This series of busts and figures was taken last summer at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles (the main hub, not the villa annex). Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I should include them in this section, as this gallery is generally devoted to dolls, toys, figurines, mannequins, and kitsch of the highest order; however, I noted the similarity in tone and texture to my earlier series of Christmas mannequins and took comfort in the possibility (however remote) that some of these busts and figures may have been used as hat stands, clothes horses, hairpiece holders, ad absurdum. The Getty is a truly democratic museum, incidentally; they allow you to take pictures unimpeded and provide materials and stands for drawing from life. Best of all, it’s free to get in. It also has a colorful benefactor, Mr. Getty, the former L.A. playboy and entrepreneur who so artfully stated “The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights,” as well as the priceless gem “A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure.” Luckily for us plebes, he collected more art and antiques than wives.
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posted by Jazno at 6:24 pm
The Pacific Science center is a haven for gastronomically challenging curiosities and menacing predators, which I believe are aimed specifically at entertaining young boys. In the bug exhibit below, there are giant mantises and scorpions, caterpillar kabobs, cricket wraps and cookies, etc., displayed just outside the delicate butterfly garden (presumably a sanctuary for freaked out little girls). Then there’s the dinosaur gauntlet before the exit, replete with mechanical velociraptors digging maniacally into some poor herbivore’s hide, and a grinning T-Rex ringed by an assortment of smaller, seemingly worried creatures. All said, my daughter was nonplussed and nervous, yet buffeted by her lengthy encounter with the butterflies.
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posted by Jazno at 3:26 pm
These were shot last summer, when Pixar animator Don Crum (and his lovely wife Susan) came to visit Seattle. Besides the Fremont Troll, what more surreal place to take them than the Ballard Locks, home of the infamous salmon ladder? From Wikipedia:
The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are a complex of locks that sit in the middle of Salmon Bay, part of Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks, after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south). The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:
·To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20-22 feet above sea level (Puget Sound’s mean low tide)
·To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
·To move boats from the water level of the lake to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.
The complex includes two locks, a small and a large. The complex also includes a spillway with six gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon. The grounds feature a visitors center, as well as the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the locks were formally opened on July 4, 1917, although the first ship passed on August 3, 1916. They were named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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posted by Jazno at 12:29 am
