LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Our son came over this morning (Sunday, 9-13-26). He and our dear daughter-in-law were in California last week, so we had a nice catch up today. 

They went to the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art located in Exposition Park in South Los Angeles, California. Their website can be found here. This museum was entirely self-funded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson. 

George Lucas went to the University of Southern California (he attended the School of Cinematic Arts), which is immediately adjacent to the museum. 

Below is a photo of son looking outside at the park below. You can actually see some Star Wars characters...

like Princess Leia confronting Jabba the Hut...

and Yoda who is overlooking a waterfall, not seen in frame.

I asked him if I could share a few photos they took and he happily agreed, so thank you son. It truly is hard to believe that this building took the place of an asphalt parking lot.

He gave us a show transferring photos from his phone to our TV, and it was fun looking at those and hearing about their experiences of not only sights but the people they met. We enjoy listening to them very much and will look forward to getting together with our daughter-in-law next and hearing hers also. Below is a view of the Los Angeles skyline from the museum.

It is a 5-story, 300,000 square foot structure and not entirely all about Star Wars. It is, in fact, "the world's first major institution dedicated exclusively to the history of story and evolution of visual storytelling."

The building looks like a spaceship, as I thought and so many, many others apparently. But son explained that the renowned Chinese architect, Ma Yansong's inspiration, came from cloud formations, light and the local tree canopy. 

I read later, when the general public and the media compared this futuristic structure to a Star Wars spaceship, Ma Yansong clarified that his design philosophy focuses on organic nature. He envisioned the building as a formless, shapeless cloud that floats or hovers over the city, to evoke a sense of mystery and journey (those words, as you might have guessed, are what I read online and found them interesting enough to share here.) This building, as you can see from the outside, contains no straight lines, echoing Ma Yansong's vision of a natural cloud-like aesthetic. I have always been interested in an architect's vision of his work, and it is enlightening to know this one.

 I don't know if I will ever get to see it myself, but I have loved traveling virtually, and our son gave us a great guided tour through his story-telling and photos.

There are many artists works on display, and the Star Wars in Motion exhibit only occupies about 7 percent of the total gallery space. This room is dedicated to the first six films, including Luke Skywalker's land speeder, pod racers, speeder bikes and Darth Vader replicas. 

As for the other artists featured here? 20-century American illustrators included who have their own galleries are Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Jessie Willcox Smith, Maxfield Parish, Thomas Hart Benton and N. C. Wyeth.

Then we have fine art, modern and contemporary artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Vincent van Gogh, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Robert Cosescott, Banksy, Judith F. Baca, JR, Ernie Barnes, Beatrix Potter and Takashi Murakami. 

Then there are Comic, Manga and Graphic Story Artists, Jack Kirby, George Herriman, R. Crumb (Robert Crumb), Winsor McCay, Alison Bechdel, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Charles Schulz and Moebius.

Next comes documentary photographers and filmmakers, Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, Robert Capa and George Méliès.

Our son and daughter-in-law had two days but frankly, I would need two weeks to see everything I'm sure!

At the time of writing (9-14-26), admission is $25 for adults but entry is free for children and teenagers under 18. It is highly recommended you get advanced ticket reservations which you can find at their official website for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art website, link in my second paragraph.

Above is the original Cowardly Lion costume (not the face) from the Wizard of Oz.

It rained on one of the days they were at the museum. Fortunately, they purchased a couple of umbrellas when they looked at the weather. Also, when they were inside, an emergency fire drill took place where everyone had to get out of the museum. They didn't mind standing out in the rain and it sounded like everyone took it in good part. No one was getting upset at getting wet, so I heard. In the above photo our dear daughter-in-law was looking very happy. Son was happy too because they were in the first line to get back inside and he was able to take photos without too many people around for some of his photos. They had a real good time in this place.

Thank you both for letting me share your photos today. You are the best!

And for a bit of fun I am sharing this photo when son was little. We were visiting my family in the UK and were in my sister's back yard having a party. It had been his birthday a few days earlier. When we arrived my sister invited a few people over, which included neighbors kids. Everyone gave him Star Wars figures. He loved them and was quite taken with the storm trooper, so for a bit of fun I made a very rudimentary mask out of white cardboard my sister had laying around, tied some string on it and he wore it all day. To him it was a work of art, lol! 

(above photo from pixabay.com)

Take good care of yourselves, thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is a great one.