The Frick Collection and The Met: A Comparison The Frick Collection and The Metropolitan Museum of Art are both very distinct art museums. If you visit the museums or their online websites, it becomes very apparent that they differ in historical backgrounds, in their curatorial departments, in the way in which they were founded and then funded and in the collections of art that they house. I visited both museums and it was evident to me that they bore many differences, and at the same time, they were also similar in some aspects. Historically, the Frick Collection was a private collection by Henry Clay Frick, who started the collection and housed it in his own home. After his and his wife’s death, it was publicly opened as a museum in …show more content…
However, when I first entered the museum, it felt very dark and it smelled of wood. It gave me the feeling of being at the house when it was up and running. What I noticed about the way the paintings were displayed was that in each hallway, one painting in every room would appear right in front of you, which also portrays the value of each of those paintings because of the way they were placed to be seen. (2) Both museums are situated in ‘wealthy’ areas of New York City and thus indicate that there may be an association between the grandeur of museums and wealth or sophistication. Another aspect that I found to be very interesting was the way in which each of the museums offered different multimedia formats to facilitate the visitor’s experience with the artwork in display. I noticed that both museums offered applications for smartphones and tablets, free of charge, to assist the visitors with getting the most possible out of the museum. Visiting a museum can be a very distracting task because there is so much to see and without a plan or a navigating system that helps you make your way towards the museum, it can be hard to gain something from your visit. Both apps are accessible to most people and very easy to navigate through. These apps included audio guides, exhibition information, calendars, events and so on. However, I noticed
The first room of the museum pulled in the audience with artwork from the 20th century. Although it may seem like artwork put together at the last minute, if you look closer, you will see something entirely different. Each piece had so much detail and unique qualities, such as style and art form, that you haven't see in many other museums before. It is important to appreciate the erratic design and character of each piece of art, but after seeing the entire museum, it is easy see the monumental difference between art now, and the art of our past. Art of the past showed a lot more
Positioned alongside Central Park in the heart of New York City, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and most influential art museums in the world. The Met houses an extensive collection of curated works that spans throughout various time periods and different cultures. The context of museum, especially one as influential as the Met, inherently predisposes its visitors to a certain set of understandings that subtly influence how they interpret and ultimately construct meanings about each individual object within the museum. Brent Plate in Religion, Art, and Visual Culture argues that “objects obtain different meanings in different locations and historical settings.”An object placed on display behind a glass case inside a museum would hold a vastly different meaning if it was put on sale by a street vendor, like the ones who set up their tables in close proximity to the Met. The different meanings that objects are able to obtain is attributed to the relationships that are established between the object itself and the environment that surrounds it. These relationships often involve the kind of audience that a museum attracts, where the work is exhibited, and how the exhibits within a museum is planned out. Museums subsequently have the ability to control how these relationships are established which influences the way a viewer is able to construct meaning. When a visitor observes an object on display at the Met, they instinctively construct a certain set of
I had the opportunity to visit this museum before and I was very impressed and overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of the things I saw, however, this time during my visit, I gave critical attention to the East Wing Building of the art gallery. I was utterly amazed by the new pieces in the East Wing, which led
“The museum has changed people’s perception of museums, about the connections between art, architecture, and collecting.” (Freshome). Admiring the Architect, Frank O. Gehry, and how he would not just design, but how he would blend previous designs with his own and create a building made his work unforgettable.
