Describe your experience of the Metropolitan Museum. What stood out for you? What specific area did you visit? Post your notes on the painting or object that captured your attention. Upload a photo if possible.
Add User
If you want to add yourself as a user, please log in, using your existing Macaulay Eportfolio account.
The specific area that I visited was the Japanese art exhibit, A Sensitivity to the Seasons: Summer and Autumn in Japanese Art. The piece that struck me the most was Morning Glories by Suzuki Kiitsu. It is ink, color, and gold on glit paper. The contrast between the colors and actual gold made this piece the most vivid work of art in the exhibit. The artist intended to use gold to eliminate any background so that the morning glories would be the focus. The entire exhibit was about summer and autumn so most of the pieces were about flowers and nature. This focus on nature was visible in the other exhibits too. There were multiple Chinese scrolls like Rivers and Mountains Without End that focused on mountains and changing of the seasons. Even in the European art section there were lilies and subjects running through forests. It was easy to see within the art today how some themes are universal and apply to every culture, like appreciating the nature that makes life possible.
I really like Japanese people.
haha Jordan, you’re too funny!
And I actually walked past all the scrolls that you’re talking about Romi, and I loved them. I remember telling Daisy that they were absolutely beautiful and I thought they were the coolest things ever!
I choose to explore the musical instruments section of the museum because I enjoy the idea that they can be practical as well as aesthetic. At the back corner of the exhibit, I came upon this fascinating kettledrum that was considered like a African sculpture. The kettledrum was lifted up on both sides by female figurines who were in a squat position and one of them was nursing a child and the other one was writing a book. Both of those figurines had the characteristics of the African sculptures we saw in the African Art exhibit. The females showed signs of fertility in the way their “chest area” was emphasized as well as by the fact that one was nursing a child. The interesting part is that kettledrum, a symbol of power and respect due to the sound and shape of the instrument, represented the female figurines which just shows the appreciation of female leaders in African tribes as well as the awareness that they give life to a clan. While I was looking at the details of the kettledrum, I noticed a lot of pattern of colours as well as the symmetry of the drum itself. The colours were similar in the figurines as well as the bottom half of the drum and they reminded me of the patterns of vibrant colours in the photographs of African leaders in the African Art exhibit. The appearance of the drum was simple but had it deeper cultural connection with the history of the tribes and the role of female members. As I circled into another part of the exhibit, I noticed more and more human faces and shapes who were incorporated into instruments but for the most part those instruments were larger hence more dramatic than compared to the sculptures under the portable kettledrum.
In terms of what stood out, I really enjoyed the American Wing on the Second floor. There was tableware on display that incorporated iconic American symbols such as the bald eagle on its side or top. Moreover, the artistic pieces were decorated with animals that adorned the handles, spouts, lids and other areas. The iridescence feature in some vases was great to look at especially given the sunlight coming in from the top and I read a description about how artists were playing with the phenomena by incorporating it into their works of art. On another note, I learned that a statue of nude Diana, holding a bow and arrow, that was on display in the middle of the floor near the cafeteria can be also seen on the very top of a building in Manhattan. It was a great experience overall and looking forward to the future ones.
I love European Paintings, particularly oil on canvas, which is why I decided to go into the 19th century European Art section. I sat down in front of Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lillies’ (1919) and was taken to different places. I felt like I was 9 years old in Albania again, running around barefoot with my cousins in the dirt, orange and red in the setting sun, like the water in Monet’s pond. I was looking into the same pond I looked into countless times in that same village, the same pond we all took turns trying to jump across, most of us turning up muddied to our knees. I felt nostalgia.
But I also remembered being on a boat in Central Park with my boyfriend. It felt like we had pulled a little too close to shore, under a weeping willow. That day was sunny too, and the purple in the water represented that, pink clouds and all. The red in the lilies made me think of love, specifically for him and for that day.
Monet is my favorite painter. The lili pads are very powerful for me to. So impressionistic. So beautiful. I wish I perceived the world as Monet did.
