Diva cats, Museums, and Political Campaigns

October 31, 2008

LuLu

LuLu, our diva cat, is sitting next to me, on the computer table. She is monitoring my comments about her. She is always interested in what we are doing. Sitting on the computer desk, on the top of any papers that we need is a favorite spot.

We had a wonderful trip to California to visit the Getty Center. The weather was great. We had to do a lot of walking to visit the museum. The museum and the hotel (Luxe on the Sunset Strip) had very healthy food. In fact, we have found that most museums have great food. The Detroit Institute of Art has wonderful healthy food.

We visited the Getty Center and the Getty Villa in California. The Getty Center presents the Getty's collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and breathtaking views. Excerpt from the Getty.website. My sister Helen and my brother-in-law Richard accompanied US. Richard is an artist so he enjoyed the trip immensely. Richard was also able to educate us about many of the pieces.

There was a special Bernini (sculpture) exhibit. Bernini was born in Naples to a Mannerist sculptor, Pietro Bernini, originally from Florence. At the age of seven he accompanied his father to Rome, where his father was involved in several high profile projects.[1] There as a boy, his skill was soon noticed by the painter Annibale Carracci and by Pope Paul V, and Bernini gained the patronage exclusively under Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the pope's nephew. His first works were inspired by antique Hellenistic sculpture. Excerpt from Wikipedia.com

There were wonderful tour guides that added so much to the exhibit. The whole Getty Center is a work of art. Designed by architect Richard Meier, the complex covers a beautiful piece of landscape in Los Angles. The gardens and landscaping are worth the trip. The Gardens and landscaping use native plants, which are new to us from the Midwest.

We also visited the Getty Villa. Oil tycoon J. Paul Getty originally opened a gallery adjacent to his home in Pacific Palisades. Finding that he quickly ran out of room, he decided to open a second museum on the property (his original home still sits at the back of the property). In 1974, Getty opened the Getty Villa as his second museum in a re-creation of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, incorporating additional details from several other ancient sites. Excerpted from Wiidpeda.com

I am continuing to work on the Obama campaign. I am impressed at the organization and dedication of the staff and volunteers. We are covering Clinton County normally a very red (republican) county where we telephoned and visited supporters to remind them to vote.