While I was working in Los Angeles in the last weeks, I took the recommendation of a wise friend and journeyed for a day to the Getty Museum. If you are ever in LA, this is a must. The views of the valley, mountains, ocean, city are a museum in itself. Coupled with the architecture and gardens of the facility, the scene is perfect for a getaway from life and an opportunity to rekindle your creative soul. I had forgot what solace can come when traveling alone and making time to immerse yourself in beauty. That needs to happen more often.
Within the walls of the museum were a huge variety of works, the majority of them owned and displayed by Getty in his home and eventually the Villa he built to his Santa Monica home. I do not claim to be an expert in visual art history, but know enough to recognize many of the artists in front of me: Rodin, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rembrandt but also countless artist names I didn't know. I imagined them alive, creating art, and wondered if they ever thought I would be studying their art in a building on top of a hill in Los Angeles. I also wondered in 500 years or 1000 years what art would lie in this same building from our current time. Are portraits of aristocracy replaced by selfies? Are landscapes of nature replaced by the landscapes of buildings like the ones I could see from the hill? Is sculpture exchanged for the primitive technological devices we use and as people looked at them years from now, would they wonder how we ever survived? Would these works of the great artistic periods still exist in the museum, reigning over the attempted works of our time, or is there someone out there, pushing the envelope of creativity so our generations can be remembered and represented? I think my greatest personal takeaway from the experience was the intentionality these artists put into their work without worry or wonder of where their art would be hanging in 2018. The details, the brushstrokes, the perspective, and the story told through the visual representation was so immensely personal. I wonder sometimes if my vision and worry about legacy gets in the way of the piece of art in front of me I should be pouring myself into, and if in my dreams and wonders of making a difference in lives, I should be making sure I complete the piece in front of me. The balance to learn and do for me is always pulling me in multiple directions and trying to sit and create is overshadowed by the hustle and whirlwind of life. I will be interested to see how long this one experience can stay with me, and if I will answer the call to find another opportunity to strengthen my soul to continue to find the better me. |
Thanks for stopping by. These are musings on how I see leadership in the world and how I continue to try and grow through my lens.
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