Getty Center

Recently, I got a chance to visit the Getty Center with a good friend. We didn't plan the trip and I was mostly looking forward to a chance to chat with him. While there are decent views towards the Los Angeles area, the Center itself was most amazing to me. So we ended up chatting mostly about the Center and admiring it.

It's built on top of a hill like a castle and didn't seem too inviting from the highway. But the closer we got, the more the love for composition and details became apparent. It felt similar to a palace like Sans-Souci in this regard: While it's a vast complex and you can see the planning from far away, the closer you get the more details you get to unravel. The main difference to me was a lack of obvious symmetry that you usually find in historical mansions. Instead it's more of a fun quest left to the observer to discover symmetries and alignments. Another difference is the simplicity of colors: There's just two main colors that are used for the center, besides the gardens. Yet, you get to discover the infinite organic complexity of Tavertine if you look closely enough at one "color".

The composition of buildings, paths, terraces and gardens appears effortless while hiding heaps of beautiful details:

We also enjoyed the exhibition of photographs by Imogen Cunningham and one focused on displays of anatomy over time: