Ides of March
Monday, March 15th, 2010It’s been really hard to keep up with blogging the last few weeks. Not just writing my own, but reading and commenting on my friends’ blogs, too. Luckily, this week is Spring Break and Easter Break comes only two weeks later.
I decided that I would take the money I could have spent on a cheap Spring Break trip and instead do things in New York I haven’t had time for. My week-long goal includes: a museum, a movie, a show, a concert. I’ve already got tickets to Thursday night’s Scissor Sisters concert (still need a date, though).
Yesterday I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I tried to take pictures, but I forgot to charge my Droid before leaving, so the battery started running low almost immediately. I got a few, though.
The first wing I visited was the Egyptian collections. The things that really struck me: I’m so used to seeing hieroglyphs in movies or cartoons that it never occurred to me exactly how detailed they were until I was looking at them up close. Also, seeing pieces of jewelry that were 4000 years old but could rival today’s collections in craftsmanship and creativity.
From there I moved into the American Wing and explored the period rooms. Honestly, I was a little bored, but every so often I’d step into a room that blew me away and made it worth it. This is definitely a part of the museum where the audio tour for some context might have helped.
After that I ended up in the European painters then the Modern Art wings of the building. I could have easily spent my entire time in this part of the museum. It’s hard to remember a lot of specifics, but I recall being impressed with a some of the Rembrandt, Matisse, O’Keefe, Warhol, and Dali works on display (as well as a few artists whose names I now forget).
From there I wandered through the Greco-Roman wings and the Oceania wings. The marble statues were impressive and I was struck by how much of Western concepts of beauty is still much the same as when these busts were carved. The bis poles and masks and other art associated with Oceanic islands surprised me. Again, I’m used to seeing these things depicted in movies or theme parks to create a sense of “headhunter menace,” but to see them up close… well, I get it. They are intimidating and would certainly have me on edge if I encountered them in an unfamiliar context.
Anyway, after that I was pretty much exhausted and my feet hurt (plus, they were closing in about 20 minutes), so I tracked down a pizza place in the Upper East Side for a slice then headed home.
I think I’ll stay in tonight (Broadway shows are mostly dark on Monday and I’m not in the mood for a movie night yet). Maybe I’ll just watch TV and start reading the 200 pages of Con Law I’ll be expected to know when we get back from break.
Looks like a good day. We skipped that museum when I was there because it was a gorgeous day and we didn’t want to spend our last day in NY stuck in a museum. The Egyptian stuff is amazing.
Have a fun week being a tourist in your own town. (Except for that reading part. Ick)
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Jere Keys Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Totally understandable. I’ve been here 8 months before giving up an afternoon to a museum.
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I think museuming alone is the way to go. Compared to going with someone, it’s easier because you can go at exactly your own pace, and it ends up being inward and contemplative. Lovely.
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Jere Keys Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Absolutely. Unless I’m with a total art geek who can explain things to me like I’m 4, I much prefer to move at my own pace.
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Never been to the Met. Never been to any museum in NYC. Will HAVE to add that to the to-do list for next time. That was pretty interesting stuff you took photos of there!
Enboy your ‘you time’ week!
HUGS…
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Jere Keys Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Yes, there are a few really awesome museums in town. I’m not a huge fan of museum trips, but sometimes they are very much worth it.
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My dad is OBSESSED [feat. Mariah & Beyoncerz?!] wiff Dali. He’s amazing and I was lucky enough to see his exhibit before.
And I really do quite enjoy the carving that depicts the guy getting his hand eaten by bulls. FUNNY!
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Haha I had the same thing happen to me (no battery) the last time I went to the British Museum. V frustrating.
I *love* the Metropolitan Museum. I last went in April of 2008 and I made my feet sore, too. After the Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Medieval, and several other sections I think I ended up just sitting down with a nice view of Sargent’s Madame X ’til my feed stopped throbbing. One thing I don’t enjoy about the MMA is how labyrinthine it is and how different sections are closed off, so there’s only one way in or out. At one point, a security guard allowed two young nubile 20something women through a “staff-only” door as a shortcut back into the main hall but stopped me from following. He told me sternly it was “staff only” even though it was quite obvious the gals he had just let through weren’t staff. Pfeug
I am also always fascinated seeing things that were fashioned by human hands thousands of years ago, and Egyptian art and monuments go back a good 5,000 years, which is just incredible. I particularly love the temple that’s surrounded by glass with views of Central Park and the City beyond. There is something mind-blowing about that juxtaposition, and something amazing a about standing in the temple and knowing how long ago it was built by hands that have long since turned to dust.
I’m also thrilled that they got rid of the restaurant that occupied one of the best rooms in the Greco-Roman section, which has since been lovingly restored. It’s a shame there isn’t a decent restaurant in the Museum anymore, but I’d rather have decent exhibits. I think they made the right move there.
I was last in Manhattan last spring. My boss has had a tradition of going to tapings of the Letterman show since he was a freshman at MIT (and there are some amusing youtube videos of him on stage during that show — it was when I watched those videos that I first realized with horror that my boss is 20 years younger than me). He arranged for our entire team to go down from IBM for the day. We had lunch at the Hard Rock (wouldn’t have been my first choice), picked up our tickets, and then went to a museum. There were two museum tragedies for me that day. The first was that the Metropolitan was closed. *sigh* The second was that the MoMA was — open. *HEAVY sigh*
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