One major thing that I planned to do this year is to visit NYC's famous museums. I've been a New Yorker for five years and I have not done such a thing. Everytime I come home to Manila, I am asked by a few friends about which museums I've been to and I'm usually embarrassed to admit that I haven't been to any of them. To remedy this pathetic situation, I promised myself that I'll check that off my 2009 to-do list. First stop is The Metropolitan Museum of Art or The Met. Instinctively, I would've gone to MoMA but the Van Gogh painting, Starry Night, is currently on loan to a museum somewhere in Italy so I switched plans.
The Met is located at Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, near the center of Central Park. Admission fee is $20 for one full day. I came in around 3pm one super-windy day back in February without a battleplan. My goal was just to exhaust everything in an one hour and a half (closing time is 5:30 pm). For that amount of time, I was able to make my rounds on maybe 60% of the museum. I didn't really take everything in. Just those that piqued my interest, particularly the European sculpture collection and the early European paintings. I got excited to see a van Gogh (Madame Roadin and Her Baby) and a Chagall (The Pont de Passy and the Eiffel Tower). I have only learned of Marc Chagall from Dara Horn's novel, The World To Come. On the sculpture side, I found Ugolino And His Sons really enthralling. The original is in Paris and in bronze while the copy here at The Met is in marble. It's a character from Dante's Inferno, a traitor who was captured together with his sons and sentenced to starvation. The sons offer their bodies to assuage their father's hunger. Quite a powerful piece. Clearly I'm not an Arts major so I don't really know how to appropriately describe these obras. I just wished my Humanities class back in college was conducted in museums like this to thoroughly appreciate the subject.
Anyway, I was confused with the photography rules in the museum. I wasn't sure which ones were not allowed to be photographed. The pamphlet says everything in the permanent collection is okay. But everytime I see a Met security staff giving me a look, I just put my camera down though I was in the allowable area. I would have gotten more pictures of the paintings.
I just realized I'm not really a museum kind of guy, although I find some of the stuff definitely interesting. It doesn't give me that effervescent feeling that, umm...shopping provides. Of course, that won't keep me from visiting another one next time. Maybe MoMa will change that feeling.
The Met is located at Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, near the center of Central Park. Admission fee is $20 for one full day. I came in around 3pm one super-windy day back in February without a battleplan. My goal was just to exhaust everything in an one hour and a half (closing time is 5:30 pm). For that amount of time, I was able to make my rounds on maybe 60% of the museum. I didn't really take everything in. Just those that piqued my interest, particularly the European sculpture collection and the early European paintings. I got excited to see a van Gogh (Madame Roadin and Her Baby) and a Chagall (The Pont de Passy and the Eiffel Tower). I have only learned of Marc Chagall from Dara Horn's novel, The World To Come. On the sculpture side, I found Ugolino And His Sons really enthralling. The original is in Paris and in bronze while the copy here at The Met is in marble. It's a character from Dante's Inferno, a traitor who was captured together with his sons and sentenced to starvation. The sons offer their bodies to assuage their father's hunger. Quite a powerful piece. Clearly I'm not an Arts major so I don't really know how to appropriately describe these obras. I just wished my Humanities class back in college was conducted in museums like this to thoroughly appreciate the subject.
Anyway, I was confused with the photography rules in the museum. I wasn't sure which ones were not allowed to be photographed. The pamphlet says everything in the permanent collection is okay. But everytime I see a Met security staff giving me a look, I just put my camera down though I was in the allowable area. I would have gotten more pictures of the paintings.
I just realized I'm not really a museum kind of guy, although I find some of the stuff definitely interesting. It doesn't give me that effervescent feeling that, umm...shopping provides. Of course, that won't keep me from visiting another one next time. Maybe MoMa will change that feeling.
van Gogh, Madame Roadin and Her Baby
Chagall, The Pont de Passy and the Eiffel Tower
More pics here:
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| The Met |
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3 comments:
Hi again, nurse Marq.
I enjoyed reading about the Met. The last time I was in NYC (holy smokes.....in 1984....yikes) I got to go to the Met also...and MOMA.
In 1975 I went to the Met (with my college roommate, who had an aunt who lived in Kew Gardens, Queens)....we also went to the Met specifically to see the Egyptian artifacts....which were closed at that time, so we had to look at Grecian Urns instead.
They were beautiful and it was a fascinating exhibit.
Here are some other things I would like to do in NYC if I ever get there:
1) In late December09/early January 2010.......Anna Netrebko will be at the (other) MET and you can bet I would love to get SRO for that one....any seat.
2)Go to a newstand and get a real New York Chocolate Egg Cream, and some newspapers.
3)Go to Murray's Bagels on Seventh Avenue, because that has been mentioned by Cherry Jones as place where she goes to get bagels.
(I would never ask for an autograph...I would just secretly take a pic with my cellphone camera, etc)
Oh. Speaking of Cherry Jones....guess what? Cherry Jones will be doing a private reading with Jon Lithgow of (Ketti Fring's adaptation of) "Look Homeward Angel" on May 18th.....probably as a run though, workout or trial (whichever word is appropriate) for a fall revival of that play......starring, presumably.....
CHERRY JONES
JON LITHGOW
etc
So, MarQy......if I find out where the private reading, invitation-only event is going to be held (May 18th is a Monday night)......do you think you could hang out at the Stage Door and then when Cherry Jones comes out......
Then you could ask her what the name of her dog is and what breed it is.
If you post the info, I will mail you $10. Is that enough money? No? How about $20?
How about a tip on the third Race at Calder Race Track next Saturday?
PS. DC has some great museums too..and they're all FREE. So if you get a chance to take the shuttle to DC some weekend/day off...you could just hop the Metro rail at DCA (purchase a $7.00 farecard)......and buzz around DC all day.
The only other thing you would need is snack money/dinner money...etc.
PS **Nice pics in your blog, especially the Picasa ones of yourself, posing next to the posters of the Calvin Klein (sp?) underwear dudes.
I don't think after all these brouhaha about CJ that I would have the nerve to be seen by her at all. So, no thanks. Cute gesture, though.
And thanks - that pic is one of my favorites, too!
go in disguise
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