Category — Visual Art

My snapchat story during the Night at the Museum was “Who knew art was fun?” with a picture of a painting. (I’m not sure if you know what a “snapchat story” is so I’ll explain it to you: A snapchat story is when you post a picture on snapchat between 0-10 seconds that all of your buddies on snapchat are able to keep replaying for 24 hours.) Anyways, I’ve never been a huge fan of visual art. Paintings have always seemed dull to me and, throughout my childhood, I’ve always found school trips to museums rather boring. I kept getting e-mail after e-mail reminding us about this “exciting” first trip that all the Macaulay students would have together, but all I could think was about how I wished it was anything but a museum.

Then, I arrived at the museum. My whole outlook instantly changed. I noticed how many Macaulay students there were that I’ve never seen  before and it seemed like a great opportunity. Sitting there in the last row of the auditorium (or whatever room we were all gathered in), I felt like I was part of something truly big and important. That’s when I decided to give this night a chance. The funny comments that were being posted on the board also helped me get more excited, because it lightened up the mood a bit.

Then came the recorders. Oh, no. I hate my voice. This can’t be happening. I’ll just be quiet the whole time. OMG I have to find a group of six people?! Do I even know six people in Macaulay?! Whatever, I’ll just be the loser that has to be placed in a group because I didn’t know enough people. >>>These were the thoughts that were infiltrating into my head. If you didn’t notice, I was becoming a nervous wreck. Now that I look back it, I really can’t understand why. I’m embarrassed about how anxious I got, because it was actually an incredibly fun night!

I ended up knowing six people from Macaulay! (Yay me!) I also ended up actually speaking up into the recorder (Yay me again!). I didn’t want to let such an experience float away because I didn’t appreciate it in that moment of time.

Discussing the art was actually really fun. It stopped looking like kindergarteners just sat there and made a rainbow. It started having meaning to me. I stopped questioning why the art pieces were in a museum and started questioning what they meant and what the artist could’ve been thinking. It just felt like creative fun. A game, perhaps. You’re making up a story that could be so far from the truth, yet it could also be exactly what the artist was going for. I was in a group with people that I had previously met, but I’m glad to admit that I feel like I truly got to know them better and made new friends. My first experience making new Macaulay friends! How exciting!! It truly was. It also really encouraged me and led me to believe that every Macaulay event would be great because if I enjoyed a museum with my peers, I know I could enjoy anything.

Discussing the art was kind of like storytelling. It brought out a lot of interesting factors to the art that I never would’ve noticed without my peers. This event made me look into art in a deeper fashion. Then, there I was throughout the night noticing interesting aspects, too. It was a great feeling and the time really flew by that night. My group had finished our assignment so early but we stayed in the museum anyways because we were just enjoying it so much, and enjoying each other’s presence too. My group was really special because we took advantage of both aspects of the night: a) looking at art and having a great time doing it b) getting to know your peers and really connecting with them. My fellow Macaulay members found out so many things we had in common that night, while each one was a shock.

Another very awesome factor of the night was that we were able to have the museum all to ourselves. It made me feel like we were the ones running the place. We could’ve been the curators after hours discuss the art chosen in the museum. Or we could’ve been like VIP guests, because who else gets to be in a museum after hours?

It made me feel special. It made me realize how worth it my struggles throughout high school have been. I was part of something elite. At least, that’s how I look at it!

I’d like to thank Professor Ugoretz for setting up the perfect evening for an intro of school year. He did a really great job. I also think the other professors that participated did as well.

I definitely consider that night a success. If there was a category for successful night, I definitely would’ve selected it!

