I’m flying through the Lucas Museum’s ground-level exhibit — “Heroes, Myths, The Sacred” — when I hear the statement that stops me dead in my tracks. “This just doesn’t feel like Lucas,” a disgruntled patron mutters to his party as they drift through the exhibit, eyeing classic paintings and ancient sculptures with a not-unhealthy level of boredom. The group drifts toward the exit before I can eavesdrop further, but I can deduce their next thoughts easily enough: “Where’s all the Star Wars stuff?”
If they continued into the upper levels of the Lucas Museum, their curiosity would have eventually (and generously) been rewarded. The Lucas Museum is home to Norman Rockwells and Frida Kahlos, but also to the Lucas Archives, a breathtaking collection of props, costumes, vehicles, and miniatures from George Lucas’ first six Star Wars films. In the gardens that snake behind and around this sprawling, spaceship-shaped building, statues of Princess Leia and Padmé Amidala watch over the premises. It’s exactly the kind of thing that the delegation of diehard fans will be expecting from the museum — but it’s not the only thing this museum has to offer. In fact, the Lucas Museum is so much bigger than the franchise that put the director on the map.
