“For life is the best thing we have in this existence. And if we should desire to believe in something, it should be a beacon within. This beacon being the sun, sea, and sky, our children, our work, our companions and, most simply put, the embodiment of love.” -Patti Smith
Yesterday my mom and I took a trip up to Los Angeles to visit family. Since my mom is often on-call on the weekends, we like to plan out fun stuff for us to do together when she’s not on-call. So, this weekend, since we already have family in LA, we decided to go up to visit and spend some time in the city.
I’ve wanted to go to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) for as long as I can remember, so we decided to go there yesterday, bringing my grandma along. I found out that one of the exhibits at the museum was “Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium.” I’ve loved Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography since I read Patti Smith’s book, Just Kids, a couple years ago, which is all about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. This was also the last weekend that the exhibit was going to be on display at LACMA, so it felt like everything in the universe aligned for me to see Mapplethorpe’s work.
We spent an hour and half going through just the Mapplethorpe exhibit. All of his work was so fascinating and enchanting, and it felt each time I looked at one of his infamous photographs I was being pulled into his world during the 70’s and 80’s. Seeing his incredible photos of Patti Smith that I’ve loved for such a long time was quite an experience. He was a beautiful and mystifying person.
After going through the Mapplethorpe exhibit, we spent another hour or two going through the rest of the museum. The architecture in that place was amazing. It definitely lived up to the expectations I built for the past four years.
Words and Toast 