Yeah, Monet is one of my favorites, too. Have you ever been to the gallery at MOMA that has huge Monet’s Water Lilies paintings? They are the best.
I’ve been there, yes! It’s like living in the eyes of Monet himself. You should definitely see that Jordan.
The piece I chose to write about is “Untitled,” by Robert Gober (1985). At first glance, it is a very simple sketch if a Y shaped three-dimensional installation of sinks. It is exactly that: a simple sketch of what I thought was Gober’s own invention, due to the odd positioning. Its simplicity is what caught my attention, as well as the attention of several other visitors. At second glance, (and the several dozen glances after that), it is still a simple sketch.
Pieces like these; the simple ones, is one of the things that fascinate me about art. I feel that understanding a person’s intentions is important, and simplicity is a barrier that needs to be crossed before you can truly consider yourself to be a lover of the arts.
Splashes of paint on a canvas, simple childlike sketches – the talent might not be exceptional, but the meaning behind it usually is. This one was.
Unless you have a fair knowledge of 1985, I would think that it would be difficult to pinpoint what Gober intended to convey through his art. According to the plaque next to the piece, the sinks were interpreted to be a representing America’s unwillingness to face the realities of the newly discovered AIDS disease. The function of a sink is to clean away dirt as well as other “diseases,” but since their position is unstable, it cannot work/clean, therefore representing the lack of AIDS awareness.
It was an interesting piece. I also enjoyed the rooms devoted to Roman Art- it had such a Darcy/Pemberley feel, as well as my favorite section: the stained glass exhibits near the American Wing. They were lovely.
During our hour alone, I found myself wandering through the modern art section, which surprised me because usually I am not much of a fan of this style. However, I really enjoyed the artwork in this section, particularly a work of art by Clinton de Menezes entitled, “Procession.” From far away, it looks like a wall with little plastic things sticking out of it. However, when you get closer, you realize that these are not just things, but people. Tiny plastic people.
There were no other objects besides people- just a white wall that was lightly splattered with something brown. It was like a birds eye view turned vertically on a wall. My mind filled in the spaces between the people and I imagined them being in a city. There were some people talking in tight clusters, other people walking in groups but not associating themselves with each other, and others all alone in a vast white space. When I looked close enough, I could see that each plastic person was a little different. Some has on colorful outfits, some were black, white, or this off-white beige color. It was interesting to me that not all of them were painted perfectly- some were just nondescript beige people. I thought this could possibly be a representation of people’s personalities- how some people stand out while others fade away into a crowd.
I spent a long time trying to figure out the pattern of the people walking. It seemed as though there would be a bunch of people walking along to a certain destination, then a large cluster at the destination.
I just thought this work of art was so unique. The fact that it had no other elements besides people made me really think about human behavior- how we spend time interacting with one group of people and then we spend time around others but not associating with them. Then sometimes, we find ourselves all alone, in an abyss of white space.
I was initially going to focuse my blog entry on the Western paintings section because it was one of my favorite parts of the Met the last time I visited it. I admire the artists’ perspectives of the world. What they see is so jarringly different from what most people see, yet we are able to understand and appreciate the beauty the artist is trying to communicate with us. Another aspect that always takes my breath away is their ability to see the bigger picture. They must have been up close to the canvas while they were painting. The individual strokes themselves seem so insanely irrelevant to anything that resembles in the real world. Nevertheless, when you take a step back, it becomes an essential, a natural part of a shade, accent, texture, and overall atmosphere. For instance, the brush strokes in Van Gogh’s Cypresses is very psychedelic. They frankly are a bunch of crazy whirls of thick paints in circular motions. It brings out the vigor of the nature visually and physically. On the other hand, the brush strokes in Irises by Van Gogh are much more restrained, portraying the serenity of Irises. The paint is relatively equally spread out on the canvas, and the texture is in rectangular shape (which makes me wonder if the Van Gogh used palette knife instead of brush). More interesting fact is that the Met juxtaposed these two pieces so that you spot the contrasts easily. Going back to my point, one cannot possibly imagine these seemingly chaotic brush (or knife) strokes transform into beautiful flowers and sceneries if you take just a couple steps back. How do artists see that? How? How? How? They must have special set of eyeballs or neuronal abnormality or something.
