The Metropolitan Museum of Art played a vital role in the education of arts administration throughout our time in New York. We visited the met a handful of times exploring different facets of the institution each visit. In addition to our visit we read Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Danny Danzinger. This book gave us an introduction to the Met as wells as an overview of the functioning of a non profit art museum. From this book we learned about the importance of every employee of a museum. Most importantly, the book illustrated the importance of hiring employees that love their work place and their job. It is exactly that level of loyalty and pride that contributes to the overwhelming success of the museum.
We were able to witness this passion and commitment first hand by meeting with a handful of employees. We met with a few women who work in development, an events planner and a curator. With each successive employee we met, we shifted from the inner workings of the institution to the art work within the museum. This progression provided new insight to the museum that changed our perception of the art and the museum. We used our knowledge to explore the way art work is placed and displayed, in addition to the architecture that houses the work.
It’s nearly impossible to walk out of the Met with a feeling of indifference. We explored this idea through a class assignment that paralleled our progressive understanding of the museum. We were instructed to find a piece of art, in any medium or time period, that solicited a strong reaction of any kind within us. I decided to seek out a piece of art that evoked negative feelings because I usually walk out of the Met with a new love and appreciation for art I was previously unfamiliar with. Rarely do I leave the Met disgusted by what I had seen. I ended up picking a marble statue sculpted in the 1850s by the artist Erastus Dow Palmer entitled, “Indian Girl or The Dawn of Christianity”. The work itself was beautiful, but the connotations were quite the opposite. It enraged me that a statue was carved to commemorate the process of robbing Native American’s of their culture.
The assignment was a great chance for our class to learn about art through each other as well. With such an assortment of pieces we were really able to see just how broad the word “art” really is and what it means to different people. The following pieces were chosen by my classmates and professor.
Damien Hirst “The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living” 1999
Barnett Newman “Onement IV” 1949
Zhan Wang 2001 “Artificial rock #10”
Louise-Claude Vasse 1763 “The Nymph of Dampierre”
Charles Courdier “The Jewish Woman of Algiers “1862
Oba with Sacrificial Animals from the Ezmo’s Altar of the Hand
Charles Demuth “The Figure 5 in Gold 1928
Edward Hopper “Table for Ladies” 1930
-Whitney
Seeing a performance of Alvin Ailey is always refreshing and enlightening. On June 16th, the company presented excerpts of the best twenty years and some of their full-length dances. Some of the excerpts included The Stack Up (1982), Grace (1999), and North Star (1978). Even though this was not the first Alvin Ailey performance I have been to, it was still just as powerful as the first performance.
The movements, costumes, and music are carefully chosen to help represent an overall theme or idea, mostly about African American history. The dancers’ movements in combination with the music helped tell stories about Harlem and the great minds of W.E.B. Dubois and Zora Neale Hurston. As I watched, I was amazed by the dancers’ ability to kick, extend, and move from the one side of the stage to the other.
When I participated in theatre, I helped out back stage with the costumes, so now, when I attend a play or performance, I observe the costumes carefully. The Alvin Ailey costumes varied depending on what was being performed.. Oftentimes, the costumes were shirts, skirts, and leotards, like in The Stack Up from 1982. However, in Welcome to Harlem, women wore patterned skirts and coats appropriate to the time, instead of the traditional leotards.
In the dance company, the music selection is the important key and helps tell these stories, setting the mood with the notes. The songs with and without lyrics help get a certain point across. The night ended with the well-known and celebrated performance of Revelations (1960) choreographed by Alvin Ailey himself. The costumes were more elaborate, women wearing full skirts and men sporting suits.
To the seasoned Alvin Ailey fan or to a newcomer, at the end of the night you feel like you just were a part of something that belonged to everyone. Alvin Ailey once said,“Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.”
-Emma Brightbill
Though the project is a work-in-progress, it is evident that Arroyo's vision is a visually and emotionally striking one. The white-on-black pieces maintain the qualities of softness and beauty in her earlier work, but definitely convey the sense of honor the artist wishes to bestow upon the women.
Andrea was very kind to our group, and we even got the chance to see her again at a Simmons alumnae party later in the week! I am sure we're all looking forward to seeing more of her work.
Ann K.
