LA CIENEGA AREA

Richard Ross’ photographs inspire the kind of awe that comes when one’s eyes are initially opened to what a fantastically vast and mysterious place the world is. Ross shoots large color pictures of museum interiors and his attitude toward his subject is so loving and respectful that these temples of high thought come to seem like holy places of great adventure--which of course they are. Reflecting man at his best--as a thinking, compassionate creature with a reverence for life--museums have taken a bum rap in being saddled with the image of stuffy places suited only to the prematurely embalmed.

Ross travels the world in pursuit of his subject and along the way he stops to show us crowning achievements in taxidermy in dioramas at natural history museums in Paris and New York. All manner of bird and beast stuffed and preserved for our examination stare with accusatory glass eyes, surrounded by painted tableaux illustrating where these beasts who gave their lives for art once roamed. We move on to a massive Oriental fresco, then stop for a moment to study a tiny dinosaur skeleton in a bell jar.

Housing these objects are gorgeous rooms that are marvels of stained glass, soaring domed ceilings and exquisitely tiled floors, all seemingly lit by the soft golden light of late afternoon that streams in through window glass clouded with age. Sculptural relics from classical Rome abound in museums in Athens, Cairo and Delphi, and the museums themselves in these ancient cities seem to resonate with the magical power of objects that have survived countless dynasties.

Ross’ tour includes a peek at museum storage areas and there we find the centuries all jumbled together in a junk heap of history. A resting place for the residue of inquiries that have lost their urgency, these rooms are jammed with temporarily shelved treasures that will one day be dusted off and rediscovered. A mammoth stuffed horse stands at attention next to an ornate antique cabinet jammed with beautiful stones, on top of which marches a parade of stuffed birds. They all patiently wait their turn. In the meantime, this terrific show reminds us of the wonderful history we’ve fashioned for ourselves, and that a VCR may be well and good, but man has yet to devise a more pleasurable entertainment than thinking. (Simard/Halm, 8006 Melrose Ave., to Feb 22.)