When I first heard that this was to be our first event for Macaulay, I was actually quite excited. Although I don’t have much experience with art, I was looking forward to being able to have an open and intelligent conversation with my peers. I knew that this “museum going” experience would be different than the others I’ve had because I never really talked about the art in depth when I went to a museum. This lack of conversation made my museum experiences rather boring. Despite my initial excitement for this event, however, I also had my doubts. When talking to my other friends who would be attending Macaulay in the fall, I discovered that not everyone was as excited as I was. They were not looking forward to the event and thought it would be boring and awkward. Although this view did affect my attitude toward the event, I was still looking forward to it.

Upon arriving at the museum, I was amazed before even entering. The building itself is simply magnificent. It follows a Grecian model of architecture with columns at the center of the building. However it also has a modern feel with the glass ceiling over the entrance. The building was a very accurate representation of what awaited inside. Every section of the museum was absolutely amazing. The exhibits were very interesting and varied in what they contained. My group went from the Divine Feline exhibit to the Egyptians to the European paintings to the A World in Brooklyn exhibit. We had wonderful conversations about various pieces of art. One particular piece that is very popular at the museum and that amazed me was the piece entitled “Blossom.” It depicted a tree growing out of a piano and even played “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. My group also had a very in-depth discussion about “Avarice” by Fernando Mastrangelo. This piece was an Aztec-type calendar made entirely of corn. Many of the things carved into the “calendar” represented the greed that takes over our world and the eventual destruction we will suffer because of this greed.

Overall, I have to say I was very satisfied with my experience. Despite the initial awkwardness, my group had great conversations, and the event lived up to a lot of my expectations.
~Nicole 🙂