Artist Robert Irwin designed the Getty Center Central Garden in Los Angeles.
The Azalea Maze is a focal point, while curving swathes of corten steel function as the garden's contoured retaining walls. Seated on a bench nestled in a secluded niche, I could appreciate the rusty patina of the metal, a sharp contrast to the sensory delights of flowers and foliage.
Prominent fossilized remains are a tactile quality of The Getty Center's Roman classic travertine, which covers a staggering 1.2 million square feet of walls and pavement.
Unusual plant combinations reflect Irwin's statement:
"...the garden is like a painting, not so much concerned with species and origin as with color, texture and conditioned relations."
The garden layout echoes a natural ravine in the existing topography.
Photos © Alice Joyce
Zigzag walkways traverse the hillside's gentle descent. Reaching the plaza, water cascades over the stone wall, directing one's focus down toward the Central Garden's reflecting pool.
"Listen to the changing sound of the stream... boulders have been placed...to create a sound sculpture."
Barbara Hepworth sculpture below:
It's easy to spend a good part of a day at The Getty, taking in the exhibitions and outdoor sculpture gardens, enjoying a meal al fresco, not to mention, adding your own opinion to the ongoing dialogue about Robert Irwin's Central Garden.
