hanks. It turns out, Mr. Hanks is well known not only for his movies, but also for his typewriter collection. The machines shown in the exhibition were used by Hanks as inspiration for a collection of short stories compiled into the book Uncommon Type. This marks the first public exhibition of his collection, which includes the typewriter that started it all, a Hermes 2000.
Envelope Linings was gathered by William Davies King, a lifelong collector of “Nothing” – valueless ephemera – according to his memoir on the subject. Included in the category are the inside linings of envelopes, also known as security seals. Many of us handle envelopes almost daily without taking a closer look; the patterns inside are, in a way, not even meant to be seen. King’s collection frames our attention to their incredible variety and intricate precision.
Probably the most unique of the collections was Doll Hats by Olive Percival. Ms. Percival was a journalist, activist, gardener, author, collector and the first female insurance clerk in Los Angeles. She was a prominent figure in the local women’s suffrage movement, but when she was away from the social commitments and her work Downtown, she also undertook a range of creative projects to bring beauty into her home: most notably, the design and fabrication of hundreds of miniature doll hats.
I'd say this was probably the coolest... Assemblage Furniture by Clare Graham.
Artist, collector and craftsman Graham is a believer that there is nothing that cannot be transformed into something interesting or beautiful. Many of his works incorporate vast quantities of similar components, such as this soda tab sofa, creating pieces with both aesthetic and functional value.
This hummingbird nest on a nail was intriguing. The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology is home to the world’s largest collection of bird eggs and nests, having acquired the collections of major institutions like the LA Natural History Museum in the mid-20th Century.
The Chinatown-based Institute for Art & Olfaction (IAO) is the only non-profit organization in the world dedicated to public access and experimentation with scent. The IAO has led or facilitated a staggering range of international artist projects, exhibitions, and educational programs, all centered around the chemistry and perception of smell. Libraries do offer more than what expects. I've never been disappointed in a library.
I loved this wall on the side of Amoeba Records.
All around town we found artwork that surprised and delighted.
This is the only town where one looks down to see stars!
This was the best Trader Joe's, decor-wise, ever!
I loved the way this puddle formed between two weirdly placed grass mounds.
No LA Day is complete without a visit to the Hollywood sign. I love being a tourist and Los Angeles is the ideal place in which to be one. Super fun day in LA.
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1 comments:
LOVE those library collections! I'm going to see how long the show is up. It might be fun to do some mini collections in our library's display case. Did I every show you the zine I made with security envelopes? So many different designs! I had no idea L.A. was so interesting.
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