Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

I’ve never really been to a real art museum. I’ve been to history museums and science museums but never an art museum. So when i say it was a new experience, it really was. Ever since elementary school I never thought much of art. I always thought this was a result of my clear lack of artistic ability. I dreaded going to art class and hated anything close to art. Obviously I didn’t really think much of the event at the Brooklyn Museum but the fact that we as honors students had the museum to ourselves certainly grabbed my attention.

Although I didn’t particularly enjoy making art I did find some joy in certain works of art that stirred something in me. I had an innate ability to find the meaning behind art not just as paintings and sculptures but through literature, poetry and especially music. I truly understood that when walked right out of the subway station and saw the front of the museum. Looking at the museum my friends and I were taken aback by the blending of styles in the architecture of the museum. The blending of classic styles and modern architectural styles. The museum appeared to be that much more inviting and once I was indian I was able to gain a newfound appreciation of art. While my group talked about multiple pieces but one that really stuck out to me was “A Resting Place for Prisoners” by Vasily Vereshchagin. While my group was examining the painting it really took us by surprise how emotionally challenging it was. I was able to look at art like I never looked at it before. To see how perfectly the artist depicted his feelings about the situation that the prisoners were going through. It’s safe to say that this experience at the museum changed how I see art and the purpose of it.

While I may lack the ability to paint or draw I do have the ability to express myself in other ways that reflect the artistic vision that I believe humanity identifies itself with. We all have our own ways of sharing our story and the feelings that want to be heard. I’ve found a different way to view art by looking past my personal feelings towards it and being able to understand what the artist wants to say.

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I have been to many museums before in my life and have never understood the appeal of standing in front of something really old and just looking at it. I would much rather read a good book or watching a movie than try to appreciate something I don’t care about. The Brooklyn Museum did not seem like a fun time at all. Walking around and talking about things I have absolutely no idea about made me kind of annoyed. I just didn’t see the point.

I actually rather enjoyed the night. My group was really fun and interesting. Throughout the night i tried to become interested in the art and think of “the big picture” but i was unable to personally experience any type of feeling towards it. I of course appreciated the hard work and skill that went into the paintings that I saw, but didn’t have any emotion towards anything. One thing I learned hearing my group members speak and express their ideas was the real effect that art can have. I can now understand how and why someone could look at a painting and feel awe, or happiness, and even anger.

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So, going to a museum in order for us students to do work was honestly not my idea of having fun. I originally didn’t think, “oh wander around Brooklyn museum with just the 500 or so Macaulay student, taking pictures, talking about art. ” would be as exciting as Mr. Ugoretz had put it. Whenever i had previously gone to a museum, it would be an interactive museum such as the science ones where you could play around and have fun. Art was not what i had really considered to be fun, so i was happy about all the fun i experience at Brooklyn Museum.

I do not personally like being in a huge crowd, so the minute the experience started i joined in with a small group, totaling five kids, so we could leave the crowded area where we were receiving the recorders. Just being able to go around in our little small crowd and walk the museum’s exhibits alone was so exciting. Whenever we found a work displayed that we enjoyed, we would talk about it very naturally. With all the works of art at Brooklyn museum it gave us a lot to talk about so we ended up recording a lot as a group. Not having to feel like what we were doing was work made the process so easy, so I feel like I would love to go to more museums like this.

Although the experience that we had that night cannot always happen, since we can’t just always reserve a whole museum to some kids. I honestly feel that walking around a museum in a small groups is a lot of fun. It is something everyone should be able to do, since it would most likely make going to a museum more enjoyable and make the experience more pleasant. Not having to feel like we had to oblige by normal social construct, since all the students were there for the same reason made this experience so much fun. So as you can tell I did enjoy going to Brooklyn museum.

Night at the Museum was an experience that I could only imagine having.  I tend to go to different museums such as the MET and MoMA; but never have I gone to Brooklyn Museum of art.  The two other times I have been to museums, it was not as engaging as night at the Museum.  I feel like when you are at a museum during the day, when most people are there, you feel that it is almost inappropriate to speak aloud to others around you.  It reminds me of the same atmosphere a library has during the day.  People go to quietly engage in their own thoughts and silently work out what ever thought process they are having;  but I am  learning otherwise.  That while at a museum, it adds a whole other layer of experience when discussing your thoughts aloud and finding yourself talk about art as almost its own entity or sometimes reality.

I believe that this event really speaks to what art really is.  With little instruction, or education on art history, we are sent on on an adventure to recreate the captured creative minds and times in history using only our minds, and more importantly, each other.  It is a great way to feel a connection to the living culture around us and get us to understand that sometimes the answer is not always the right answer, but the question is the right answer.  The night at the museum allowed me to interpret rather than answer an introduced me to the wonders of a simple, or complex, work of art.  It also helped me learn a little about myself; showing me which works of art I prefer over others and why I feel certain ways about one work of art, and another for others.

I hope everyone that went kept something that they learned with them, it was a very fun night with lots of surprises about myself, the art, and those I had worked with.