MMTKL: LACMA

And so the Magical Mystery Tour of Knowledge and Learning continues. This past Sunday I viewed LACMA's new-ish exhibit, Myths, Legends, and Cultural Renewal: Wagner's Sources. The exhibit centers around Richard Wagner's operatic interpretation of the Germanic poem, Niebelungen (The Ring Cycle) and features the works of other artists that had been influenced by the legend. Here's LACMA's official blurb:

"Reinvented and passed on by each generation, myths, legends, and fables have continued to fascinate artists into the modern era. Many of the operatic works of Richard Wagner are deeply rooted in the German and Nordic traditions of folk tales and legends, Goethe drew upon German folklore for his description of the Walpurgisnacht, and the Brothers Grimm drew upon folk traditions in their retelling of popular fairy tales. This exhibition, organized by Timothy O. Benson, curator of LACMA’s Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies, explores Germanic myths and legends in various embodiments in the modern era."

The gallery itself was tiny, but the pieces displayed were by far my favorite of what I had seen that day. I cannot express how frustrated I was upon discovering that no photography was allowed. To be honest it's not that I feel the need to take a photo of every single piece of art when visiting a museum, but for the sake of adequately covering the MMTKL I am taking more photos than usual. Na' mean?* I managed to gather some pictures from LACMA's website, which I've lovingly assembled for you:

clockwise: Hans Grohs, "Der Bluttrank (The taste of blood)," and "Kriemheld Tötet Hagen (Kriemheld kills Hagen)", Achim Freyer, Untitled (Loge) from Six Production Design Sketches for The Ring Cycle, "Walkurenritt (The ride of the Walkyries), and "Freia."

I was able to snap a few photos of myself tooling around the private collections, not all of which restrict camera use.

*juggalo for "do you comprehend?"