I happen to absolutely love art. Traditional art, that is. I love detailed works that show countless hours of effort, skill, and taste – classic paintings and sculptures. I like museums, but the one place I always avoid there is the Modern Art galleries. It is painfully frustrating for me to go from seeing gorgeous landscapes or lifelike portraits to standing before a large white canvas with a blue dot on it that the artist didn’t even deem important enough to center. It drives me crazy to think about what possessed someone to create such a work of “bla”, and what bothers me even more is thinking who in their right mind decided it was memorable or special enough to showcase so prominently in a museum.  When I am dragged/forced/guilted/tricked into visiting contemporary art exhibits, I usually find comfort (and joy) in sizing up each work and imagining the insanity of the artist and Museum curator who were responsible for bringing this dreadfully boring work of so-called art to the public attention.

Now, I am not going to tell you that after this “Night at the Museum” my views have completely been turned over, and I now love modern and traditional art with equal vigor. I’m sorry, but that bicycle hanging on the wall by the entrance the the gift shop still doesn’t look better than a Starry Night.  However, because of the task we were given, I had to give each painting, sculpture, or miniature monkey, a real chance. For that night, in my mind, all art was fair game.  And because of that night I now see art differently.  I look for meaning even when I don’t see it right away and search for ways to resolve my questions rather than dismissing the art altogether. (I have also stopped assuming all modern art dealers and curators are insane.)

What surprised me that night was that my favorite work of art from the whole three hours I spent there was pretty contradictory to my favored artistic style. It was a glass box that had inside it a straw fedora, an old-fashioned bicycle horn, some glass bottles, and a few other vintage accessories.  I don’t even remember the title or the artist but I loved it because when I saw it, I also saw a scene in my head. The setting:  The summer sun is bright. The sky is cloudless and breezy. A green meadow with tall grass that is dancing softly in the wind. A dirt road through it. The subject: A woman in a white sundress and straw hat rides her bicycle leisurely enough that she can simultaneously sip lemonade from a glass bottle. The bicycle has a horn but it sits unused because she is the only one on the road.  Peaceful. Quiet. Serene. I loved that the art spurred my imagination to spin a story and it led me further to my conclusion that art is not necessarily defined by effort, materials, or skill. Maybe it is truly defined not just by the thought process that preceded its creation, but also by the thought process that it inspires in the mind of the viewer.

To be completely honest, my reaction upon hearing about the “Night at the Museum” was not exactly a positive one. I thought of it as a drag, a hassle, and just another night to spend without my friends who chose other colleges. However, once I actually arrived at the museum, my perspective completely changed. I must admit that the enthusiasm of the Macaulay staff was quite contagious. I could sense the inviting energy from each professor and suddenly I realized that I was actually happy to be here. While having little experience with analyzing art, I didn’t have any personal assurance that I would be able to participate in a 6-sided conversation. I’m pretty sure all the times that I have visited museums were not by choice and were simply school trips. On these school outings, I didn’t really have an incentive to appreciate the art. The only art I knew was “arts and crafts,” and to 10 year old me, the artists in these museums didn’t really understand that concept. So, yeah, you could pretty much call me a “museum virgin.” Being one, I couldn’t help but worry that I would have nothing to say and wouldn’t be able to contribute any interesting input. Putting this fright behind me, I sat in my seat and faced 500 other brains who have probably had way more art experiences than I have.

As we lined up to collect our tape recorders, I joined a group of 6 students who pretty much shared the same enthusiasm as me. We were nervous how our recordings would come out and if we would even be able to say anything at all. When we first started recording our conversations, we found that:

1) we were clearly talking over and interrupting one another

2) and we were trying so hard to interpret the art that it came off forced and unoriginal

However, as we continued through the maze of this museum, we found that our patterns drastically changed. We waited patiently for our group members to finish speaking before jumping in with our own input. We also started asking more intriguing questions; these questions weren’t just directed towards each other, but also toward the artist. We constantly asked: “Why would he do that?!” and “What do you think he was feeling when painting/sculpting this?” We carried conversations of both agreement and disagreement and found beauty in art’s debatable factors.  As a group, we shared a variety of emotions throughout this experience, such as anger, happiness, sadness, and confusion. In a way, this experience helped us bond and get to know each other a lot more than we would in class. It also helped me to slowly come out of my shell and be able to speak freely without any doubts in my opinions. I realized that it was alright having little experience with something like this because there’s a first for everything.

