Museum of Latin American Art offers stunning Long Beach diversion

Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers enjoy an afternoon at the Museum of Latin 

American Art in Long Beach, where Latin American artists from around the world are displayed.

Intriguing installations are part of the charm and allure. Here, a Marta Boto plexiglass piece draws Cookie's eye.

LONG BEACH MUSE

UM SHOWCASES LATINO ART IN BEAUTIFULLY CURATED EXHIBITIONS 

The Museum of Latin American Art's impressive collection extends to an artful sculpture garden. This Carlos Luna piece expresses duality, a theme of exiled Cuban artists. 

Sculpture Garden provides calming and fascinating place to reflect on artistic inspiration and global talent 

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

ON THE grounds of California's first movie studio, imagination continues to reign.  In the enchanting Museum of Latin American Art, contemporary works by acclaimed artists from around the world challenge viewers and offer fresh perspectives.

Friendly, inviting, interactive, MoLAA  welcomes, tests and teases the viewer -- urging him to participate in a new vision.

Judithe Hernandez makes a bold, graceful statement in the museum's sculpture garden. She is an acclaimed Chicana artist.

The museum draws from its extensive permanent collection to present deftly curated exhibitions -- while inviting new artists to explore their own worlds and stimulate our senses.

Works run the gamut from whimsical to provocative, from classical to avant-garde.

THE SPACE is unique -- open and airy -- lending itself to a colorful landscape indoors which leads to a calming and intriguing outdoor sculpture garden. 

Long before Hollywood existed, pioneers in the film industry were at work in this unassuming space on Alamitos Avenue in Long Beach.  In 1913 in a barn near the corner of Vine and Selma, Jesse Laskey and C. B. DeMille rented the space to make movies. Fragments of the original building still exist on the grounds where Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford got ready for their close-ups.

Job Garcia's imagination is front and center in works at MoLAA.

They were instrumental in forming what would become United Artists, through negotiations on the museum's present grounds.  Surely their spirits are smiling down on this unique and engaging museum.

IT IS ONE of the premier Latino museums in the country and is dedicated to modern and contemporary Latino art. The museum's mission is to educate, collect, preserve, present, and interpret art for cross-cultural dialogue.

Knowledgeable and motivated docents are part of the charm of the museum.. Here, Paula asks viewers what they see, and responds with insightful commentary.

THE MUSEUM has an impressive docent program, with highly skilled volunteers eager to express their interest in the museum's history and extensive holdings.  Our excellent docent explained its merging of art, science and technology.  Our visit was enriched by Paula's erudite explanations of individual pieces.  She explained the often complex layers of a painting or sculpture, questioning us to draw our impressions.  This interactive approach gives the visitor a genuine feeling of participation and is gratifying to both guest and guide.

Sculpture is represented in the museum's eye-catching and varied exhibitions, both inside and in a lovely garden.

PAULA SHARED her pride in the museum's impressive permanent collection and in a cutting edge installation, "Arteonica," which explores an obscure but fascinating Latin American art movement begun 60 years ago.  Waldemar Cordeiro is the muse behind the exhibit which explores the state of electronic and cybernetic arts, "a verbal synthesis featuring the computer as an instrument of positive social change influencing both art and culture."

Intriguing multi-media exhibitions at MoLAA invite the visitor into the artists'  imaginations.

The museum's overriding focus is to create a dialogue between art and people, much as Cordeiro's exhibition does.

MANY OF the museum's pieces carry political and social messages, conveying the turbulent and often tragic consequences of dictatorships, thousands of "disappeared" persons, corruption, violence and political turmoil.

A "don't miss" feature of this internationally known museum is its gorgeous garden. The Robert Gumbiner Sculpture and Events Garden showcases an extraordinary exhibition of sculpture from MOLAA’s permanent collection. Gumbiner, who passed away in 2009, was a beloved physician and philanthropist was a major force behind the museum's permanent collection and laid the groundwork for the sculpture garden.

Bruce Keller "listens" to this Lucia Monge installation a fascinating study of nature by the noted Peruvian artist. It includes drawings, real plants connected to a microphone.

The museum is rightly proud of both its indoor space and its outdoor space, internationally recognized as the most important collection of contemporary Latin American sculpture in the nation. The collection has grown due to the generous donations from artists and collectors, as well as from long-term loans. The sculpture garden now presents a permanent display of over 15 abstract and figurative sculptures representing almost one artist per Latin American country.

WE WERE fascinated by the variety of bronze, wood, metal, stainless-steel and polychrome metal. The diversity is impressive, reflecting an intriguing mix of  Latin American art. Abstract works include a bronze sculpture by Peruvian artist Fernando de Szyszlo, a stainless steel sculpture by Mexican artist Leonardo Nierman and a polychrome metal sculpture by Argentinean artist Perez Celis. Figurative works of note include bronze sculptures by Guatemalan artist Max Leiva, Panamanian artist Guillermo Trujillo and Cuban artist Carlos Luna. The museum showcases art by a "Who's Who" in Latin American talent. It is truly a  fascinating place.

More information: www.molaa.org -- The museum is free on Sundays. Ask about docent tours, well worth the time.

The Palms at Indian Head offers a relaxing respite, a calming and lovely escape from the heat of summer.

ON TAP: With summer around the corner for most of the United States and the Northern Hemisphere, we begin a series of summer enticements. A fascinating hotel awaits in southern California, the Palms at Indian Head in the fascinating desert of Borrego Springs.  It was home to stars of yore -- Charlie Chaplin  Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and other luminaries escaping the rigors and demands of the Hollywood studios. You can book a stay there today to relive their glamour days with an Olympic size pool, beautiful hiking   and a gourmet restaurant on property. The Palms at Indian Head is a quiet, restful getaway and we'll take you there to enjoy. Meanwhile, remember to explore, learn and live and catch us weekly for a fresh spin on travel, performance, nature, family and more.

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