QOTD: "If anything distinguishes this century from others, it must be the ways in which technology has supplemented, illuminated, and now almost replaced our sight." - Tana Wollen, Future Visions (1993)
Reading: Phyllis Rose (editor), The Norton Book of Women's Lives
Listening to: nothing
Decluttering accomplishments: cleared a whole bunch of papers off the dining room table
Since I had off on Friday, I made a reservation for parking at the Getty Museum. My major reason for the excursion was a temporary exhibit called "Devices of Wonder" that has to do with how technology interacts with art and how science affects our perceptions. I'd expected the exhibit to be mostly about the "Cabinets of Wonder" that were the mainstay of Victorian collectors, but it was really a lot broader. The most intriguing exhibits were those that had to do with anamorphosis. The concept involves pictures that have to be viewed from an unusal perspective to be meaningfu. For example, they had some long paintings that didn't look like anything much from straight on, but turned into portraits when viewed through a peephole at the side. Other pictures had to be viewed via a cylindrical or prismatic mirror. It was thoroughly fascinating, since I've always loved optical illusions and tricks of perspective.
The other cool part of the exhibit involved automata, including a demonstration film of one that had been used by the French magician, Robert-Houdin. I bought a small piece for myself at the gift shop - a wooden device that taps fingers when you turn the handle. Overall, the exhibit was worth the effort of planning in advance. (To be fair, you don't need a reservation if you go after 4 on Thursady or Friday or on the weekend. But I might as well take advantage of my every other Friday off schedule.)
I ate lunch at their cafeteria, then walked around the gardens for a while. The buildings are less interesting - too blocky, too much glass - but the gardens are pleasant and the view is magnificent. Then I strolled through bits and pieces of the permanent exhibit, with nothing much really standing out as memorable. I'm not much on stuff like porcelain and furniture, in general, so that isn't all that surprising. Unfortunately, they're in between exhibits in the manuscript rooms, which is usually what I like best in art museums.
After I left, I drove over to Santa Monica and caught a mid-afternoon showing of Harry Potter. The movie was enjoyable enough, but it was a bit too long and came across as preachier than the books do. Daniel Radcliffe did fit my mental image of Harry quite well, but the girl who played Hermione looked all wrong, in my opinion. I was mildly disappointed in the background music, which seemed too Tchaikovskian to me. Not that the movie was bad - it just didn't add anything new.
The rest of the weekend was far lazier, though I did get a fair amount of stuff done at home. I'd really like to have my apartment in reasonable order before I leave on vacation, which is less than three weeks away. As I was sorting through charge card slips, it struck me that adulthood is far too full of new tires and dry cleaning and other boring essentials. What I need is an anamorphic financial life, where the expenses for travel and theatre tickets and books are the ones that loom large, instead.
Copyright 2001 Miriam H. Nadel