Visiting the Hammer Museum in Westwood Village

Visiting the Hammer Museum in Westwood Village

September is a huge month in the Los Angeles Art world.

Many exhibits are closing this month, new exhibits have been announced, and this year a new museum is opening in Downtown Los Angeles.

But unlike everyone else that is going to be recommending the obvious, or simply ra-ra over a new museum opening, I want to tell you about a museum that you have probably never been too - even if you live or work in the area:

The Hammer Museum located in Westwood Village.

Let's get the most pressing doubt out of the way: But it's Westwood....

Yes it is.

So yes, you will be stuck in unbearable traffic on the 405 or Wilshire Blvd. to get to the Hammer Museum.

BUT, then you can just park in the museums own parking lot ($3 parking with validation) and not pay a dollar to get into the museum.  You visit the museum 12 times? You earn a Participate level membership.

The Hammer Museum also has a beautiful courtyard and restaurant, which means that even if you don't dine at Ammo, you can bring your coffee or lunch and sit in one of the awesome swinging chairs (that you can also buy if you feel so inclined to do so).

But let's talk about the various collections in Hammer Museum, both permanent and special exhibits: The Hammer Museum offers the most stylistically eclectic art collection in Los Angeles. Period.

From its curated Classical Art collection, to Avant Garde media abstractions, each floor at the Hammer Museum allows us to see how artists from different backgrounds and periods in time, and how they see the world around them.

A few of my favorite exhibits that are ending soon are: Perfect Likeness: Photography and Composition, which ends today (9/13): Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth, ending on 9/26; and, the Afghan Carpet Project, ending on 9/27.

Of course you can't miss the Armand Hammer Collection of classical Art pieces ranging from European paintings from such renowned artists such as Paul Cezanne and Gustave Moreau, to early American works from artists such as George Bellows; and the largest collection of Honoré Daumier pieces. 

Besides exhibits, the Hammer Museum also schedules special events and movie screenings; sometimes free, but other times fee-based. One of my favorite is the Art Talk, which is a 15-minute art discussion every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Check-out their calendar for event dates and more information.

Ana Lydia