Destination: The Annenberg Space for Photography, Century City
Cost: $1.00 for parking, plus gas ($3.30 at Pili's Tacos)
A friend highly recommended a visit to the Annenberg Space for
Photography and since it’s been impossible to avoid the “Country”
banners hanging from light posts all over the city, I decided to venture over
the hill on a hot Valley Saturday afternoon to take in this exhibit, which documents
the rise in popularity of country music in America.
While I’m not a huge fan of this musical genre (excepting
bluegrass), the show at the Annenberg made a compelling case for the importance
of the work of some distinctive photographers in promoting country singers and
musical groups and advancing their celebrity. The photos ranged in time from
the birth of fiddle and banjo music in the South, to Nashville's Grand Ole Opry heydey, to portraits of current performers. There’s a large informal area in the
gallery lined with director’s chairs where films about the artists are shown – which
added depth to this concise show.
Prior to visiting the photography space – I ventured across
the plaza to Skylight Studios to view a National Geographic documentary “The Power of
Photography,” which was produced by the Annenberg to highlight a previous
exhibition there celebrating the magazine’s 125 years of excellence in photojournalism.
This inspiring film got me in gear for appreciating photographic art.
These two arts spaces are a welcome addition to LA’s
cultural menu and a great gift from this philanthropic family. On the weekend,
parking in the structure below costs only $1.00 with validation and the Gallery
and Studios have no entrance fee. I enjoyed wandering among the massive Century
City towers on a quiet, breezy Saturday – I have a strange fascination with
empty skyscrapers, go figure.
Top it all off with a stop at Pili’s
Tacos on Santa Monica near Bundy for a little snack ($1.50 tacos) and a
drive up the coast and through the canyons and you have a pretty nice weekend afternoon.
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