Museum Monday - Hammer Museum
Joan Didion: What She Means is on exhibit at the Hammer Museum in Westwood through Feb. 19, 2023. I highly recommend a visit for fans of Ms. Didion’s work. For those unfamiliar, the exhibit offers a great introduction.
The exhibition opened less than a year after the author’s death at age 87. It follows her life according to the places she called home and is laid out in chronological chapters—Holy Water: Sacramento, Berkeley (1934–1956); Goodbye to All That: New York (1956–1963); The White Album: California, Hawai‘i (1964–1988); and the final chapter, Sentimental Journeys: New York, Miami, San Salvador (1988–2021).
The life of Didion is narrated through the works of approximately 50 artists and more than 200 works include painting, ephemera, photography, sculpture, video, and footage from a number of the films for which Didion authored screenplays.
You may want to fuel your exhibit viewing before or after with a visit at Lulu, the Hammer’s new restaurant, Led by acclaimed chef, writer, and cookbook author David Tanis and conceived with legendary chef and food activist Alice Waters, the restaurant offers great open air dining. Reservation are recommended.
The lunch and dinner menus change daily depending on which items are procured from farmers and purveyors.
Fueled by a carrot eggplant soup with bread to pair, a slice of pistachio and pomegranate olive oil cake, and a glass of beaujolais, I was ready to tour the exhibit.
While waiting for my food, I enjoyed a courtyard view from my table of the Heatherwick Spun Chairs and the changing LED wall artwork.
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