The exhibit description from the website:
“Fans will see a unique side of the World Cup in this multimedia, immersive exhibit of handcrafted collage and authentic African art. Joseph Peter journeyed across the African Continent on the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour with The Coca-Cola Company, capturing the love and passion of its diverse people for soccer. This unique selection of images translates how the world’s greatest sporting event promotes happiness, unity, and peace while building bridges around the world through the communal interaction and development of sport. From a broader angle, Africa Celebrates The World Cup! portrays the positive heart and soul of a continent often associated with challenges.”
photographs by Joseph Peter"The African Book of Happiness"
photo by: Jessica Pratas
photo by: Jessica PratasAfrica Celebrates the World Cup! Exhibit
photo by: Jessica Prataschair on loan from the Hemingway African Gallery
The World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event in the world. Over 2 billion people play soccer world wide. By making this exhibit free, the Paley Center exposed the beautiful (and to a lot of people, still unknown) realm of African art to the greater population of NYC.
Oh, and did I mention that if sitting in wooden chairs isn't your style you can head downstairs to sit in soft, roomy, comfortable chairs and watch the games on a big screen in HD? I kid you not.
The exhibit is here through July 11th - which is the date of the Championship game. Coca-Cola is sponsoring a party with free admission and free food to celebrate! If you are in the area, I highly suggest checking it out. You will not be disappointed.
- Jessica
PS - Forca Portugal! Eu acredito em você! Go USA! :)
Labels: africa, futbol, nyc, simmons college, soccer, world cup
As described by senior curator Jennifer McGregor, Wave Hill truly is one of New York’s hidden treasures. A short shuttle ride from the train station brought our group into what may be the most beautiful natural space we’ve encountered thus far. Rolling hills and manicured gardens embraced us as we explored this space and despite the oppressive heat we were all quite relaxed. Children who had just discovered the art of instrument making through Wave Hill’s family art project cavorted beside their parents. The sound of Indonesian gamelan instruments floated through the air as an audience gathered to listen to Gamelan Son of Lion, a repertory ensemble from NYC. All visitors seemed to be under a certain enchantment that only a place like Wave Hill could generate. I found it interesting to compare such a place so heavily involved in the arts with the many other institutions we’ve visited as a group. Unlike some of the others, Wave Hill is a place that evokes almost instant feelings of accessibility. Tucked away in the acreage, their art gallery exhibits a show intimately connected to the surrounding nature, which I believed helped visitors to feel at ease; the opposite, I feel, is often what occurs at more typical galleries within urban settings. Thus I began to contemplate the impact of alternative art spaces and how they can effectively reach a group of people that more traditional galleries and museums may not. These spaces are important to develop and maintain in order to keep arts communities thriving.
The Queens Museum of Art is not a world renowned location. It does not house blockbuster exhibitions, nor is it even what most New Yorkers consider part of New York. We entered through a non-descript entrance, obscured from the path by trees. While one can voice many criticisms about the building, the location, or even the collections, the Queen Museum of Art (from now on QMA) has been the only institution we have explored so far that has had such a dedication to exploring, creating, preserving, and exposing culture of all kinds to the community.
We were able to meet with Tom Finkelpearl, the Executive Director of the QMA, who appeared lively in his striped shirt with contrasting striped tie. We also had the opportunity to explore the museum while it was closed, with Tom as our guide.
Right off the bat we were exposed to the mission of the museum without needing to have the mission statement clearly defined. To summarize, the mission of the QMA is to present amazing art and educational programming to the New York community, focusing on the “uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural, and international community” of the surrounding locale of Queens. This is done by creating exhibitions and educational experiences that are current and relevant to the community, that “directly relate to the contemporary urban life of its constituents while maintaining the highest standards of professional, intellectual, and ethical responsibility.” The dedication that Tom showed to the community was inspiring.
We were shown a few examples of the QMA’s mission statement in action. During our tour, the QMA was housing a reception for 60 highschool students with extreme special needs. These children were able to work with the art educators and art therapists that the QMA has hired full time. We learned about up-coming community activities, including the Inti Raymi Solar Celebration this Sunday, and were able to pick up handouts showing the best skateboarding locations in the city as put together by an independent curator (then marked on the Panorama, also known as the “jewel of the collection”). We viewed an exhibition created by artists currently in Rikers, and heard about the many offerings to immigrant adults, families, and even their children with autism.
Perhaps the most daunting task the QMA currently faces is the expansion of the museum, nearly doubling its space. The new wing will be as modern and effective in housing art as any other museum, but what again shines through is the ties to the community. The new wing will also house a library, effectively being one of the first museums to house a library open to the general public.
The QMA embraces the old model of museums, the “cabinet of curiosities” as Tom put it, but remains current in the offerings to the community. It was a pleasure and extremely inspiring to explore the collections with the Man with the Plan, and to learn how we all can engage with and create culture in our own communities.
-Lauren
Thank You!
