Its first main gallery, simply titled “Significant Movies and Moviemakers,” showcases six films and artists in vignette-like installations, not unlike the opening credits of a film. Though its subjects may change, one can see its narrative structure in place. Stories of Cinema is intended to be a dynamic exhibition which will evolve over time, with the intent that different figures and films will be featured down the line. “Our premise is that there are multiple histories of film, some of them only now coming to light and multiple ways of looking at them.” A 1939 Streamline Moderne former department store was rechristened the Saban Building and designed into exhibition space by the LA-based design firm WHY. “That’s ‘Stories,’ plural,” explains Jacqueline Stewart, chief artistic and programming officer of the Academy Museum. The core exhibition Stories of Cinema covers three floors, and attempts to tell a comprehensive, if convoluted, story of the history and creative process of movies. Of course I did eventually make my way into the main exhibition halls of the museum in the adjacent May Company building, a 1939 Streamline Moderne former department store rechristened the Saban Building and adapted into 50,000 feet of exhibition space by the LA-based design firm WHY. The 17-minute film was commissioned by the government of Ontario for Expo 67 to showcase daily life in the province and earned its place in film history with its innovative use of multi-dynamic image technique. It wasn’t Lawrence of Arabia, but senior director of film programming Bernardo Rondeau had programmed the documentary short “A Place to Stand,” a curiosity meant to show off the 70mm projection and immersive sound of the Geffen Theater as well as the depth of film history that will be on view at the Academy Museum. The 45,000-square-foot concrete and glass sphere, designed by Renzo Piano, encasing the David Geffen Theatre (photo by Iwan Baan) But on the day of the preview, it was just me and no more than a dozen other people catching the afternoon matinee. One would think it would be the ideal space for the Academy to host the Oscars if it had the capacity. The 1,000-seat David Geffen Theatre sits inside the architectural centerpiece of the Academy Museum, a 45,000-square-foot concrete and glass sphere that rises above Fairfax Avenue and has been referred to by locals as the “Death Star,” though architect Renzo Piano, in his opening remarks at the preview ceremony, would prefer you compare it to a “soap bubble” or a “dirigible.” The theater itself is luxe, filled with plush, red seats arranged arena-style. The David Geffen Theatre at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (photo by Iwan Baan) In the midst of a pandemic and in a time where over a century’s worth of movie history is accessible from one’s own home, it can sometimes feel like both audiences and studios alike have begun to devalue the theater experience. And in “Castle in the Sky” (1986), the first feature of Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, the floating island-city Laputa is essentially a giant tree.LOS ANGELES - Call me old-fashioned, but at the preview of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - slated to finally open on September 30 after years of funding-, construction-, and pandemic-related delays - I wanted to see what it was actually like to watch a movie at the museum dedicated to the art form. A lone tree stands tall beside the road that ultimately leads Chihiro and her parents into the spirit world in the Academy Award-winning “ Spirited Away” (2001). The deer-like forest spirit Shishigami’s small island in “ Princess Mononoke” (1997), in which the film’s hero, Ashitaka, is taken to be healed of a mortal gunshot wound, also features a stand-alone tree. In “Totoro,” the camphor tree is what initially draws the father to the family’s future house. Revisiting “ My Neighbor Totoro” led Niebel to notice the prevalence and the specific significance of stand-alone trees throughout Miyazaki’s works. Rather than re-create specific scenes from Miyazaki’s works, these three elements are interpretations “on what it means to go through his tunnel, what it means to look at his sky and what it means to explore his tree,” said Aryal. After listening to what was important for Niebel and Guzmán, Aryal came up with a floor plan that featured three design elements: the Tree Tunnel, the Mother Tree and the Sky View, an installation that also serves as an intermission for visitors as they look up toward painted clouds. Aryal described the Miyazaki exhibition as a “completely intertwined collaboration” between the in-house curatorial and design teams in which content and design were developed simultaneously.
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