Analyzing art started to feel natural to me. It’s about speaking what’s simply on your mind and, at the same time, accessing a part of your brain that you don’t do on a daily basis. I have definitely come to appreciate this activity and am most definitely no longer a “museum virgin.” I sincerely look forward to the upcoming events at museums!

I remember sitting in my air conditioned office on a hot July day, reading an email about the Macaulay Night at the Museum. What immediately came to my mind was the movie ‘Night at the Museum’, but with artwork coming to life rather than historical figures.

Having been to the Brooklyn Museum before for a school project, I was eager to explore more artwork that I had missed during my first visit. I immediately ran to the third floor, (not realizing that we were required to report to the third floor) to admire the monet paintings I saw last time I was at the museum. I was shocked to find over 500 Macaulay students sitting in the center of the floor, texting answers to questions posted on the bulletin board.

Discussing the artwork was the highlight of my night. At first I was a little bummed that we were walking around in groups to discuss the art; I wanted to appreciate and explore the artwork on my own. But I was wrong. Walking around the museum, meeting new people, and discussing  the artwork was literally the funnest experience I’ve had. I love art! I hate to draw and paint, but I love analyzing other people’s work of art. I literally didn’t give people in my group a chance to speak because I was so engrossed in the painting. I wanted everyone to know that I thought Monet did a fabulous job depicting the building’s reflection on the lake. After realizing that I was literally shouting and standing too close to the painting (the security guard made it her mission to let me know that I was doing this), I took a step back to listen to what my peers had to say. I was suprised that I enjoyed it much better when I actually listened to their opinions on the painting and was excited to share more of my opinions. I look forward to learning more about arts in NYC.

As I try to come up with a concise, eye-catching introductory statement, I’m forced to think about what I truly gained from the Night at the Museum in just a few words. But now that I took a copout route, I don’t have to do that anymore. I will, instead, begin by saying that I like art. I like observing things, anything, and thinking about them. Analyzing things has always been a fun mind game for me. The Night at the Museum was different though; I didn’t just have to think, I had to converse.

I was in a group of people I had never met before and I didn’t know how we’d get along, if things would flow easily. Conversation isn’t always easy. But I soon discovered that conversation about art is. One work of art contains so many conversation topics, from the technical details of the brush strokes and line placements to the greater messages those lines and strokes convey. There’s a history conversation latent in the clothes the subject wears and a psychological one in the expression on her face. Conversation flowed naturally, and that was exciting. Containing thoughts to my head isn’t as fun as letting them flow and bounce off of others’ ideas, each one building on top of another, creating stronger concepts and analyses. Maybe in real life I have very little in common with those five people. But in the museum, those differences aren’t noticed. And if they are, it only enhances our collective observation of the work. Each person looks at the same work of art with a different eye, and allows us to see a different aspect that we couldn’t have seen on our own. That’s why art is beautiful.

I’m trying to think of one work that really stood out to me, but I don’t have one specific one that comes to mind. The forced conversations made each work we discussed stand out in my mind when they hadn’t before. Talking about something really made me just like it better. And I think that’s awesome.

Art makes you think. Museums make you discuss the art that makes you think. By physically speaking out loud with others, a completely new world is open to the observer. And it serves as great bonding when small talk just doesn’t cut it.

I’ve never been such an art-museum type of person- I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever been to an art museum, or if there even was a first time. When I first heard about the Macaulay Night at the Museum, I was excited to go to meet new people. The art, I thought, wasn’t going to be the highlight of my night; it’s just an excuse for us to get together in a posh setting. That’s what art museums are for, right?  I didn’t know anything about analyzing art! Were we supposed to guess what the artist intended and pretend that we understand the message he or she was trying to convey? Isn’t the Mona Lisa just a testament to Da Vinci’s skills, nothing more?

