I visited the unusual exhibit “Accidentally Wes Anderson” (AWA) at the Santa Monica Art Museum on the Promenade, on view until June 20.
MLC Building. 1936. Sydney, Australia
The photographs on display were taken by people all over the world, after creators, Wally and Amanda Koval, started an Instagram account in 2017 soliciting contributions of images inspired by Wes Anderson’s unique aesthetic sensibility in movies like The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The French Dispatch (2021), and others.
Wes Anderson in Asteroid City (c) Focus Features
As a film critic, I appreciate Wes Anderson’s work, and wrote an article about his latest movie, Asteroid City, for the Italian film monthly Best Movie.
As a photographer and world traveler, I loved the photographs and learnt fascinating stories about far away places, from the lengthy descriptions.
I admired the streamlined Art Deco design of the 1936 Mutual Life & Citizens Building in Sydney, Australia.
Surakarta Hadiningrat Royal Palace. 1744. Central Java
Going back three centuries to 1744, see the guards at the doors of Surakarta Royal Palace in Central Java.
Ishtar Gate. 575, Hillah, Babil, Iraq
Further back to 575, a replica of the Ishtar Gate to ancient Babylon was rebuilt in Iraq, while the reconstruction from archival materials excavated in 1914 is at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Gran Teatro Falla. 1905. Cadiz, Spain
Look at more doors to the 1906 Gran Teatro Falla in Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain, in the Neo-Mudéjar style.
Gran Teatro de Manzanares. 1911. Spain
The façade of the 1911 Gran Teatro de Manzanares in Spain, rebuilt in 1995.
Hotel Sacher. 1781. Vienna, Austria
The elegant dining room of the 1876 Sacher Hotel in Vienna, built by Eduard, son of Franz Sacher, who concocted the chocolate dessert called Sacher torte, a favorite of Italian director Nanni Moretti.
Hotel Opera. 1890. Prague, Czech Republic
Hotel Opera, Prague, built in 1890 in Bohemian Neo-Renaissance style.
Hotel Moskva. 1908. Belgrade, Serbia
Hotel Moscow, Belgrade, Serbia, built tin 1908 as Palace Rossiya.
Hotel Belvedere. 1783. Furka Pass, Switzerland
Hotel Belvedere, 1783 in Switzerland was chosen for the book cover of Accidentally Wes Anderson.
Amalienbad. 1926. Vienna, Austria
Amalienbad 1926, in Vienna, Austria, was named after Amalie Pölzer, the first woman elected to the municipal council of Vienna for the Social Democrats party, who advocated for public baths to be built to encourage personal hygiene and physical fitness at a time when few Viennese residents had their own bathrooms.
Warrender Baths. 1887. Edinburgh, Scotland
A similar goal was behind the establishment of the Warrender Baths in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1887, except this one was a private club for the upper class.
Klein Lighthouse. 1879. Willemstad, Curaçao
Lighthouses, described as “mystical beacons that have been saving sailors and enticing explorers for centuries,” reminded me of the movie written and directed by Derek Cianfrance The Light Between the Oceans (2016) with Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.
Skarfagardur Lighthouse. Reykjavik, Iceland
Visitors are encouraged to take photos of this exhibition and post them on Instagram. As I photojournalist, I chose to write this article. Another one will follow, about Los Angeles landmarks.