I thought I was done with my Met lounging. I swear I was on my way up to the Roof well in advance, but the exhibition “Master Painters of India” was on the way. And, it seemed like a small exhibition, so I entered the exhibition room. There were bunch of magnifying glasses at the entrance. I thought they were for grandmas and grandpas, but I immediately regretted not grabbing one. The paintings were about the size of a postcard. However, the details were so intricate: they depicted veins of leaves that were smaller than my pinky nail! What stunned me the most was that the painting of Hindu gods was almost identical to traditional Korean Buddhist paintings: the use of bright colors, the vigorous countenances of the deities, and even the bulky huge faces of the deities. It is not easy to picture the similarities between Far East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It should be pretty obvious just by observing the differences of our facial features (that was a half-joke-half-I-actually-mean-it). Yet, one can find striking resemblances of the cultures not only in arts but also in philosophy. Yes, Buddhism derived from Hinduism. Perhaps that is why the Buddhist paintings I saw years and years ago in Korea were displayed in this room of Indian paintings in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (isn’t life so interesting). Nevertheless, it is the shared view of arts, philosophy that lead us to the linkage between the cultures of Korea and India.
P.S.: The Met is opening a new permanent gallery of Islamic art in November 1 🙂
It sounds like the Indian Painter’s exhibit was awesome, I wish I saw it. I like how you found a connection between the cultures of India and Korea, and how their arts have similar characteristics. In a way, we are all related and every culture has influence on another. Making these connections make you believe that there is only one human race.
Tim Migliore
There was so much at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts that it is hard to wrap ones mind around it. The only other place I can think of that comes close to the Met is the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, where it has all the sections offered at the Met similar there. I was just overwhelmed and glad there was an assignment to just pause in one location and ponder that thing or else everything would have been like a crazy blur of amazing attractions.
Seeing all the attractions, I always wondered how other nations respond: there artifacts were pillaged and brought back to foreign lands. Egypt, Greece etc: their artifacts are scattered around the world in museums and such.
Places that I visited was: the South American art, European Palace Rooms, Armor, and Egyptian section. The part that I spent time on was the Egyptian temple: it was intact and it seems like a scene from Egypt itself. The temple still had the hieroglyphics on it. So much has been taught at schools but seeing an Egyptian temple with my own eyes is a humbling experience. Just to think that thousands upon thousands years ago an ancient race assembled this temple! That they carved in these beautiful hieroglyphics. It also amazed me that there was still color on some of the wall arts. It shows how good their quality paint was if it has survived for over 2000 years. Guess they were determined to keep a lasting impression on the world thinking their nation was going to last forever. All in all I enjoyed the humbling experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I am fascinated by ancient Egyptian art and, after reading what Tim said, I wish I had visited that section as well. It is incredible that such massive pyramids and intricate temples were built thousands of years ago and that they are still in such good condition. It so cool that they actually have an Egyptian temple at the MET. How this architecture was built with such perfection in a time where there were only the most rudimentary tools and technology is still a mystery- even our powerful machines and technology would have a difficult job doing what the Egyptians did. There is so much meaning to the temples and the hieroglyphics and it is amazing to me how Egyptians designed them with such care. Just like the African and Japanese exhibits we visited, the Egyptians have a such a different culture that, as Tim says, is truly humbling.
After years of going to the MET, you’d think I would be tired of going. That is not the case. This time I was able to merely peruse through the artwork. I could wander. I could roam. I could find new things I probably would never notice in my mad attempt to find Edgar Degas, Leonardo da Vinci, Edward Hopper, Chuck Close, and Jackson Pollack for a museum report. I could choose my destination.
Walking toward the photography section of the MET, the current exhibition “Infinite Jest” caught my eye. Usually artwork pertaining to comedy and political satire stayed outside of the Metropolitan doors, but some reason there was an entire exhibition dedicated to it. Infinite Jest presents caricatures from the Italian Renaissance to the present. Caricatures are drawings that exaggerate and distort the usual view of something or someone. In the present day, many caricatures are used for political satire against certain politicians.
