After more than two decades of planning and years of building, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened to the general public Tuesday in Exposition Park. A vast campus that had been nearly empty for weeks of press previews filled to capacity with eager fans, including some who traveled across oceans to see what all the hype is about.
Actor D’Arcy Carden stopped by early, beating the cadre of guests crowding the main plaza beneath the now-famous oculus of the 300,000-square-foot Ma Yansong-designed building. A Stormtrooper drove by on a flatbed truck, shortly before R2-D2 greeted visitors in the courtyard, wearing an official staff badge. The line for a selfie with the droll droid stretched as far as the eye could see.
Museum leaders have long said that “Star Wars” artifacts account for about 7% of the 100,000 square feet of gallery space, but one worker quipped 90% of opening-day attendees likely had a vested interest in the franchise. Many visitors clearly knew and loved “Star Wars,” and Princess Leia buns and Yoda ears abounded. Two Padmé Amidalas ran into each other, and according to a restaurant worker, one brave soul showed up in “Star Trek” gear.
Still, the museum, as its famous co-founder George Lucas has repeatedly said, is about more than just one story, however beloved. That sentiment cropped up repeatedly in interviews, too: Early guests seemed to believe the museum’s brochure, which notes that the galleries are about the “narrative art” of illustrating stories.
Co-founders Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson gave remarks early Tuesday to the first 100 visitors, consisting of students from USC, Los Angeles Technology Center, Otis College of Art and Design and Los Angeles City College, who were all handed free tickets. “I’ve spent more than 50 years collecting the work of artists who don’t always get their due — illustrators, cartoonists, muralists, painters — because I believe their images are as vital as any other art form,” Lucas said. “They deserve to be in a museum.” “This is a museum of the ‘people’s art’ — the images are illustrations of the beliefs we live with every day,” said Hobson, “and for that reason, this art belongs to everyone.”
Later that day, The Times asked visitors to share their impressions of a museum that, until now, has lived largely in the imaginations of fans and in abundant social media posts online. The museum has drawn loads of applause but also plenty of criticism, mostly for its lack of context via wall text, and for displaying art that not everyone agrees should be elevated. Do the people love the “people’s art”?
Visitors burst through the doors Tuesday, spilling into the more than 30 galleries, pair of theatres, public park, library and the museum’s full-service restaurant, the Skywalker Grill. Keenan Wayne Jones Jr., a director in career services at Otis College of Art and Design, was among the earliest guests in the galleries Tuesday. He told LAist that “emotionally invoking” was the first thought that came to mind in the museum, and that he’s already planning the next trip back. “There are students all around right now, and they are enthralled. Just seeing their faces light up and seeing that artistic expression being evoked to them is a really cool part of my job,” he said. “Words can’t even encompass what it looks like; you have to see it in person.”
At a packed press event ahead of the opening, Hobson said the museum is our building — all the staff who work there, all the construction workers who built it and the entire community across the city. “It is our gift to you because it belongs to all of us,” she said. “And so we say welcome home.”
In the Norman Rockwell exhibition, L.A. artist Shiloh Williams said he was “incredibly impressed” by the breadth of the collection. “There’s also other artists’ work who were inspired by Norman Rockwell in here too, which I thought was really nice,” Williams said. “They have them right next to his stuff, so it’s kinda like you can see the inspiration through each generation and subsequent generation which … I would love to have in my own work.”
Film students from Lucas’ alma mater, USC, were also filtering the space, including Kc Donaldson-Werblin and Nathan Phillips. Donaldson-Werblin said it was cool to see the evolution of the concept art in the cinema exhibition, which includes Star Wars. “There’s stories in all this art, but there’s also a story in the process from concept to finalized thing,” Donaldson-Werblin said. Phillips said they were the first people out of the elevator, but the exhibitions still felt full. “There’s so much art here and so much to appreciate,” Phillips said. “I already know I’m gonna be back here a couple more times ’cause, like, there’s no way to intake all of this at one time.”
Ryan Linkof, senior curator and head of film programs, told LAist museums only make sense when people are in them. He described the opening as an exhilarating moment that’s been years in the making. “I think as an Angeleno … to see something of this scale and to see the amount of investment that was made in this city is just really, really special,” he said. “I feel like it’s deserved as well because Los Angeles is, in so many ways, a cultural capital, and this is the spiritual home for narrative art.”
It’s a big year for Exposition Park with the Lucas Museum’s grand opening and the California Science Center’s major expansion not far behind this fall. But why South L.A.? The site was selected in 2017 because of its location — there are hundreds of schools in the area and more than half a million people living within a three-mile radius of the park, according to museum officials. They said Exposition Park is also among the top tourist destinations in Southern California between its museums, the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, BMO Stadium and EXPO Center.
“It really is an asset for this community, but also for Los Angeles, and then really for the world,” Linkof said. “So to bring all these eyes on Expo Park in South L.A. is really part of the mission of the project in many ways.” But the Lucas Museum wasn’t originally destined for California — it was supposed to be built in Chicago. That was scrapped in 2015 due to a “disagreement” over the site, according to museum officials. A parks preservation group filed a lawsuit, which effectively pushed the project out of the Windy City, as reported by WTTW. However, Hobson said at a media preview earlier this month that they believe Exposition Park is where “we were always meant to be.”
