LACMA (or how I found the Craft & Folk Art Museum)

 On Wednesday, I had lunch scheduled with a friend who had recently left her job to prepare to start her MBA and decided that lunch would be much better served over art than at Jerry's Deli.  I proposed the idea of hitting up LACMA, which she quickly agreed to.

I checked my Lonely Planet guide to see if it recommended anything at LACMA, since I haven't been there since the early months of the Broad Contemporary Arts wing a couple years ago.  It was pretty much a basic description of the museum until I got to this interesting tidbit of information that really enlightened me:

"Opening in early 2008, it includes a new entry pavilion and the Broad Contemporary Art Museum...."

What?! 2008?!?!?!?!  Is this a guidebook from the 90s?  I shut the book and make my way to LACMA to see what is new on my own.

I find my friend and we search high and low for admissions, but find nothing resembling a ticket booth.  Finally we make our way into the Broad wing and find an information table. The only odd thing is that other than some security, we don't see any patrons.  I know that LA is not exactly the cultural epicenter of the world, but NOBODY is at the biggest museum in the city on a Wednesday afternoon?  Once we ask the information booth how to buy tickets we realize why.  The museum is closed on Wednesdays (what museum is closed on Wednesdays? Isn't Monday the industry standard for closures?) and it is only open for a private event that is currently lunching downstairs.

We make our way out and decide to consult our LP guide to see what would have been cool to check out in 2007.  But first, I check to see if it lists days and hours for LACMA.  Turns out had I consulted the book (and trusted it) I would have found out about the museum's strange mid-week shut down.  Anyhow, we find that we have a choice of the Peterson Automotive Museum, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Page Museum at the Tar Pits and the Craft & Folk Art Museum.  A&D it is!

Nope.  It's closed.  Not just on Wednesdays, but indefinitely for renovations.  I guess it's rare that it would ever be open, considering the penchant these artists have for remodeling.

We both like arts and crafts so to the Craft and Folk Museum we went!  It actually ended up being very cool.  Since my friend is starting school soon and we looked poor and pathetic, we maneuvered student admission prices of a whopping $3.  I paid for both of us, because I'm so generous. The museum was 3 small floors, one or two rooms each, of modern art made from suitcases, wine corks, bowling pins and wire.  It was actually very inspiring to see that you can make art really from anything you were planning on throwing out with your trash.

Our adventure ended up being more exciting than planned. While we missed LACMA, we found a museum we would never have considered going to before and became inspired by all the different ways art can be created. Lonely Los Angeles trip #1 was a failure and a huge success.

TIP:  If you are heading to Museum Row, forgo lunch at Marie Callenders or at one of the museums and instead, hit up one of the gourmet food trucks that line the streets.  Everything from Hot Dogs to Organic and Vegetarian fair are available.  You can find them starting one block east of the LACMA entrance continuing about 3 blocks east.