The exhibition began with artwork dating back to the Italian Renaissance. Starting with Leonardo da Vinci’s “Head of Man in Profile Facing to the Left”, the exhibition pulls artwork from every different century. Leonardo da Vinci, mostly known for his work with realism, is an odd addition to this exhibition. Although some of his work can be considered to have exaggerated features, viewers can never really know if his first intention was exactly that. However, the curator of the exhibition thoroughly tries to influence the viewer to believe that in fact the work is a caricature. Although much of the artwork shown from the Renaissance can be considered to be caricatures, there is some doubt that most of it was intended for humor. However, the collection is very extensive and most of it contains real caricatures dating back to the 1600’s.
The exhibition was split into different categories: People as animals, People as Objects, and People as Food. But the one, which stood out the most, was Pieter van der Heyden’s pair of etchings, “The Thin Kitchen” and “The Fat Kitchen”. The two etchings play off one another and comment on human’s overindulgent tendencies.
Overall, the exhibition was very humorous and I loved it. Every few seconds you would hear a couple of people snicker and laugh. Humor has never been a large part in the art world, but this exhibition showed it has potential to do so.
I actually passed by this section, too and thought it was interesting and ironic how some pieces were even poking fun as to how whether art itself was as important as artists claim it to be – and to find this at the Met of all places!
After you told us about this I really wanted to go see it. It sounds really interesting!
That was a great exhibit. It was very interesting how they started making political caricatures by making pictures of witches, goblins, and hideous monsters. Then, it slowly started to resemble people who were drawn in a funny manner. Thought that this was really cool. I would definitely have listened to the tour guide, who talked about how they used to be legal at times, and then banned, and how the legalization/banning changed careers of famous artists. Would give 5 stars for caricatures.
Having not been to the Metropolitan Museum since middle school, I was really excited to go. All I remember from the last time I went was feeling overwhelmed by how many pieces of art were in there and separating from my classmates and getting lost. This time, I went in with a goal- to not get lost and actually learn something from this art.
My favorite work of art that we saw as a class was definitely the zen garden. It was amazing how you walk from one room with all these chinese artifacts, to peaceful, quiet garden in the middle of the museum. I thought about how your sight can drastically alter your mood how you feel. Plus, it was really nicely set up.
When we went our separate ways, I decided to go to the musical instruments exhibit. I love to play the guitar, so I thought this would interest me. The instruments they had there were all beautiful works of art from early times. They had the roots of what all modern day instruments emerged from. There was one particular instrument that stood out though. I saw it at the way end of the room, with its gold shining bright from the light above it. It was a beautiful Roman harpsichord, designed by Michele Todini in the 1670s. I was amazed by the detail in the engravings on it. There were men with dragon tails swimming in water and supporting the instrument. On the harpsichord itself there was a depiction of a war that took place. There was also a baby riding a clam shell that was supported by two fish. That really puzzled me. I began thinking, how long did it take the artist to make this? Is it just a work of art or also a functional instrument. After looking into it, I found out that besides being an artistic masterpiece, it was functional and it’s design later led to the invention of the piano. That gave me even more respect for the art.
When I was in the musical instrument exhibit, I too noticed the golden harpsichord at the end of the room. At first, I was walking around noticing the wind instruments on display and I also saw this harp with a boy figurine at its head. All of a sudden, the light streamed at the right angle and the decorative instrument caught my attention. I definitely enjoyed the way the sculptures hugged at the harpsichord and the expression of each of them. It was very dramatic and reminded me of Roman and Greek influences with its mythological feature. To answer to your question about how long it took, I would say a whole long time but it also took a whole lot of effort to be able to distinctively carve out the expressions as well the little designs around the harpsichord. The fact that it depicts war is odd to me because music should be a gentle art but I believe you can be play a “violent” piece of music that is overflowing with passion. Also in my belief, I would regard it as a work of art just because it depicts a series of sculptures that tell a dramatic story and it also appears too “breathtaking” to just simply treat it as a musical instrument.
