The Met Cloisters: Fort Tryon Park

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.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum publically showcases Mrs. Gardner's collection in the greater Boston area. Each room functions as a chapter of a pilgrimage. When one travels through various countries and time periods, one inevitably ends up in a gallery built in the imitation of a chapel, and subsequently the Gothic room. In this paper, I will examine the Gothic room's theme in relation to the placement of its objects. I will also evaluate the room's strengths and challenges in serving the public, and how the conventions employed in this room contribute to the general accessibility of the museum.

As you arrive into the reception area of the Cleveland Museum of Art, you are greeted with silence. The clomping of shoes and whispers of fellow museum goers about what the “true meaning” behind the piece is fills the air. The first floor of the museum is dedicated to historical artifacts and artwork dating in the time period called Before Common Era (B.C.E.). Each piece is accompanied by a placard on the wall courtesy of the museum. The pieces are approximately dated, described, and an explanation of how each piece was used is given in the short paragraph.

Museum of Fine Arts, a government-funded museum that houses a collection of 19th and 20th

Fortson has a number of attractions. Its star attractions include Lake Harding, Lake Oliver, Goat Rock lakes, and north highlands. You can take boat leisurely boat rides through the different lakes. The Chattahoochee River offers the longest whitewater rafting course in the area.

Mr. Williams gave me a tour of the facility. The repository is located on the fifth floor of a beautiful new building which is an addition to the library. It is a 140,000 square foot building with many new amenities for the students. The fifth floor also holds the library’s historical collections, a state of the art archival storage and also houses a special area for archival preservation. I was also able to take a look at the beautiful rare books collection, which are set up in glass door bookcases, inside a meeting room where

This museum is the first time Johnson started to move away from the influence of Mies and the International Style. The international style of architecture emerged in the 1920’s and 1930’s. You can see this style of architecture in photo A. Common characteristics of International Style buildings are said to be rectilinear forms, ligh taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation and decoration, and open interior spaces. The typical materials of this style are glass and steel usually combined with less visible reinforced concrete. In picture number four you can see Munson Williams Proctor museum has opaque stone-clad walls, and uses luxuriant materials such as granite and statuary bronze, and a very balanced and symmetrical design. These aspects were all part of Johnson’s growing new interest in neo classical typologies, or what would be known as New Formalism in modern architecture. Neo formalism emerged in the 1950s and really took off in the 1960s, it remained popular in the third quarter of the twentieth

Over these past several years, the Van Wagenen has amazingly developed in many fascinating ways from it’s look and it’s purposes. To start things into action, after Jersey City purchased the Van Wagenen House in 1999 for $450,000, they began a renovation plan in 2002, and soon turned this historical home into a museum and educational center. Today, this stunning Greek Revival architecture style house is put on the vital list of the National Register of Historic Places, and over hundreds of people visit this historical house to explore the superb history. The city of Jersey City has developed the Van Wagenen House in many ways throughout these few decades. On the other hand, being such an historical place to visit, the Van Wagenen House holds a very important place in my heart, and is a terrific place to visit. The most vital reason why this house hold a vitality to me is because our first president, George Washington, visited this fine establishment. Don’t you get that cheerful feeling when you realize that the father of our country visited the Van Wagenen

Most aristocrats in New York in that era prefered the intricate styles of wrought iron gates. This design would very clearly be a show of wealth and status as that same design element employed in the construction of any gate on someone's private property which, whether consciously or otherwise, would cause those of lower classes to be turned away from using the tranquil refuge from bustling city life that is Central Park. Rather than bowing down to the power of the dollar, Olmsted and Vaux held steady on their plans to install relatively simplistic sandstone archways at the entrances to the park (Offerman 112-113). Not only did Olmsted and Vaux try to minimize the influence the opinions of the typically influential had on Central Park, but, even in situations in which the wealthy never gave input, they strived to allow for equal enjoyment of the park no matter someone's social status. In around the first ten years the park was open mostly wealthy people went to the park. The lives of the poor and the lives of the rich determined how

The two buildings also differ in the way they interact with the city, since they have vastly differing neighbors. The main building is centered on Adams street and faces the Loop, the busiest area of the city. Flanking the main entrance are two large, bronze, lions that seem to protect the building from the city, while still allowing visitors to enter and exit the museum. The new Modern Wing, however, faces Chicago’s Millenium Park. The face of the building along the park side is a large face of windows. So, while the old building is trying to shut out the city to create a space for itself, the Modern Wing is opening itself up to let the park

The size of it is very small and therefore I was not expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised by the exhibitions. Even though Bellevue Art Museum is very small-scale with only three floors but the quality of exhibitions is incredible. When I first came in, I took the stairs to the entrance of the museum and proceeded into it through a resolving glass door. I purchased my ticket from a really friendly front desk woman and got the little green tab that you have to clip on to your body in order to let securities know that you paid to get in. The building itself is light, spacious and modern. It mostly built in concrete and glass with very sparse and open which helps audience to acknowledge what exhibits take center stage. The main level of the museum had very good natural lighting through skylight. On the outside, Bellevue Art Museum has a great red wall with benches therefore it looks extremely appealing to people. The architecture is awesome in some sort of obtuse triangle or trapezoid with variety in each wall of the

The premises of the Museum are also well kept. I was also amazed to find out that the visit to the Museum is completely free. Since it’s a public place, no one charges any person for the things that they view at the place.

Different architects have different styles because they are trying to get at different things. Architecture is not just about making something beautiful anymore, it is about trying to get across a set of ideas about how we inhabit space. Two of the most famous architects of the twentieth century, one from each side, the early part and the later part up until today each designed a museum with money donated by the Guggenheim foundation. One of these is in New York City, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The other is in bilbao, Spain, and it was designed by Frank Geary. My purpose of this paper is to interrogate each of these buildings, glorious for different reasons, to show how each architect was expressing their own style.

Before the mid-twentieth century, museums in Europe and the United States were generally planned in variations of the neoclassical style. But, the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao moved the heading of gallery outlines, which gave an extensive show venue to twentieth century and modern art, designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry. Architecture is important nowadays to the public, because it offers a physical surrounding environment in where we live in. Moreover, architecture is not only affected by the culture, but also by the economy of the country.

Collections play a crucial role in fulfilling a museum’s mission and purpose. A museum’s collection is defined by its collection policy past and present which in turn helps to shape the museum’s goals and direction. As stewards of collections, museums are expected to maintain the highest professional standards legally and ethically.