ART SMART\Once you've set foot inside, museums strive to guide you through\the corridors of culture.

Byline: Lori Moody Daily News Staff Writer dlim

When you want culture with a capital C, you go to an art museum. Right?

And once you step beyond those lofty art museum doors to join the company of priceless Rembrandts, Picassos and van Goghs, there are a variety of ways to enjoy the visit.

"Not everyone wants an in-depth experience," said Diane Brigham, head of education for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu. "Some are really there for the rejuvenating atmosphere that art can provide."

There is no right or wrong way to visit a museum, said David Finn, author of "How to Visit a Museum" (Harry N. Abrams, 1985).

"People should not feel any obligation they're supposed to do anything in particular," Finn said.

"You could be there for 10 minutes or three hours, it doesn't matter. But if you encounter one or two or three works of art (that move you), it's been worthwhile."

Most museums offer brochures and gallery guides to describe exhibits and highlight special events. Some people prefer tours, while others like to gallery hop unescorted and at their own pace.

After his first trip to the National Gallery of Art in London, Finn said he walked through in the opposite direction, gaining a new appreciation for certain galleries.

"We are all worried that people feel we are intimidating," said David Rodes, director of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts in Westwood Village.

Museums are responding by offering family programs, workshops, classes and art talks by curators, scholars and artists.

Some have written guides for children. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the Miracle Mile area provides family guides and an activity book, "Artists Make Puzzles," in English and Spanish. It contains photographs and activities related to works of art for children ages 7 to 10.

At the Getty, game boxes are popular with both adults and kids. One box, Puzzling Pots, contains reproductions of pottery shards that visitors try to match with an object on exhibit.

"Adults are more likely to be museumgoers when they came with their family," said Jane Burrell, LACMA's director of education.

Museums offer more than art these days. UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center has poetry readings and performance pieces on some Thursday nights. LACMA has year-round jazz concerts on Friday nights on the museum's plaza.

LACMA credits an increase in visitation - up 132,455 to 694,881 in 1995 - in part to some of those unconventional programs.

Rodes at the Grunwald Center recommends visiting museums with friends, so you can talk about the artwork.

Kim Kanatani, director of education for the Museum of Contemporary Art, suggested that some visitors need to slow down.

"Research has shown people may spend three seconds in front of a piece of art, including reading the labels," she said. "The viewing experience does take time. ... That is one of the best things about a museum. It does slow you down and allows you to contemplate something other than the humdrum, everyday, functional aspects of life."

Trying to see everything may be exhausting, she said.

"With contemporary art, there is not always a right or wrong answer. In many cases, the artist wants the viewer to complete the work. That's why many times paintings are open-ended in their interpretation," Kanatani said.

Finn offered other suggestions: When confronted with a well-known work that has been reproduced in a zillion ways - such as the "Mona Lisa" - concentrate on some of the details instead.

To read or not read the labels, that is the question. There is disagreement about whether they distract from the work.

"Your object is to enjoy this visit, so look for those works that appeal most to you now, and read their labels carefully," Finn said.

Many museums rent audiotapes for a self-guided tour accompanied by the voice of the exhibit curator and other scholars.

At the Museum of Contemporary Art - actually one museum with two buildings, one at downtown's California Plaza and the other, the Temporary Contemporary, on North Central Avenue - there are staff members who not only lead orientations thrice daily, but are on hand at other times on the gallery floor to talk about the artwork.

"Just having that resource is one of the more basic and valuable ways of educating the public, just making it accessible," said MOCA's Kanatani. "A lot of times, they don't know what to ask. We want to lower that threat level."

Dive into art at these venues

Here are some popular museums to try in the area:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. [phone].

J. Paul Getty Museum, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. For reservations, call [phone].

Museum of Contemporary Art at California Plaza, 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. [phone].

MOCA at the Temporary Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles. [phone].

UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, located on the upper level of the UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum Art and Cultural Center, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. [phone].

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Photo (1) Volunteer docent Ruth Sachs, far right, pauses at Canadian artist Dominique Blain's grouping of shrouded figures while leading a tour at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News (2--color) Alex Donis guides visitors through the MOCA at the Temporary Contemporary exhibit "1965-1975 Reconsidering the Object of Art." (3--color) Museum of Contemporary Art visitors pass through David Lamelas' multimedia "Filmscript (The Manipulation of Meaning)," part of the "Reconsidering the Object of Art" exhibit. (4--color) A group gathers in the Temporary Contemporary's orientation room before heading out on a tour. Myung J. Chun/Daily News (5--Cover--color) THE ART SEEN Museums are displaying new techniques to bring people in -- a visitor's guide Shaun Dyer / Special to the Daily News Box Dive into art at these venues (see text)