I think you both brought out great points on the artwork in the instrument. You know how sometimes people have stickers on their guitars or different colors and stuff like that? I kind of associate that with the art work on the harpsichord, I think its really interesting how centuries later we’re still making our instruments unique and our own.
Of all the exhibits I’ve been to in the Met, musical instruments is my favorite because a lot of times we just identify music as art but we never really think of the instruments themselves as art. Another reason I love this exhibit is because they have ancient instruments and its interesting to see how the instruments have been tweaked and improved on over time.
I visited the armor exhibit. It was interesting to see the suits of armor from different cultures and civilizations throughout history. They all had one common characteristic. On their own, they looked like pieces of art, not tools of war. The two pieces of armor that fascinated me the most were the suits (albeit incomplete) of Emperor Ferdinand I and King Henry the Eighth. I examined both of these pieces with Jordan and I told him that I doubted if either of these suits had ever seen combat. Even though they were hundreds of years old, they showed no marks of wear and tear or blunt force trauma. Moreover, they were more decorative than the more ordinary, infantry suits. For example, Ferdinand’s suit had an intricate depiction of Madonna and son on the breast plate. It was interesting to see a religious portrait on the armor of someone going into battle. Also, his suit had a peculiar and unique feature. All I will say is that his private spot was in the upright position. This could possibly distinguish him from the other warriors or act as an intimidation tool against his opponents in battle. I found it amusing that King Henry the Eighth’s suit had a wide midsection because he was a hefty man. Normally someone in that state would have never seen battle, further proving my point that these suits served as works of art rather than tools of war. Also, I had trouble finding the ancient Greek section, the one I really wanted to go to, but from what I saw, the scale, detail, and age of some of the pieces are absolutely stunning. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the MET.
Tim M.
Coincidentally I had also visited the armor section in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. I never thought of the armor as art. Now that I do think about it, none of them seemed to be damaged. However they could have been restored? Maybe they were built later times. But I agree that these suits of armor never had seen combat. What I was most astonished by was the guns on display in the armor section. What this section made me think of was the actions that humans take to kill each other off and defenses against that. So much armor, weapons that were created to take the lives of other, just astounded me.
I the term of art maybe the armor is an expression. It certainly represents the times, where people fought with armor, and what was socially acceptable. All in all this was one of my favorite sections of the museum.
I guess you are right. The armors in the museum probably never saw the terror (or excitement for some) of war. That’s interesting. I never thought of that. Maybe they were left-overs from overproduction of armors. Maybe they were created for decorative purposes. I’m just throwing in random speculations. That brings another question. What about all those Asian chinas displayed in the museum? The hand-made ones, especially if crafted in the good-old-day method (please excuse my lack of knowledge in pottery terminology) are vulnerable to colors, for example food spices. Some of them must have been used for dining purposes, but they have no food stains on them. Is it the expertise of artifacts restoration crew that preserved the armors and chinas to near perfection or were they always kept in flawless conditions ever since their creations? If former, wow is all I have to say.
I really wish I had seen this but I ran out of time. From what I read, there were some awesome armors in the place. Did you observe the evolution of armors from the ancient Greek times to the late European and Arabic Armors? Leather armors, chain mail, plate mail, samurai armors, and all of the varieties, I believe, will have differences over the span of time covered by the exhibit. Were there any weapons displayed?
I chose to stare at the sculpture “Struggle of the Two Natures in Man,” by Alfred Conrning Clark. From a distance, the piece looks like two, giant men with Marfan’s syndrome wrestling naked on the ground. However, as you look closer, you see that sections of the men’s bodies overlap, as if the sculpture is actually of only one man. Again, looking closer, you see that one of the men, lying horizontally on the ground, has a freaky little gremlin creature resting on his arm. This, along with considering the title, led me to think that this piece was symbolic of the internal struggle humans face to balance the good and evil within; the upright man representing good and the man with the demonic Furby on his arm representing evil. It is a timeless concept that most every artists attempt to express. Something that really struck me, though, was that the sculptor didn’t view these conflicting natures as totally separate. Instead, he saw them as connected, perpetually struggling to rid itself of the other. All in all, I thought this was a very unique and powerful way to illustrate the intended message, though, I would have preferred it if the artist had used large, beautiful women.
