We went on a family adventure to The Broad a couple weekends ago. We started viewing all the art downstairs first, and we are glad we did that first because the art was more serious and political downstairs. Once upstairs, everything felt more lighthearted and surreal. As we walked around downstairs, some of the art freaked out the girls and it led to good discussions on how artist use their art to send a message and bring out feelings. They were like, “I can’t just make something because I like it?!” True and Brave are slowly going into the logic and analytical way of thinking, but they’re also very much in the give me all the facts stage. It was interesting to look at the art and have they try to decipher the messages and feelings the artist was trying to convey. Downstairs was filled with a lot of heaviness, and some parts we had them look down as they walked by, but it was good for them to experience art that really produced a strong reaction in them.

Once we went upstairs, everything was definitely more lighthearted and playful. Of course, the girls all loved Jeff Koons’ artwork, and Ben and I loved Jean-Michel Basquiat. The girls enjoyed looking at the art upstairs, and in their words, “There was nothing freaky.” We saved the Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room for last. All of us were excitedly anticipating our turn to go in. I went in first with the two middles, and Ben took the bookends. As small as the room was, it did kind of feel like we were in a galaxy far, far away. There’s something quite mesmerizing (and peaceful) about those hanging lights in a small room of mirrors.

In total, we spent a little over 3 hours at the museum, but we definitely could have spent more time. If you’re in LA, you should definitely stop by for a visit, especially since it’s free. Just be sure to book your tickets ahead of time; tickets are released online on the first of every month. We all loved it so much, so we will most certainly find time to go back again.

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