June Wayne at LACMA

Looking at LACMA from Wilshire Blvd on Sunday, 29 January 2017

Intro

September 8th being the second Tuesday of the month might mean a visit to LACMA, the internationally renowned art museum whose name is an everyday noun in this town. But I'd already seen the current exhibitions and my two tries at viewing some of the Geffen Gallery that opened last spring had overwhelmed me.

Therefore? Because there were several new things to see at the Getty, that's where I headed. As usual, when my Metro bus got close to Wilshire and Westwood where I'd catch one to Brentwood and beyond (Van Nuys, Sylmar, generic San Fernando Valley), I went to the Getty website to book my arrival time. I always wait because by then I know my ETA within 20 minutes or so. But the Getty was closed for the day! My best guess is because Mondays usually are dark, this week they took Tuesday for maintenance and cleaning because Monday was Labor Day and a federal holiday. I'm excited about next week at the Getty, so stay tuned to this blog.

Therefore? I turned around and headed back to LACMA with a plan to find a wall of ocean-themed lithographs I'd loved my last time at the Geffen Galleries and that for an unknown reason I hadn't even written down the name of the artist. Strange, because I'd made a mental note of their location relative to the elevator and then I left for the day.

After getting off the eastbound Metro bus I booked my LACMA visit, crossed the street to check in, and headed upstairs in the new gallery. it took a while, but I found the ocean art.


June Wayne

What a discovery! June Wayne (1918-2011) is the artist's name, and she achieved near-legendary status in LA. She founded Tamarind Workshop, the first ever for fine art lithography; Citrus Editions, Gemini G.E.I., and Self Help Graphics followed in Tamarind's wake. Tamarind now belongs to the University of New Mexico with the tagline Where lithography lives. You can see some of June's art on Tamarind, and here's her website. You can learn more at her extensive wikipedia and she has an Instagram.

Demented Tidal Wave II, 1972
Lithograph printed by William Law III

Seventh Wave II, 1971
Lithograph printed by David Trowbridge

Tidal Wave, 1974
Lithograph printed by Edward Hamilton

Tidal Wave, 1972
Lithograph printed by William Law III

Black Tidal Wave, 1973
Lithograph printed by John Maggio

White Tidal Wave II, 1972
Lithograph printed by William Law III


Outro

Do you realize (of course you do) we don't try to sample every dish and flavor on any restaurant menu because our appetite and our budgets make it impossible? Whether it's a rock concert or a symphonic feast, linear time limits how much music we take in at once. So why did I imagine needing to sprint through the Geffen Galleries and see almost everything, when I could pick and choose a certain section or era or style or artist?