Jordan’s choice reminds me of the Asian concept of ying and yang. His view that the author portrayed evil and good as not being separate from each other is similar to how seemingly contrary forces (ying yang) are interconnected and dependent on each other. It’s an idea that makes us human; we have the capability to do good. We also have the capacity to do evil. I wish I could have seen this sculpture if only to appreciate its beauty; in fact if it’s in the permanent parts of the museum I’ll be sure to visit it.
I spent most of my time in the area of Japanese art exhibit. The colors used in Japanese arts were so bright and vivid, and lines were very delicate. What captured my attention among all paintings was a picture named “The Persimmon Tree”. A persimmon tree with some persimmon on a branch was painted on a wide fabric or fabric-like paper. When I first saw this painting, an image of the persimmon tree reminded me of a lonely autumn when trees lost their leaves and fruits and became very weak and thin. The color of the fabric was light ivory, which reminded me of gloomy cloudy sky. The painter left a large space next to the tree, which magnified loneliness of the tree. Also, dim light created a perfect setting to spotlight the ambience.
This thin and ugly tree made me to imagine the time when it had a lot of appetizing fruit and green leaves under a perfectly blue sky. The tree seemed to be telling me that it did have a time to flourish, to enjoy its youth and abundance. In my imagination, it did not seem as helpless and lonely as it was in the picture. But now, in the picture, the tree spent this fall by losing its fruits and leaves, and was facing upcoming cold and devastating winter.
What was interesting, however, was that all persimmon fruits, only four in total, though, hanging from very thin branches still looked very good. While leaves dried and branches were so thin, the fruits looked still delicious. I wonder why the painter drew the fruits to look so nice, in contrast to the weak tree with thin branches and few dried leaves.
This painting “The Persimmon Tree” gave me a lot of inspirations. It was good to stand at a painting and imagine as the painting told me.
Dear haying,
I also visited the japanese art exhibit, and loved the vivid colors.
You noticed how delicate the artwork was. This made me wonder how the artists could create such images by hand with ink which is so erratic. It must have been painstaking work to create these images that are so delicate.
Also, the way that the ripe fruits hang from a decaying tree, brings the image of the future to mind. Even though this tree might die in the winter, these beautiful fruits will make even more persimmon trees and you can have all those persimmons you imagined.
No! Sorry i spelled your name wrong.
I also visited the Japanese arts and enjoyed the exhibition very much. The coloring and style were easy and evoking to the eyes- both homely and exotic at the same time! What really intrigued me was the accuracy of the paintings. The brush strokes were just right in their property and well weighted to have a collective balance with each other. It would be great to paint with these qualities!
I spent my hour alone in the European Paintings section. Most of the works were depictions of young lovers or heroic figures. The one thing I really admired in this section was how lifelike the flesh in the paintings looked; all the subjects had a depth to them. I admire the skill and talent these artists had and looking at their beautiful work made me happy. There were 2 paintings I found especially intriguing. One was “Joan of Arc” by Jules Bastien-Lepage, the other “Graziella” by Jules Joseph Lefabvre.
In “Joan of Arc” a very simple peasant looking girl is reaching her hands through some leaves of a nearby tree and staring heavenwards. A procession of opaque saints and angels are approaching her from behind, there is a little shabby house in the background along with trees and plants. I really liked this painting because I liked the depiction of the heroine Joan of Arc who we usually see as bold, courageous, and probably crazy. In this painting she looks so strong even though her skin and eyes are very soft and feminine but her body is in a very relaxed pose. The expression on her face is just great, she’s supposedly interacting with heavenly creatures yet she doesn’t look frightened, confused, or extremely joyful. I don’t know how to describe her emotions, but I think the artist does a great job of explaining it on the canvas. Perhaps she’s in a trance but her eyes look very much alive.
