29 January 2006

the charms of L.A. part one

After a week of work and stress, I treated myself on my first day off by going to my favorite place in L.A. – The Museum of Jurassic Technology. I haven’t had a chance to go in almost two years, and though the display has always grown and changed very slowly, a lot has happened since I was there last. There were several new exhibits up, making the place feel twice its size and much more (appropriately) labyrinthine. Plus they’ve added a screening room and tea house upstairs, all designed just so damn perfectly, like everything in the entire building…

...Wait, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll get a good sense of the aesthetic of the place from actually reading the website, but I also recommend Lawrence Weschler’s book about the Museum and its founder, David Wilson. I guess one could describe it as a Museum whose subject is “The Museum” – the beauty of the displays and dioramas, detailing obscure information on esoteric subjects. One easily gets lost in the dreamy darkness, wondering “Is this real?” And some of it even is… I almost don’t want to describe the place in any detail, lest I ruin it for you. Just get to L.A. and go.

I will say that I had the most amazing time lost in there yesterday, almost as good as the first time I wandered in, stunned at the beauty of the dream. It’s pure energy for someone like me… Thank you, Mr. Wilson!

P.S. I had to buy this: