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Hello!
I first laid eyes on The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art about two years ago, when I was in South LA for a science fair with my kiddo. The building was still under construction, but the shape of it was there, along with some of the plants on the roof.
“What—” I cried while trying to make a robot out of a cardboard box, pipe cleaners, and a handful of washers, “—is THAT?!”
It looked literally out of this world. I loved it.
The Lucas Museum looking ethereally cool with downtown LA and the mountains in the background.
Courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo by Hufton+Crow.
Two or so years later, and the museum is about to open to the public. I had the chance to visit it this week, and I saw works by Banksy, Rockwell, Maurice Sendak, and many, many others.
Much of the press coverage will emphasize how the museum houses an eclectic mix of art and artists; there’s a Frida Kahlo right across from a Batman suit from The Dark Night, a Banksy just outside the children’s stories gallery, the latter of which holds work by Maurice Sendak, Beatrix Potter, and others. And, of course, there’s the Star Wars:
This AT-AT is having a bad day in the Star Wars gallery at the Lucas Museum.
Courtesy of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo by Vanessa Armstrong.
The juxtaposition is notable, but what I took away from it was how the museum conveys the craft that goes into the media and art we see every day. You see that from the pencil lines still visible in glued-together drafts of comics, and it’s stark with some of Rockwell’s works. Rockwell’s drawings, to start, are all significantly larger than the magazine pages where millions saw them. At the museum, you can see his initial charcoal sketch next to the final oil-on-canvas version. And, as in the case with his work Runaway, you can see another artist’s reframing of it:
Norman Rockwell, The Runaway, 1958. First version graphite on paper, second oil on canvas. Richard Williams, The Militarization of the Police Department—Deadly Force, 2014-15.
Courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo by Paul Salveson.
Narrative art, by definition, tells a story. That story may be fantasy or a myth, but there’s a core truth to it that creates a shared culture. Walking through the exhibits (or watching what’s playing in the two movie theaters or reading a book from the library), makes you reflect on this, even when (especially when) you let out an excited gasp when you see R2-D2 and C-3PO standing side by side.
I’ll have more to share about the museum later, but for now here’s a parting shot of the Banksy outside the children’s stories gallery, followed by a video I put together for the socials.
Banksy. Pair of ornamental garden lions with added parts, 2026.
Courtesy of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo by Vanessa Armstrong.
Below is the YouTube version, but you can also check it out on Instagram or TikTok, if either of those are you platform of choice.
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