The other painting I chose is based on a book called “The Fisherman’s Daughter” by Alphonse de Lamartine. At first I was attracted to the colors in the painting. She’s wearing a blue dress with a red hem and white sleeves. There are also red flowers in her hair and red petals on the floor. She’s sitting on a really big rock with nothing else around her except for a large body of water and there are mountains in the distance. The time is probably around sunset and shes holding something, I can’t tell what, in her hand. Her body is facing away from the water, her toes are curled, her feet are crossed, her hands are resting on a piece of net on the rock but her face is turned towards the mountains. The thing that really makes this a beautiful painting is the way wisps of her dark black hair is blown gently by the wind. Even though everything in my description seems pleasant there is still a lot of depth to her character. She isn’t looking at the mountains with a happy expression, instead she looks at it resentfully. I can’t quite figure her out but I love this painting. Thanks Professor Perl!!
My mom’s favorite painting is “Joan of Arc”, so I’ve spent a lot of time looking at it. The painting is one of the best expressions of emotion I’ve ever seen. It’s beyond realism because it does not merely portray the image of the woman; it goes beneath the surface of her skin to impress multiple emotions onto the viewer. But my main question, whenever I see this work of art, is what is she thinking? Her emotions are lost as she looks into the distance. She is not merely just one emotion (not like any of us only feel one thing at one time) but she is feeling something so indescribable. I do agree with you when you say she is in a trance but she is still alive. He skin, her hair, everything about her looks so real. Yes, many painters have drawn realistic portrayals of people, but “Joan of Arc” is one of the best realistic paintings I’ve ever seen. The portrayal of people cannot just be the exterior of the skin, but also the emotion within.
Rebekah! You were not alone, I was trailing at your heels the entire time, admiring ‘Graziella’ right along with you.
haha 🙂
Sorry Daisy, I meant ” I spent my hour alone with Daisy…”
The artwork I most observed was Lan Ying’s “Landscape Of The Four Seasons” from the Asian Arts section. The mountains appeared like a creature’s spine, holding metallic silver and purple blue coloring. Trees held flaky pink flowers in their skeleton fingers. And the water was uncolored which I found interesting: water is seen as a sign of life, but in the painting the water had no color. Instead, hues of blue, green, and other colors were found on rocks, plants, trees, and mountains. I always loved Asian art, even aim to draw in this style, so I found this work the very captivating.
Going through the rooms of the Met was like stepping through different worlds. I appreciated the vast collection of different art and loved the aesthetic arrangements in the exhibits. My favorite time was meditating in front of the large Buddha tapestry. Examining the different figures made me think about suffering, wisdom, and enlightenment. I guess it was the work of mirror receptors when I was looking at Buddha’s contemplative, meditative face and fell into a peaceful trance.
When I entered the Asian Section of the art gallery, I was instantly attracted to the large mural of the Buddha. The aging painting, titled “Buddha of Meidicine” covered the whole wall. It was painted with water paint on clay and straw mixture. The painting shows Buddha on the center sitting on the green lotus. He is in an enlightened state. Around him, there are two large seated Bodhisatvas, whose perfect reincarnation is the Buddha. Then, on the right and left side, there are courtiers, who are the medicine men.
This picture showed the importance of Buddha in Asian culture. To depict his enlightened nature, the picture showed Buddha with large years. It also reveals the importance of health in the culture as it shows a Buddha of medicine. The two servants under the standing Bodhisatvas are providing fresh healthy food, which elaborates on the significance of health in the culture.
When looking at this painting, the painters wanted to give a feeling of immenseness of the Buddha because of his perfect medical guides, in comparison to the average medicine man of those days. The painting perfectly illustrates the role of spirituality in the medicine as the medicine man was to honor the enlightened one.
When I gazed at the painting, I felt very calm. This is not surprising because I felt respect because I know that he wanted to prevent suffering. As someone aspiring to be a doctor, that is also my goal and I hope to succeed in that endeavor.
