When I first arrived at the Brooklyn Museum, I saw a big YO sculpture.

I was eager to see what other surprises might ensue. The moment I stepped into the museum, I saw two ginormous statues of what appeared to be KAWS.

All of the Macaulay students then went to the auditorium to listen to the guest speakers. We were discussing the purpose of a museum and what makes a museum a museum. I found these questions to be very existential and possessing a deep meaning.

When I went to the fifth floor, I saw a really colorful painting consisting of a man and a woman arm wrestling. I really liked the colors of the painting and the message really stood out to me, because I identify with the AAPI community and I found the oppression and struggles in this painting to be incredibly powerful. It reminded me of the one war artwork saying “woman can do it too.” I really liked this piece of art. It is honestly one of the most immaculate pieces of art I have seen with my own eyes, and I think that it should be universally considered pulchritudinous.

Overall, this experience was amazing. I would recommend this to everybody. It was truly one of the best Macaulay experiences so far.

I do not like rushing the art experience. This is because I think there is potentially a wealth of material to explore within a painting which can often take several minutes to uncover. Regrettably, I experienced the dissonance between this approach and that of my peers at the Night at the Brooklyn Museum. 

The group assignment created a certain pressure to analyze a piece of art within a specific time frame. However, there was more than enough time to complete this task free of any stress. The reason I felt a time crunch in spite of the allotted time was because my fellow students wanted to move on to other paintings. I could understand their frustration. I do not think one needs to discuss all levels of depth of a painting, from visual to the conceptual, in order to extract value from it. The issue arose when my fellow attendees did not seem intrigued at the prospect of having an-in depth conversation about any of those points of investigation when it came to other paintings. Roblin Meeks might say they want to look at paintings, but not see them.

The lack of interest in meaningful engagement on the part of my classmates is quite an unfortunate circumstance because when we did discuss the painting for the group assignment, they shared insights I never would have considered.

 

The painting we focused on in the group assignment was Southern Landscape (Southern Flood) by Eldzier Cortor, which was made in 1944-1945. The story of this painting is that there has been a flood and the black couple have been neglected by their society as they are left bereft of everything while their town is swept away. Those I was working with pointed out that there are telephone poles in the water which also resemble crosses. I was able to build on this astute observation of theirs. I believe that the drowning of the crosses conveys that either the institutions of the religion have failed to produce equality for black Americans, or that society has allowed its prized religious ideals to be destroyed by its racial caste system. A connection which my classmates made that resonated with me is to the biblical splitting of the sea. The flood waters are depicted in the painting as the barrier between the now-destitute black Americans and intact houses. The painting essentially claims that one would have to split the sea in order to reach safety. This connection further supports the idea that there is a massive gulf which must be crossed between the racial discrimination which currently exists and the equitable state of being that one ought to strive for.

 

Once we moved on to other pieces like the one above, I was perturbed by the unwillingness of my classmates to attempt to gain a more sophisticated view of art. This piece is Four Genders Were Born… by Nanibah Chacon (2022). The artwork engendered bewilderment and amusement on the part of my classmates. I can completely understand their feelings. What I cannot understand is why they did not seek to understand the work on any kind of deeper level. It is true that the painting is highly provocative. It appears to show a serious misplacement of genitalia. My initial response to this artwork-much like my classmates-was one of shock and revulsion. I wanted to look away. This is because the subjects appear to possess a deformity. However, the deeper understanding I garnered from this painting is that genitalia does seem to lack the significance it is traditionally ascribed in determining one’s gender. I observe a clear male and female in this painting even though the genitalia has been swapped. The facial features and the remainder of the body produce this gendered effect. Consequently, what this painting communicates in the bigger picture is that gender is nuanced and contains a myriad of characteristics aside from genitalia. Gender may be strongly associated with genitalia. That is why the image feels wrong. However, in contrast to conventional wisdom, gender is far more complicated than what is under one’s pants or dress.

I eventually found a buddy with whom to explore the museum in some depth for the remainder of the time. 

The above painting, Shifting the Gaze (2017) by Titus Kaphar, speaks to a common theme throughout the fifth floor collection: giving artistic expression to those whose voices are suppressed. This work merely involved painting white over the white figures in a Frans Hals painting. The purpose of this choice is to highlight the exclusion of those groups of people who were long neglected in art. I think this artistic decision is a grand idea. Every single individual deserves the opportunity to benefit from the value of art, which means that all groups should be included in the artistic conversation. The fifth floor contains a plethora of art made to tell the stories of indigenous people, minority women in prison and the black experience, among others. Telling these stories is essential because when people see subjects who look like themselves represented in art, they will feel included in the artistic dialogue and thus better able to benefit from any of the ideas fleshed out in the artwork. There was an entire section on the fifth floor dedicated to paintings of wealthy, white people who could afford to commission portraits of themselves. The purpose of including these is to demonstrate the contrast between the historical exclusivity which characterizes such commissioned art and the potential enriching impact that art can have if it emerges out of a wide range of backgrounds.

