Welcome to Part 3 of It’s Research, I Swear. Last week I touched on some of the adventures I had on my trip to London earlier this year. You can read about them here. This week I’m sticking a little closer to home…
As much fun as it was to travel to London, unfortunately, it is not a trip I can take on a regular basis. That has not stopped me from considering it whenever I get an email from the museums about a wonderful exhibit they have coming up. Let’s just say 2018 looks promissing for another research adventure. :)
Lucky for me where I live in Southern California the museums are plentiful and the exhibits they showcase are of a quality equal to those of the ones abroad. While it is not the same as minding the gap to get on the Tube, or walking in the footsteps of Jane Austen, local resources never leave me dissatisfied or wanting more. Well, they do, but not for lack of material. Just wanting more information!
You can learn more about the images in the following slide shows by hovering over the image until the description pops up.
3. Huntington Collection
One of my favorite places to visit and get ideas is the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino. Once the private residence, it is now a world-class facility which includes botanical gardens, art collections, and a research library housing rare books and folios. What used to be the main house of the Huntington family now houses traveling and temporary exhibits such as last year’s exhibit on the caricatures of Cruikshank, Rowlandson, and Hogarth (see below). Along with unique themed gardens (Chinese Garden, Australian, Garden, Shakespeare Garden, etc.), the Huntington hosts guest lecturers related to the Huntington Collections. They cover everything from history to books to art. There’s always something new to explore and learn about at the Huntington.
[slideshow_deploy id=’3689′]
2. LACMA
Los Angeles is a veritable treasure trove of museums. One of the more recognizable is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art or LACMA for short. 
Not only does it have world-class art and artifacts from around the world, but they offer lectures on a broad range of topics involving their collections. They recently had a wonderful temporary exhibit on the history of men’s fashion. Men’s fashions have gone through a tremendous change since the 1600s, though most museums (even those in London) tended to focus on women’s fashions for the time, I was extremely excited to see Reigning Men while it was here. Apparently, so was my Regency Miss…
Take a look at some of the items seen at LACMA on a couple of my recent trips.
[slideshow_deploy id=’3702′]
For a fun, not research related video on some contemporary art, visit here. I just couldn’t stop watching this!
1. FIDM
One of my absolute favorite places to visit is a hidden gem of Southern California: the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. What does a fashion design school have to do with research? For starters, they have a museum on their campus in Downtown L.A. that is free to the public. They rotate the exhibits so there is always something new to see and experience. Most of the historical fashions they have are part of the Helen Larson Collection (which is in jeopardy of being split up – oh no!) and other items on loan from various collections. Based on the rotation of exhibits, I usually find myself up there at least twice a year. This year the historical exhibit I saw was on the various fans (and gowns) of the 19th and 20th centuries. While touching is strictly forbidden, pictures are allowed.
[slideshow_deploy id=’3723′]
To see the exhibit on 18th-century men’s and women’s fashions, check out my Pinterest board.
Well, that’s it. My Top Ten favorite research adventures. It may not be skydiving or windsurfing, but whatever gets me out of the house and out from behind my computer is an adventure in itself. Next weekend I’ll be heading off on another research adventure, but I can’t say anything else. You’ll have to tune in on November 1st to find out all about it!
Happy Reading, Friends!
8 comments