To me the Asian art section was exactly what I was looking for: peaceful. After hurrying around the museum to quickly look through different exhibits, I felt a sense of relief to just stop and focus on one exhibit. The exhibit I was attracted to was Japanese; it was called “A Sensitivity to the Seasons: Summer and Autumn.” The piece of art that I focused on was called “The Persimmon Tree.”
The tree was standing alone on a slanted hill, its branches bare but yet bearing fruits. I feel like certain parts of the tree are symbolic in a sense. The fruits on the tree represent the results of the hard work that we do both independently and with the help of others. And the thin branches represent families and friends. In a sense we give more preference or attention to our achievements than our relationships.
When I first saw this ink painting I felt a sense of loneliness, especially because I was alone when I saw it. Yet I also felt the tree’s independence in standing alone. It reminded me how we, as people, distance ourselves from others on our path to becoming independent.
It was very interesting that Giona and I picked the same artwork among hundreds of paintings and sculptures in Met Museum. I started at this painting alone and have not talked to her the way I felt from, but I think there are some similarities between our responses, especially when it comes to the mood that this painting gives. I don’t know where she got the idea of relationship she thought the tree represents, but I loved this interpretation. It broadens my imagination and knowledge of the painting.
I enjoyed looking at the Enlightenment artwork. It looked more like antique furniture and decorations than typical art. I really appreciated the colors of the tea sets, of the carpet and bedspread in the master bedroom on display. The tea set was a pretty pink and green with miniature paintings and fine handwork all around. The color of the bedroom was a dark red with gold. The realness of this section appealed to be more than any other part of the museum.
http://65.55.72.7/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=fd7dae8f-f39e-11e0-adca-00215ad7c1ba&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3a737&shared=1&hm__login=noliver92&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.118.8&d=d415&mf=0&hm__ts=Tue%2c%2025%20Oct%202011%2004%3a07%3a31%20GMT&st=noliver92&hm__ha=01_0211ee82ff6a176ed5a538d3a78ce510c5ab4f0da4727ef4b9cd8644d1482a0a&oneredir=1
Meghan Bravo
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is my absolute favorite, I have been there numerous times, so I am familiar with every section pretty much and my favorite by far is the Egyptian art section.
Everything about Egyptian art I love, the grand statues, the beautiful jewelry, the eerie but amazing tombs, and the mysteriously lovely hieroglyphics. My favorite thing about Egyptian art is the similarities I see between it and society today. For example the simple fact that women were interested in their appearance by wearing jewelry, and the grand jewelry they wore was amazing. I love the feeling I get when I walk into that section, its slightly creepy to see all the tombs but still amazing to learn about the burial processes, and the lengths they went to memorialize and honor people of importance, similar to what we do today.
My favorite piece in the Egyptian art section is the Hippopotamus, the little blue statue is eye capturing and the story behind it is fascinating. To think that the hippopotamus was one of the most feared creatures of the Nile valley seems almost silly to me, because I have not known before this that hippopotamuses were even dangerous. But even though it was feared for its danger, it was believed to be a powerful and magical creature that was a protector against evil.
I also love the American wing and the extravagant statues in the gold colors, and the depictions of animals in statues. I also love the beautiful stained glass pieces in that wing, because I took a stained glass course in high school and have continued to make it ever since, I love the finished product it creates when held up to light, it’s a beautiful thing when nature (light) and man made work can work together.
Claviorganum
(note: I lost the original photo I took of this because I changed phones that weekend so I tracked it down online. It can be seen here http://www.rawbw.com/~hbv/earlymus/ottavino/hauslaib.jpg)
What I found that I felt was interesting about this instrument is that it was essentially a musical organ that was made portable as possible. As a musician and guy who likes random machinery, it really spoke to me. The amount of time and effort it took to design and engineer this organ must have been stagering. Sure, it probably doesn’t work (at least now), and there is question as to whether it worked well to begin with (I get the feeling it did), but still, it is amazing. Nothing like this will be invented again, especially since smaller organs can come in the form of electric keyboards with voice changes.