One painting which resonated with me was the above-A View of the Two Lakes and Mountain House, Catskills Mountains, Morning (1844) by Thomas Cole. This painting is powerful because of the small man looking out on this landscape in its bottom left. There is a beautiful depiction of greenery and towering mountains, but for me this is necessary but insufficient to evoke feelings of substantial agency. What provides the viewer vitality is the explorer who-stick in hand-is venturing out to the unknown to mark his acquisition of the territory. I was able to put myself in the explorer’s shoes and envision seeing this vast landscape before beginning an arduous hike.

Another painting which resonated with me was Sunset At Sea (1906) by Thomas Moran, which exhibits a glorious sunset over ocean waters. In a manner similar to the previous artwork, this painting does not alienate the viewer. The subtle way in which the image communicates agency is that there is a path shown to be seemingly open for travel through the turbulent waves. This is clear from the white reflection which flows through the valleys of the waves towards the middle of the painting. The viewer also feels as though he is being led to the sun, which is exhibited as the prominent source of power and energy. The sun blends into and almost seems to branch out into the clouds. The artist accomplishes this effect by coloring the clouds in various shades of orange depending on their distance from the sun. The viewer is made to feel like the sun has extended its influence over the other parts of the sky. Since the path through the ocean has been laid out towards this monumental celestial body, the painting further implies that it is reasonable for a person to aspire for the kind of vigor which the sun reflects on everything around it.

The final painting which appealed to me is Still Life with Fruit (1860) by Severin Roesen. Berger would dismiss this work as representing possession but I think he misses out on the value of the indulgence and luxury which is implied by such possession. The wine, the yellow grapes, and the sliced watermelons and lemons all convey exquisite pleasures and sublime affluence, even to a contemporary eye. In the case of sliced fruit, that is because one has the privilege of having food which is ready made to consume. At supermarkets today, sliced watermelon is more expensive than whole watermelon because of the additional value which the buyer receives from prepared food. Possession of such goods reflects possession of a highly desirable financial stability. My grandfather had a reputation for being a big-earner and big-spender and one of his sources of gratification was buying expensive fruit. He is who I think of when I view this image. My grandfather also loved to perform, which comes to mind in this image as well. There is the pleasure of the food and the wealth behind it which is conveyed, but there is even a performative aspect to one’s wealth, much like social media operates today. If a productive man two centuries ago wanted to show off his success, having a diversified fruit platter painted would certainly do so. I do not think there is anything wrong with material pleasure nor reveling in it. The viewer of this painting is given the opportunity to participate in not only the Dionysian lifestyle enabled by the security of massive wealth, but the pride which one can take in the pleasurable part of one’s existence. 

 

In sum, I was able to benefit from the input and company of my classmates as well as the art itself even if the situation was not ideal.

“The Night at the Museum” is a phrase that I commonly heard upon entering Macaulay. Rumored as one of the best Macaulay experiences, I experienced anticipation for this trip. Earlier in the day, I ran errands, ultimately taking the bus to campus. The weather was extremely unpleasant, as it was cold and slightly windy. After arriving, it was nice to see everyone and take a bus to the Brooklyn Museum; it felt as if I was reliving my middle school field trips.

Assyrian Palace Reliefs, 879 B.C.E.

Upon arrival at the museum, we were directed into a spacious and brightly-lit room. The first piece of art that caught my eye was the collection of Assyrian Palace Reliefs. These relics were actually the first main piece of artwork that I came across after entering the museum, and ironically, were the ones to resonate the most with me after leaving. The reason for this is because I come from an Armenian background which shares some commonalities with the characteristics of Assyrian culture. For instance, both groups were among the first to adapt Christianity, both groups have suffered persecution under the same Muslim rulers, and both groups were victims of genocide under the Ottoman Empire. The presented artifacts appeared extremely historical and therefore intriguing. After reading the description, I learned that Assyrian palaces were decorated with such objects in order to overwhelm the ancient visitors with the king’s power, revealing the supernatural world where the king existed. Those on display decorated the palace of one of the greatest rulers in ancient Assyria, Ashur-nasir-pal II, which was before the common era, showcasing its intricate nature. The carvings on these materials conveyed images of kings, divinities, sacred trees, and magical beings called apkallu (human bodies with wings and either human, eagle, or fish heads), along with inscriptions. Accordingly, the Assyrians believed that apkallu survived a mythical flood to serve the king.

