The experience at the Brooklyn Museum last Wednesday was truly amazing. From the moment of entry, you were given the opportunity to explore pieces of art which you found unique. Later on, when the groups were formed, not only were you led from one exhibit to another, but you were in a way forced to analyze the complexity of each piece of art. Instead of simply pointing out, “Oh that’s nice. That’s nice too,” like Professor Ugoretz showed in the Simpsons video, you dug deeper into the origins of that art, and what the artist felt when he was making the piece. If I had to choose specific works, I would say that the Faile and Bast exhibit, as well as the Egyptian exhibit were my favorites.

In the Faile and Bast exhibit, not only were you able to see the art, but you were also given an opportunity to interact with it. Unlike today, where there are barely any old fashion arcades around, this exhibit provided the opportunity to enter a world from the 1950’s. Despite the fact that most of the pinball machines were broken, the room with the illuminated posters was intriguing, in that it seemed like a mix between the modern and abstract art.

Nearby, was the Faile temple, or at least a replica of it. Although it wasn’t the original, you got to see the exact size of it. Unlike most temples, which are huge, the Faile temple was quite small. Yet, it managed to incorporate prayer wheels and various cultural imagery, both on the inside and outside walls. By seeing the iron, ceramic, and paint which went into building it, you got a sense of how much time and planning it took into building it.

Finally, the last exhibit which I most enjoyed was the Egyptian collection. Although mostly everyone saw mummies or other Egyptian artifacts in pictures beforehand, seeing it in person greatly extended my appreciation for this form of art. Only thinking about its age, showed how much effort was put into making it, so that it wouldn’t degrade. When taking a closer look at the manuscripts, you could see the precision that went into painting various drawings. Aside from this, you could also imagine the amount of time it took to complete these works of art.

Overall, the experience at the Brooklyn Museum was phenomenal. In the end, you realized that not enough time was given to appreciate the art to its fullest extent. If I was given the opportunity to stay longer, I would gladly take it.

– Ben K

My experience at the Brooklyn Museum was a very interesting one to say the least.  My group consisted of some new friends and some old ones, some I had made through Macaulay and some people from my high school that just so happened to be in the same group, Rembrandt, as me. Our diffuse group walked through the museum with two main purposes: to see the Egyptian exhibit and to see the sneakers.

When we made it to the Egypt exhibit we all split up and wandered around in silence for some time, which I think was really beneficial for us. We didn’t spend the whole time talking to each other before we got together and made our recording. One of the things that struck me about the Egyptian exhibit was the intricacy of every sculpture and painting and sarcophagus. No matter the size of the piece of art, there was such fine detail that was incredibly advanced for the time at which it was created.  My group decided to record our commentary on a particular coffin. It was a huge granite rectangular prism that was said to hold a prince and his wife. A specific thing we found interesting about the coffin was that there were holes in the top of it. These holes were functional, made so that people, presumably slaves, could put sticks through it and carry on their backs. We found beauty in functionality because the perfectly circular holes contrasted with the perfectly geometric coffin.

The sneaker exhibit was a completely different animal, the room itself being modern with videos of fashion shows playing on the walls and the artifacts being from as recently as 2015.  One of the members of my group ran track, so he was giving us a little extra information about the different types of running shoes and cleats. One thing I personally found interesting about the exhibit were the chucks thrown along the artificial telephone wires throughout the room. It was a small detail that you wouldn’t have noticed unless you looked up, but for me it was the best part of the exhibit. Seeing this flooded my mind with images of my father’s stories of him being a little boy in Dyker Heights and throwing his shoes up on a telephone wire. It was a testimony to Brooklyn within this museum and this exhibit that showcased artifacts from all over the world.

My first impression of the museum

A small Egyptian artifact

Group selfie with the coffin!

Sneakers from the exhibit, credit to one of my other group members, Kavindu

The Brooklyn Museum after dark

My experience at the Brooklyn museum was much more exciting than I thought it would be. I was able to meet new people from Hunter College and old high school friends from Queens College that became part of my group. All of us truly enjoyed the exhibits. The exhibits that particularly fascinated me were The Mummy Chamber, The Rise of the Sneaker Culture, and American Identities: A New Look.

The Mummy Chamber contained many precious relics from the Ancient Egyptian time period. I was amazed how well preserved the mummies and sarcophagi were. The sheer volume of the collection surprised me as well. In fact, according to the Brooklyn Museum website their collection contains more than 170 objects that “explore the complex rituals related to the practice of mummification and the Egyptian belief that the body must be preserved in order to ensure eternal life.”

Prior to visiting the Brooklyn Museum, I never thought that sneakers could be considered art, unlike my younger brother. As far as I was concerned, they were something you put on to protect your feet and keep them comfortable. It turns out that many see them as an “urban icon.” The exhibit explored the social history, technical innovations, fashion trends, and marketing campaigns of sneakers over the past two centuries.

My favorite exhibit was the American Identities: A New Look. I’ve always been a huge fan of American History. The art, however, allowed me to visualize it. My group discussed two paintings from this section: George Washington by Gilbert Stuart and Fallen Bierstadt by Valerie Hegarty. What I liked the most about these two paintings, and the American art section in general, was that there many small details that provide hints to the time period that the painting depicts, although, they could be interpreted in many different ways. For instance, the rainbow in the background of the painting of George Washington may represent a symbol of peace after revolution and the prosperous beginnings for America.

Here are some of the pictures that I took with my phone:

I think going to the Brooklyn Museum was one of those things that just made me really happy to be a Macaulay student.  

Let me explain.

I’m a huge fan of museums; I can’t talk about them enough, and if I tried someone’s head would probably explode from boredom. So naturally, the idea of having our first Macaulay-wide event (besides orientation) at one was so exciting to me. Any chance to bond with the people I’m bound to graduate with is extremely nice, especially if they don’t go to Brooklyn College like we do. I felt like an A-list celebrity roaming the halls of a museum closed down to everyone but the incoming class. I’m pretty sure I knew then, finally, that I’d made a good choice in terms of what college to attend. (Which is probably silly since we committed in May, but a person can have doubts, right?)

I also thought the art was spectacular. The Met has always been #1 in my heart for its extravagance, but I think I’d visit the Brooklyn Museum again and again as well. There was so much variety that I kind of wanted to just sit in one room for an hour, take it all in, and then continue on my way and repeat the process for every exhibit. (Though, to be honest, I feel that way with every museum. I’m really such a nerd.) I think this comes from the fact that I appreciate art (the conventional kind) in a different way then I do other art forms like writing or music. Fine art is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to create. How do people paint so perfectly? Or sculpt things that look so realistic? It’s one of the coolest things in the world. So hats off to the artists in the world—you’re all pretty dope.

P.S. I took a bunch of pictures like a tourist. Take a peek below!

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