Student Posts

The visit to the Rubin Museum was a Macaulay seminar trip that I’ll cherish. Located in the magnificent Chelsea neighborhood, the outside view of the museum was very unique. It didn’t look like a traditional museum, which basically is a big building with Greek or some form of traditional architecture. It’s different, modern exterior already made me realize that this was going to something unexpected. The inside was a whole different world. Our first was the gift shop. There was such mix of cultures in just the gift shop that I felt as if I was standing in some international airport. The gift shop actually reminded me of a gift shop I went to in the Delhi International Airport. I even found a book on Sikh art, which is so rare to find! Our museum guide was also very well versed in the subject and very passionate about it as well. Her passion made the tour much more lively and enjoyable. The spiral staircase was also a grand feature of the building. The staircase was left intact from the original Barneys building and it fits in with the museum perfectly. The idea behind the staircase, ascending up the Himalayas, just says how thought out and unique an attempt the Rubins have made to represent South Asia. My favorite part of the tour was the ‘om’ room. It was really peaceful to just sit down there and listen to the meditation. The part where we put our hands on the wall and listen to the chants was also a great feature. During an orientation dinner at Brooklyn College a neonatologist gave a presentation talking about the connection between meditation and recovery from surgery. He focused on the Rubin Museum and talked about how it shows the meditative culture of the Himalayan people. He even takes his medical students to the Rubin Museum because he himself is a volunteer there! Because of this prior history, it was even more satisfying to visit the museum. Overall, it was refreshing and assuring to see that such an unique culture from a different part of the world is preserved, respected and revered in this land.

Prior to entering the museum, I knew about three things about the exhibit. One, it was about sound. Two, it had something to do with Buddhism. Three, it was in some museum in the city that I had never heard of before. When exiting the museum, I knew, felt, and saw things I have never even thought about knowing or imagining.

My focus for this exhibit was on the juxtaposition between ancient and new and how this juxtaposition presented sound. The Rubin Museum is a beautiful, complex structure with technological advancements like speakers placed in strategic locations. The exhibit itself was composed of a labyrinth of soundproof walls and hidden speakers, providing the audience with a complete sound experience. Yet, the actual sound was something ancient and therefore, mysterious and captivating. Ancient Buddhist prayers were being projected to me in a room that looked almost futuristic in its design. The stark white walls contrasted deeply with the colorful intonations of the prayer, and that left me with this powerful yet serene feeling. Furthermore, I believe the only way the integrity of the Buddhist’s song and chants could be preserved is through the technology and architecture of the Rubin Museum. The soundproof walls and speakers allowed the sounds to consume all the space in the room and enter our minds.

This exhibit made me realize that sound is not something to be heard, but to be understood. I, as the Buddhists did, need to hear sound with my ears, mind, and heart. It is only then that I can say that I know what sound is.

The experience at the Rubin Museum was both enjoyable and unique. Walking in to the museum, I had never appreciated sound unless it was the pop music that drowned down other people’s conversations on the train ride to school. Starting from the first floor, right next to the source of all the sound,  I started to realize how calming sound actually was. Walking down the stairs from all the way at the top allowed me to fully experience distance from sound and its effects on the blissful feeling of just listening.

The Museum also contained many interesting artifacts. There were beautiful pictures and detailed sculptures and knives. Our tour guide was extremely kind and knowledgable. She even brought tiny artifacts and her iPad with her to give us more information. She definitely made the tour more exciting because she was super energetic and informative. The trip was one of my favorite and showed me the importance of sound.

Sound, in my mind, is flat. Sound is a means of communication, a method by which animals communicate with each other. Sound is a convenient way to convey information from one organism to another. Sound is vibrations; Sound is limitless. Before I visited the Rubin Museum, I did not know just how incredible sound is.

Sound can be felt; sound can be seen. Sound is versatile and can be transmitted for eternity. Entire cultures and religions are built upon the tenet of sound. The Buddhist religion conveys prayer in one syllable “om.”  Its adherents chant it and use the sound of “om” to connect with their deities. Sound is always around us; Sound is effervescent.

Spending a few hours at the Rubin Museum not only opened up my eyes to this phenomenon, but my ears as well. The historical artifacts and interactive exhibits made the museum fun and exciting. It was wonderful to see how much culture, feeling, history, and emotion can be expressed in one exhibit. After spending a few, enjoyable hours at the Rubin Museum, I now understand: Art is Sound and Sound is Art.