Maybe that’s a bit dramatic. I guess I never actually appreciated art, nor did I ever really feel the need to. But discussing the art with my group really changed that. One person’s thought sparked the other’s, and I found myself seeing things in the works of art that I didn’t see before. I loved where my mind was going, almost too quick to voice all at once.

In the beginning, we all just wanted to say what we thought, saying really simplistic and sort of cliche interpretations of the work that was before us. But as we continued to walk through the museum, and as we learned to really listen to each other, the conversations became deeper, more stimulating, and definitely more intriguing. One of the last works that we discussed was called Cops and Headlights V, painted by Jane Dickson. When I first saw it, I didn’t really see much more than a bunch of cops and a bunch of headlights, but my peers started to pose questions and bring forth their ideas and thoughts, and there were so many unknowns! So many uncertainties I am still trying to figure out! What’s so significant about those cops and headlights? Just… WHY?!

Perfectly placed right in the middle of a very overwhelming first week of college, this event really helped me use my mind in a new way and meet new people who enjoy thinking and learning. I really enjoyed that!

So when I first heard about the “Macaulay Night at the Museum” I thought we were having a sleepover. I honestly believed the entire 400+ Macaulay students were going to bring sleeping bags and camp out underneath the paintings of Van Gogh and watch the cinema classic  that is “Night at the Museum.” I was quickly informed that my feetie pajamas would not be  necessary, and the event was redefined to me. Regardless of a sleepover or not I was excited to attend to event,  and once it was over I was more interested in art than I was before.

I liked how we were free to explore the museum and pick our own pieces of art to discuss.I saw certain groups gravitating towards the more obscure interesting works, while others wanted to discuss the more classical and traditional paintings. The Egyptian exhibit was my favorite out of all of them because the art itself was created for some purpose beyond simple aesthetics, and I could see how it was crafted by a human hand hundreds of years prior. The sarcophagi in my opinion were so cool and intricate that I probably could have spent the majority of the night looking at them. I had a fairly large group of six individuals, but we broke up into groups of three to discuss two different art pieces. My threesome observed an African tribal costume of fertility, and the other looked at a painting that symbolized the French Revolution (Vive la France!). At first the tape recorder was awkward to use, and there was a brief moment of panic where I thought I erased the entire six minute conversation, but after we all got into the art I found that the pressure of having something to say into the mic just fell away. I wished I had more time to look around the museum and talk to the other students because personally I didn’t get to meet as many people as I wanted to.  There were a lot of different styles of art that I didn’t know existed and I found myself constantly questioning how someone had the idea to make this? What inspired them, or what were they thinking when they created this work? I will look forward to other events like this, especially if it involves art because I now know how to actually talk about the work without trying to sound like an art critic. I heard a lot of other students saying that they want to tour the museum again on their own time to explore more and I feel the same way.

So in sum, I enjoyed my night at the museum even though it wasn’t a sleepover.

So the common event at the Brooklyn Museum was really fun. At first I wasn’t sure how it was going to work and if  would like it or not. I was probably leaning more towards the not liking it side since I had no idea how I am supposed to comment on a work (not piece) of art. Not only did we have to comment on the work of art but we were given the time limit of 5 minutes. Five minutes?! I thought that I wouldn’t have anything more than one sentence!

Little did I know that it was much easier than I thought it would be. When my group and I started off we were basically yelling on top of each other what we wanted to say. We kind of thought it was somewhat silly as well. That lasted only 1 and a half minutes. The next work of art we wanted to try to discuss the art for longer, making sure that we take turns speaking and listen to each other as we talk. What a great idea that was! Seriously though. Since we spoke one at a time it naturally came out to be longer. That’s good, right? Not only that, but since we listened to each other speak we were able to think of our own idea about the work of art based on what the person before us had just said. That kept us going on and on.

By the end we were really into it. We started just spontaneously commenting on random paintings, only noticing halfway through that we weren’t recording our conversation! It was just for fun and for our own enjoyment. I really liked this event. It helped me acquire a new technique for observing and analyzing art. It allowed me to appreciate each work of art more, even the ones that really don’t look like anything special to me.