DRAFT Version – due 10.18

Dear NYC Art Museums,

There are many museums that have attempted to reach out to children and while there is a way that these platforms have helped and encouraged more families to come teens are still a less than welcomed group. Many have turned off younger audiences, middle school and high school age, in a number of ways.  Hours are often difficult for students if they need parent transportation, and even to manage with after school events. Students should get more opportunities to see this art if there was a later opportunity. There is also a component of analyzing and comprehending that isn’t taught in schools, so teens go to art museums and walk past amazing works without a second thought. And there is an additional stigma against some students where older attendants might see them as disruptions.

As a young child, I was taken to many art museums. Whereas a young kid I was told to be quiet, and take notes, not to run and not to laugh. I could read the blurbs but didn’t get what they were saying and other adults looked at me funny as I was taken or went to those museums with my friends. Teenagers are often seen as terrors or dangerous, but believe it or not many high school students opting to go to a museum in their free time are not there to wreak havoc.

I propose night events that reach out to teens high school students mainly.  Once a month on Friday nights during the school year. Where they can browse the museums but there is a portion to have some kind of discussion or media presentation they could watch. Adding a discussion or analytical level has increased my own appreciation for art and could do wonders for many teens. Having a talk about something they see adds more depth to a two-dimensional piece. I also propose a food component because all kids are drawn by food.  Fridays are a great time where young people don’t have school the next morning and often are looking for fun things to go out and do.

A young interest in art provides for a lifetime of more passionate interest in arts and culture generally. With that, there is a more expansive and more intellectual human joining the adult world one day. Making hours longer, and giving more information that is more digestible teaches kids to get into art in a more transitional and applicative way.  The mind of a high school student is impressionable and waiting on the right people to imprint on it. The art museums of New York city should jump at this opportunity to do so.

Dear MoMA,

 

The Museum of Modern art is a fantastic cultural outlet. It brings up and coming art forms to the forefront and displays some of the best work. Although all of this art is being displayed for the public, one concern of mine is that it cannot be appreciated. The efforts to enhance our culture can be overlooked.

The MoMA does a good job at displaying lots of art; however, the modern and often abstract art displayed cannot be understood. Personally, I cannot understand, for example, a simple black rectangle. I don’t know why it has to be displayed in a selective museum that carefully curates each exhibit. I know that this is due to my naivety. An artist would not be praised for the mere simplicity of a rectangle. Any person can make the same outcome. Although I strive to understand, no matter how long I stare at the same piece of artwork I can only see so much. I will perhaps never fully understand certain artwork. Although artwork is to be interpreted, I cannot interpret a solid shape, that is all I see. I know this is not the artist’s fault, but at the same time I want to appreciate their works.

A resolution that I propose is a simple explanation, or discussion. Often times art pieces will have a short blurb, but this can be limited to the artist’s name, date and artwork name. Particularly abstract pieces need a more detailed breakdown. This explanation could consist of the artist’s mindset or reasoning when creating the piece. With this knowledge, I would be able to appreciate the artwork and value. I would be admiring it for its meaning, not for the fact that it is displayed in a prestigious museum. This would open the museum to the common people, those who do not study art. The populous would be able to respect the artist and his or her work, rather than ignore, or even mock it.

Sincerely,

 

Dylan Senkiw

To one of the most iconic art museums in the world,

I remember going to you with my mother one day when I was little.

I remember seeing the huge exhibits focused on ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, the Renaissance era, etc.

I remember reading the lengthy and detailed descriptions about each ceramic button, each broken water jug.

I don’t remember seeing artwork with people who looked like me.

I remembered seeing only a few old paintings with Asians, with vague descriptions.

I remember going again with a group of friends.

We all noted that the exhibits that weren’t Eurocentric, were presented as “featured exhibits” that were separate from the main portion of the museum.  The more permanent exhibits were mainly by white people, of white people, and really, for white people. Ancient hairpins didn’t necessarily thrill me; what significance did it have for me, how could I relate to this?  This perpetuates the fame and praise of predominantly white art, and obscures the scope of art from which we learn and appreciate.  I learned all about Renaissance techniques and Impressionism, Expressionism, etc, but what about ancient calligraphy that Korean letters were beautifully written in?  The few “diverse” artworks that I have seen were vastly outnumbered, and the descriptions were painfully inaccurate, as if the handcrafted, beaded dress was not as significant to my own culture in comparison to the multiple shards of Greek pottery.  I understand the value of European artwork, and its prominence throughout history, but history didn’t only happen in one place.  We see the progression of history through the looking glass of large statues of the Renaissance world to the stained glass windows of the Medieval times.  The world closer to my own, is frozen in the time of the Goryeo and the Joseon.

