Extra Credit Event 2

On the same day of visiting the Natural History Museum, I also took a trip to the Museum of Art. It was pretty close to other museums, including the Museum of Man. There is a big plaza in front of it and it is surrounded by a beautiful garden with a fountain on the side. It was raining on the day of my visit, so the mist added another hint of mystery and beauty to the artistic atmosphere. Here I took a photo at the front door of the museum. 

The first exhibition that interested me the most was 'Woman, War and Industry,' because I took a GE Cluster class called: Work, labor and justice during freshmen year and read plenty of papers and readings about segregation, discrimination and prejudice regarding labor problems. The exhibition examines the significance of women during the industrialization and the advent of war. Moreover, the major changes in the lives of women, including their roles in families and the society. Through diverse media, womens' roles are examined historically and fictionally. Although the emphasis of the exhibition was woman, there were many works my male artists who provocatively portrayed female subjects in relation to war and industry.

We had a great lunch at the Sculpture Court Cafe, which is located in the outdoor sanctuary of the Museum's May S. Marcy Sculpture Court. There are salads, appetizers, desserts (sweet tooth) and plenty of alcoholic drinks. I ordered the Natural Turkey Sandwich, which was not expensive ($10). I would say the taste is good but not amazing; a good place to share a warm noon with friends.

After lunch, we entered the May S. Marcy Sculpture Garden, which is just behind the cafe. I heard the garden has been dramatically-renovated. There are more fabricated concrete bases and outdoor lighting. Based on research, each bench in the garden celebrates a life, a love and a memory, and it is definitely a great place for celebration, such as birthday party, meetings, and wedding.

Here is a picture of me at the reception table before leaving. There were not a lot of teenagers visiting; partially because of the raining weather, but maybe the primary reason is that they are more attracted by the Sea World. The visitors were mostly elder people and couples, and they looked very nice and placid. I saw an elder couple holding hands when they were purchasing tickets, and I felt so cozy and touched.

The Museum of Arts is definitely a MUST to visit if you ever take a trip to San Diego. It is a corner separated from the crowded town, and its atmosphere is extremely placid and quiet. Flowers are everywhere, which add a floral scent to the air; accompanied with the fountain and interesting artistic masterpieces, where else would you spend a great afternoon with your loved ones and friends?

Extra Credit Event 1

During the Thanksgiving break, I went to San Diego with my friends and visited The Natural History Museum. Since it was just a day after Thanksgiving, there weren't a lot of visitors. The posters of 'Skull' and 'Water' hang around the wall of the museum and those are the major two exhibitions I focused on. Since the ticket price was relatively expensive, most of my friends left me and my roommates to watch movies (SAD).

The first exhibition was the 'Skull.' It is a research collection of nearly 200 weirdest, wildest, and all-around most fascinating skulls. And the skulls featured are specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. We were able to compare 57 species of snakes and lizards, which I found was pretty disgusting, and we also watched scavenger beetles devour the flesh off a real animal skeleton, which was even more DISGUSTING! But the actual Titanic artifacts make up for the negatives, because the beautiful photography and interesting short movies are really enjoyable. Since I am not a huge fan of skull and bones, I cannot extract the essence of its beauty. Thus, I did my best to distinguish the differences between them, and it was a hard work.
In the corridor, there were plenty of dinosaurs.

The next exhibit was Water: A California Story, which let visitors to learn about current, local issues on land, including adaptations to water scarcity, urban run-off, ocean pollution and etc. There were photos, maps, videos and hands-on activities provided for visitors to comprehend the knowledge of nature. Climate was also another major focus of the exhibition, and the mission also includes discover how to protect water and the earth for our future generation.

Since the Museum of man is really close to the Natural History Museum, I also caught the chance to take a trip there.One of the memorable exhibitions was Footsteps Through Time: Four Million Years of Human Evolution. The exhibition brought visitors on a fascinating journey of 65 millions of years, spotlighting the anthropological finds relating to human evolution. The mission of this exhibition was to display the life and history of human kind. Before visiting the exhibition, I only had a obscure idea about human evolution, as simple as we are all derived from monkeys. But after the journey, I learned how complicated our evolution was and how fascinating the history appeared to be. Major evolutionary creatures include gorilla, Kenyanthropus platyops and etc. There are definitely more specific breakdowns throughout the evolution. Here are just a few to mention.

San Diego is a really great place to spend your breaks. There are many museums and they are all in the same district within walking distances between each others. Don't miss out this place, believe me on this, you will find a museum that you are interested in the most and enjoy a great day exploring new knowledge!!

Event 3 Getty Museum

My feeling of the Getty Museum was totally different from that of the other museums I had been before. Unlike other museums, Getty is an art museum that possesses a surprising big area and greatest mountain view. Other museums like Hammer, are mostly indoor and concentrated the presentation of artistic masterpieces of the current era. But Getty contains a collection of "Western art from the Middle Ages to present." It is huge enough to take the train to get to the main center from parking lots. Just to remind those future visitors, although it doesn't require you to buy tickets, there is still a parking fee. So let's start from the beginning of my trip.

The first stop was Abelardo Morell's 'The Universe Nextdoor.' I did some research about Morell. Morell is a Cuba born America, and he  Morell has approached photography with remarkable wit and creativity, examing everyday objects with childlike curiosity.

Morell's primary concept of photography is obscured image that presents the photos in a special perspective that portions of the photo are well focused and the rest parts are obscured to set off the significant parts of the photos. Just like the image above, we can see different perspectives of the man sitting in the couch: through the camera and the lenses. Such technique creates a unique experience when learning the image and the meanings behind it.

Secondly, I spent some time on 'At the Window: The Photographer's View.'

I stared at this picture for quite a while, because I couldn't believe this was not an actual photo taken by camera, instead it was drawn by hand. The eyes were portrayed in such a way that was so attractive and abstract that allures people to wonder what exactly was wholly attracting this lady's attention? And her face appears to be fulfilled with self-conflicting feelings of anxiety and placidity. I admire this masterpiece so much. The hue saturation and color arrangement were undoubtedly perfect and the combination of the two made the photo up to a whole other level.

By the time I was leaving, the nice staff member there asked me if I needed any help or was I looking for something specific, I realized that was a great time to take a memorable photo with him.

The weather on that day was so beautiful that I stayed for another half an hour just to walk around the museum and took some pictures.

It was a great experience exploring the Getty Museum. Everyone! Don't miss out! I would like to share with you about what you think about Getty once you take a chance and visit there!