Gene Autry Museum

     Greetings audience! It's Stephen Gaiber: The Autistic Traveler again. Today we're going to talk about a trip I made to the Autry Museum of the American West. I went on a Tuesday, and the second Tuesday of every month is free. There was recently a remodel, after which the center has expanded and become better than ever. This museum explores the world of the wild wild west and what makes it so special

    The first exhibit I'm going to talk about is Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Can't Explain. Bartow started his career in art after serving in Vietnam and recovering from PTSD and alcoholism. Kind of like American Sniper and Thank You For Your Service. I think it's amazing that people find passions during rough and stressful times. I've been through periods of stress and things that have gotten me through them are movies, trips and even work at times. Some of Bartow's works include large-scale paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. These types of art combine haunting combinations of animal and art. I encourage you to explore this unique artist's body of work, but come before January 6 or it will be gone.

    My favorite exhibit to check out was La Raza. This exhibit is very timely, especially in this time for immigrants in this country. This exhibit displays all the struggles of being an immigrant, particularly from Latin America and Mexico, and all the protesting they had to do for their rights. The bilingual newspaper La Raza gave a voice to the Chicano movement. It showed how they are stronger together and how important it is to fight as a team. An interesting fact is that The Race photographers are not only journalist but artists capturing the Chicano movement. These pictures are a powerful tool for political activism. I love this exhibit because of how it shows the history and fights of the Chicanos even today, and how all groups of people have had to fight for their rights and defeat oppression. See this exhibit ASAP, before it leaves on January 10.

     One of the best permanent exhibits is Art of the West. This exhibit includes works that display how life was portrayed in the west. It also includes old movie stars who portray the west such as John Wayne. This exhibit speaks of the west as both a home and a destination. It deals with three primary themes: Religion and Ritual, Land and Landscape, and Migration and Movement. I think this is an interesting exhibit because it shows how life was portrayed in the wild west and all the different parts of the west.

     Another permanent exhibit I liked was Western Frontiers: Stories of Fact and Fiction. This exhibit focuses on guns. I like seeing all different types of guns because I like action movies. This exhibit showcases the roles that guns have played in the west. Guns have been used for hunting and trapping, the conservation movement and popular culture in the west. This exhibit would be great for those gun lovers or even those who just like to look at guns.

     I think that if one is at Griffith Park, one should go visit the zoo and the Autry Museum. I am impressed with the expansion at Griffith Park and feel it made the museum more interesting. When I visited years ago, the museum was small to the point of feeling forgettable, but now it's easy to spend hours there. Please feel free to watch my video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odDWpgGHi_A.