Sincerely,

Emily Suh

 

References

The Metropolitan Museum Is Still Very Eurocentric and Conservative

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/asian-art

 

Dear American Museum of Natural History,
You’ve been home to many of my school trips over the course of my academic career, and responsible for me meeting one of the coolest teachers I’ve met. Your exhibits are interesting and pretty diverse, which is something that can be lacking in many other places. There are some things though that can be problematic, the main one being the prices people must pay to see your exhibits.

History is said to be taught so that it may never be repeated. If your museum is about history, why does it cost so much for people to learn it? This hurts those who live in lower class families because it prevents them from possibly learning history they might find intriguing. Don’t you think that the more people learn about history, the better off they can be? You claim on your website that the museum was made for those with a passion of discovery, but if they can’t pay the entrance fee, the only thing they can discover is the front door. In order to fulfill that idea of having the museum made for discovery, how about making the tickets cheaper so that those people can actually go see your exhibits, including the special shows. If this is a money issue, focus on the bigger picture, that the cheaper the tickets, the more people will want to go, and the more people that go, the more money you will make and lives you will enhance. It’s just food for thought.

A person with a passion for discovery,
Kaelah Blanchette

 

Source:https://www.amnh.org/join-support

Dear Staff of Ripley’s Believe It or Not,

I have always wanted to go to your attraction in Times Square, since I first heard about it in middle school. However, I have never had the time to. However, that is not the issue here. The two things that are really keeping me from going to Ripley’s is that the tickets, one, are too expensive, especially for a single person; two, some of the exhibits and artifacts are outdated, even though I heard there is about five hundred something exhibits and artifacts in there; and three, since it is located smack down in the middle of Times Square and has two floors, it may not be possible to fill a lot of people. These are the main changes that I want to see, and the people that created this attraction have the power to make it happen.

I remember one time when I was in Times Square. Two years ago, I went to the movies with my friends. We were just walking around the neighborhood until we see people crowding around the entrance of Ripley’s. We checked the prices of the tickets, and we saw that the cost of one ticket alone is under twenty-four dollars, which is definitely not worth it. That is probably because it is considered a museum, so the tickets are supposed to be expensive. However, a lot of us cannot afford to pay twenty-four dollars for a ticket, especially if we really want to go in. This just does not make any sense.

My other concern has to do with the fact that some of the exhibits and artifacts are outdated. From what I heard, there were some exhibits from approximately one hundred years ago, and I do not think people do not want to be amazed by that. I understand that you guys want people to see weird and cool exhibits from a long time ago so that they can recognize the history of Ripley’s as a whole. However, I believe that people, especially the ones that have already visited Ripley’s, want to see new exhibits, as in things that we have not seen before. That way, the museum would not just be a breeze for people; instead, they would actually enjoy it and be astounded by the things in life that we consider very strange.

My very last concern is the fact that the museum is only two floors, so it can be very challenging to put a lot of people inside. Since there are so many people and tourists that want to go to Ripley’s, they would end up making a long line, and they would have to wait for their turns to see all the exhibits and artifacts inside. I might be crazy, but I really think it would be better if you guys moved to another location, perhaps somewhere where you can make a bigger space and put more exhibits and artifacts. That way, you guys are able to fit more people in.

In conclusion, I just feel like you guys need to make some major changes to the museum if you want to attract many people, not just the tourists. Do not get me wrong, Ripley’s is a fun attraction to go to when we are not busy. However, it needs to be better and more engaging.

 

Sincerely,

Franklin Morel

Resources:

https://ripleysnewyork.com/buy-tickets/

https://www.yelp.com/biz/ripleys-believe-it-or-not-time-square-new-york

 

 

Dear MOMA,

My name is Aneth Naranjo and I’m currently a freshman at John Jay College. More than being a college student, I’m a Latina living in the United States. Living in this country, it’s difficult to find representation of my community in cultural institutions, especially in places of authority. In the recent years, institutions have been more aware and have made a bigger effort to diversify and integrate their staff so it’s representative of our culturally diverse country. It has come to my attention that your senior staff, and staff in general, are predominantly white. While I’m sure that each employee has earned their spot, I would also like to challenge you to build a more diverse staff. There are many museums that lack a diverse and integrated staff, but I picked this museum because MoMA because currently you’re very influential to all audiences and also because like your name suggests, you’re modern and in the modern world we are more aware that representation in all fields is important. Being a person of color and seeing that almost everyone in an authority position is white is discouraging as a young kid. It feels like you can’t never get there because you don’t look like the people in those positions. This is why a culturally diverse staff is important. We should want all kids, no matter their ethnic background, to aspire to be whatever they want. We shouldn’t set up barriers by not making an effort to diversify and integrate all staffs in all cultural institutions.

 

Thank You,

Aneth Naranjo