The Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC is definitely a treasure of the city. Hurrying up the stairs to get inside, pushing my way through the bustling crowd, it was difficult to really get a good look at the outside architecture. The large columns I did manage to glimpse though were pretty impressive. Inside, there was a really high ceiling in the entry way, giving the place a sense of grandeur within the first five minutes of your visit.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get all that much time to visit the met; you really need a lot of time to make the most of your visit.

The section with the Egyptian art and artifacts was pretty impressive. There was this one room that opened up so it was really huge and part of the ceiling was glass to let in a lot natural light. There were these pieces from tombs that showed different hieroglyphics that you would see on similar Egyptian structures.

The Greek statues were absolutely gorgeous. The various marble figures were so elegantly crafted. It’s a shame that throughout time and transportation that so many of the pieces had parts of them break off. There were missing heads, arms, noses, and various other appendages. Even still, the amount of life-like qualities that were present in the sculptures was absolutely amazing. The smoothness of the skin versus the texture of the fabric of their clothing was greatly contrasted. I have no idea how artists were able to make such amazing sculptures.

The one thing I didn’t like about the met however, was how easily I got lost.

I got separated from the group while I was looking at one piece and I didn’t realize they had moved on to something else. I spent the next 15 minutes or so walking in circles trying to find them, but I couldn’t find them ANYWHERE. There was a simple explanation for that though. They had left the building without me.

Once I was told by one of my classmates that everybody was waiting for me at the bus, I hurriedly tried to find my way out of the maze of paintings I had found myself in. It seemed like no matter which way I turned, I couldn’t get out. All of the paintings were of a similar style so it took me a while before I realized I was pretty much roaming in circles, not making any progress. So I had to swallow my pride and ask a security guard how to get out.

Even with directions from one person, I had to ask any security person on my way out which way the exit was. It was so embarrassing. But hey, I guess I got to see a little bit more of the museum than everybody else in my class did!

I know that I am definitely going to have to find a chance to go back to the met and visit for a much longer time, so I can slow down and really look at the art.