The Met and the Guggenheim possess two of the most famous museum façade’s in the world. Upon first glance at the Guggenheim Museum, one is both impressed and intrigued by its design (pictures 1-4). It is an organic form that derives its source from Central Park located just opposite. The best impression of the structure is obtained from just across the street (picture 1). The attention to detail is evident everywhere – the circular pattern of the sidewalk outside the museum, the porthole-like windows on its south side (picture 4), and the smoothness of the hand plastered concrete. The main component on the west façade (facing Fifth Ave) is represented by an upward spiraling helix (pictures 1-3). Horizontal lines are stressed throughout the exterior, with the museum being longer than it is tall. There are very few corners, with smoothness and blending of form the focus. The museum gives an impression of stacked shapes with its long horizontal base, the viewing room capped by a steel structure on the north façade, the spiraling helix
To me, museums serve as trains that deliver goods that are arts to people. Art can be perceived as a mean to entertains our life, reflects customs and communicates thoughts, ideas and emotions and it’s museums job that bring them closer to people. There is a huge difference when it came to seeing the artwork in person and seeing the artwork from a book or website and magazine. You will never be able to feel a piece properly when you see it in the textbook, you will never understand how the color was put together and what is the meaning behinds it, you won’t see how the lines and curves are blend together to make the painting look perfect and how strong that art can affect you in emotion. Many people nowadays don’t even bother watching the art themselves, they rather listening to what critics have to say about the works in their own perspective and can’t even make a decision themselves whether or not they should see the arts. “An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance”, in my opinion, I think we will never know what is good until we see it
But, I also agree with the movement directed towards moving away from a Euro-centric view, but that should by no means discredit and limit the size of the exhibit. As introduced earlier in the report, the artwork was mainly consistent of portraiture painting, not giving a lot of variety to the other styles of artwork at the time such as landscape, still life, drawings, architecture, and sculpture. Although art was mainly representative of the wealthy during this time, it would have been nice to see more common–life paintings that bring in the connection to the average person visiting an admission free museum. The price for admission was nothing to scoff at, due to the high quality pieces on display, admission should be taken to make the museum appear more prestigious. In general, however, the museum was well-kept and cleaned thoroughly, but the majority of commentary on the artwork must have been seen as trite, as there is not a lot of commentary. For the general accessibility and these positive gems of artwork, I was thoroughly impressed to find such a great repository of the
Judith H. Dobrzynski’s article, “High Culture Goes Hands-On,” suggests that the museums current trend of providing visitors with “an experience” threatens the current model of providing “solace and inspiration” (Dobrzynski 3). However, I disagree with this conclusion. Interactive experiences and contemplative approaches can co-exist just so long as museums adjust in response to how our ever-evolving culture receives it. Transitioning from museums’ elitist paradigm is critical to creating a more accessible community-conscious design. Dobrzynski, on the other hand, views these differences as “shedding the very characteristics that made [art museums] so special” (1), a pessimistic sentiment that shows her contempt towards development.
Art is not only about what you see, it’s about what you feel when you look at it. Walking through a museum, it’s like walking through emotions. There are so many different feelings and emotions you get depending on the work of art you’re experiencing. Both works of arts I got to experience at the Getty museum were very interesting and unique. The first work of art was A Walk at Dusk (1830-1835) by German artist Caspar David Friedrich. Its medium was oil on canvas with dimensions of 33.3 x 43.7 cm. The second work of art was Mornington Crescent with the Statue of Sickert’s Father-in-law, 1966 by German artist Frank Auerbach. Its medium was also oil but on a Masonite attached to auxiliary wooden framework with dimensions of 122 x 152.5 cm. At a first look both paintings seem extremely different but when you look closer, deep in their core they are quite similar. Both paintings depict a really meaningful place, but in A Walk at Dusk the place is
Next, each room of art were unique. When I get into each room, some things that surprise me that each room was very exclusive, original and uncommon. Also, the rooms were very enlightened and I personally felt that each room had something for everyone in the family. Another thing that I noted of the museum was the accessibility of each floor, so anybody can go and have a great time without
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,otherwise known as 'The Met' is very well known for it's wide variety art, it being the largest art museum in the United States and one of the most popular art museums in the world. Since 1870, The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been acquiring numerous forms of art for the world to see. It currently holds more than a million works throughout it's seventeen departments, but it all started with a Roman marble sarcophagus-the first ever object acquired. Throughout the museum's history, it has been through renovations in order to include more things from past; several galleries have been opened overtime devoted to certain cultures. In the museum visitors can expect to see pieces of history from all around the world.
I toured the virtual Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Though it was not face-to-face, I still really enjoyed my experience through the virtual word. I was more fascinated about the liveliness in the virtual world than anything else. I think the virtual museum itself was more of a work of art than the art it displayed because it covered almost every inch from many different points of view in the museum. I also liked how it was pretty easy to operate and move around, and no matter how much I zoomed in or out I could read almost everything perfectly fine. While being able to explore this museum from the comfort of my own home was a plus, I truly missed out on being able to read the display labels to learn more about the artifacts. Reading about the history or story behind a work of art is, in my opinion, the best part. This virtual tour was captivating, and I hope to someday visit the museum in person.”
Never before have I seen a museum as grand as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. From its architecture to its massive art collection, The Met has a little bit of everything and one is sure to find something that captures his or her interest. Considering that The Met is the United States' largest art museum, it is easy to get lost within its many corridors and wings. My visit to The Met took place during the last week of July. Despite the almost unbearable heat and humidity that hung in the air, visiting museums under these climate conditions is a welcome respite from a suffocating, yet bright summer afternoon.
Karsten Schubert’s article, “The Curator’s Egg”, tells us about the characteristics of these “new museums” in terms of what is prioritized, sacrificed, and how museums acting like corporations can lead to problematic issues. Schubert states, art for all has given way to the 'democracy of spectacle': an ambition to be attractive to the greatest number of people at all costs. It seems as if new museums have prioritized to showcase what the visitors would appreciate. As a millennial living in the 21st century, I have witnessed that art museums have only seem to attract people if the installations and the artwork are instagram worthy. Instead of focus there would be