Last year on my three-week road trip to California to see WrestleMania 39 (bucket list item!), my son and I went to The Broad in Los Angeles. We visited The Grand a few days earlier and enjoyed it, so my son suggested this museum too. The good news was that my knee felt better (I had tweaked it earlier in the trip) so walking around The Broad was easier for me to do. (This enormous camera greets you when you walk into The Broad.
Now I know art museums are not competing with each other or with the visitors as the best, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the art so much more at The Broad than I did at The Grand. It is just my personal taste. I enjoyed some of the art at The Grand but I liked much more art at The Broad. Now everybody’s tastes are different and you might feel the opposite or like both the same and that’s fine. Art is subjective and I always have an open mind regarding tastes. For example, when it comes to the movies I like, you may laugh at my choices, and the ones you swear are some of the greatest ever made I may tell you that they don’t even crack my top 10. It’s all fine!
My daughter, Samantha Brinkley, is a photographer and a collage artist. For years, she has loved pop art and told me about Roy Lichtenstein, the founder of pop art. So I was excited that The Broad has several of his works, including Things on the Wall (photos below). Speaking of pop art, The Broad also carries the works of Andy Warhol, including his iconic Campbell’s Soup Can (no photos of that).
The museum also exhibits the work of artist Jeff Koons. Lichtenstein and Koons were probably my favorite artists out of everything I saw. Jeff Koons deals with popular culture and his sculptures depict everyday objects — well, they are often oversized.
Speaking of my extremely talented daughter, Samantha, she also introduced me to artist Barbara Kruger, who has been described as an American conceptual artist and collagist associated with the Pictures Generation. Her collage style consists of black-and-white photographs, overlaid with declarative captions, stated in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Ultra Condensed text. Sami told me that while Kruger didn’t inspire her to start collaging, she did take inspiration from her work like this:
If you visit Sami’s Instagram, there is a collage she created that says “You overdose on plastic medicine” which was a direct inspiration from Kruger. Collaging is cool. I design planner pages with stickers and with some of the extra stickers I have, I make vision boards, cards for friends and family, and other things, so I always like the idea of collaging as art. So this was fun to see.
(Tip: while these artists are still exhibited, check the museum’s website before you visit to see if anything has changed. I have not mentioned all of the artists that are currently exhibiting.)
Other artists I enjoyed are Robert Therrien and his work Under The Table, which I stood under as well as John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres, who created sculptures of real life from the South Bronx, including their Raymond and Toby:
I do have to say that the artist who triggered the most conversation for me was neo-expressionist Jean Michel Basquiat. Why? Because like I said everyone sees art differently. It’s not that I didn’t like his art, it just took me time to understand it. Although you might be saying, “How can you understand a big balloon dog more than Basquiat?” I don’t know. LOL I guess because it’s simple while Basquiat makes you think about social injustices and other important issues. But isn’t that what art is all about? Some are simple and some make you think until your head hurts.
If You Go to The Broad
We spent about two hours here and I would go back again when I’m in town. Another great thing about The Broad is it’s free! However, all visitors must reserve timed tickets in advance. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge. Click here for more information on The Broad.
After we visited The Broad, we went over to the Grand Central Market for a bite to eat! We enjoyed donuts from Donut Man and pizza from Olio Wood Fired Pizza. I give a thumbs up to the donuts for sure!
Virgin Traveler Goals
Remember, the whole point about being a Virgin Traveler is to take any trip and turn it into something you’ve never done before. If you’re traveling on business to a conference in San Francisco is there something you can see on your off time? Even if you’re going to visit a college for your soon-to-be high school graduate, do some research and see if there is anything close by you want to visit.
Have you been to any of these places? Let me know!