The Bridge, 1938

The paintings that I appreciated the most were those that resembled real life and were effective in clearly portraying specific images. For instance, the work depicting Venice was very beautifully conveyed, using watercolor techniques and portraying a place that I, myself, desire to visit. The drawing is very simple, elegant, and comforting, revealing the artist’s usage of Impressionist style and transition into Post-Impressionist application of color. The talent in this composition was undeniably evident and I enjoyed looking at the unified presentations with the section themed by water’s presence.

Afterwards, we walked to different floors and explored them. Although it was aesthetically nice to enter differently decorated rooms, I was mostly overcome with tiredness. My favorite part of the museum was the exhibited storage room, full of antiques and glassware. The displays themselves were very nice and it was cool to witness the distinctions among each setting. While one room was water-themed, another was decorated with vibrantly patterned walls, and another was all black and white; these variations were all present on the same floor. Nevertheless, I was not able to connect with the art and even found myself questioning the presence of certain items such as chairs hanging on walls. Overall, this experience was definitely very unique and will be memorable to me, despite my afterward exhaustion.

I found Tuesday’s Night at the Museum to be an incredibly gratifying experience. Although, regrettably, only two floors of the museum were open to us, I don’t suppose I can complain about that since the Brooklyn Museum was open after hours specifically for us Macaulay students, and the floors we did have access to were filled with fascinating exhibitions. Starting from the top down, I first explored the fifth floor. My most significant impression from the artworks on this floor was how diverse they were in origin, time period, etc. I found the juxtaposition of modern art with that of a more classical background very thought-provoking, as it inspired me to ponder the similarities between the two. I also thought that the fifth floor exhibits did an incredibly good job at highlighting the inequalities so ever-present in the art world. Here, Black, Indigenous, and Asian art was highlighted in a way that is so uncommon for most art spaces, as these communities are commonly underrepresented in the museum world which I notice tends to favor, for lack of better phrasing, dead white guys. I noticed a major theme of examining the reason why these marginalized voices have historically been so cast out of academic and artistic spaces and I felt that the fifth floor almost served to stress how art from historically marginalized communities belongs in a museum just as much as that from white artists.

One of my favorite parts of the fifth floor exhibit was probably that dealing with orientalism in art. As I had learned from a description on the wall, American artists throughout history fetishized Arab culture despite many of them never even having visited it. Of course, to these American artists, an Arabic scene was just generically Middle Eastern, with traditions of different countries being blurred into one vague, exotic ideal of what they thought the region was like. The same is true for East Asia as well, especially as chinoiserie came into vogue in both Europe and America. Something I noticed was that white women painted in kimonos looked modest, whereas Asian women painted in kimonos were hypersexualized by the artist. I felt that putting these paintings in the same exhibit serves to facilitate a meaningful conversation about the history of unfair–to say the least–depiction of women in art based on their race.

The third floor served as a stark contrast to the fifth, as it was filled with ancient Egyptian art. Ancient Egypt is close to my heart, as I admittedly was very into ancient Egyptian mythology as a child…in any case, I highly enjoyed looking around at the ornate tombs and artifacts. One of my favorite works was a mummy portrait from the Roman Period known as Woman with Earrings. I found myself drawn to this portrait because the woman looks so realistic. Compared to Egyptian art of other periods, I found the Roman influence incredibly apparent. Something about her, perhaps because she looks like just another woman I could see on the street, piqued my interest. She is beautiful in a very approachable way, I suppose.

If given the chance, I would instantly come back to the Brooklyn Museum. Not only did Night at the Museum offer me the opportunity to visit a museum I hadn’t been to beforehand, it also gave me the opportunity to connect with my Macaulay peers from other campuses, and I even got to reunite with some old friends from middle and high school! In summation, I believe that events such as this one are instrumental in bringing together Macaulay students from all campuses and giving us a space to culturally enrich and intellectually challenge ourselves.

I knew the Night at the Museum would be a great day once I took a wonderful 30 minute nap after eating some delicious pizza (thank you Lisa and Anita). The second I walked in I took a picture of the giant wood statues of the KAWS figures. I find it cool when I see something of my generation in a museum. A day like the N@TM made me even more thankful for being in Macaulay, showing how much that the program truly cares about the students, you won’t find that at any other college in America.

Being with the other Macaulay students was cool, I met new people and also saw familiar faces. I did the first assignment in a group with Jackson, we used the painting of 2 African Americans with their homes wrecked from a flood, showing how the impoverished areas are affected by natural disasters.
This picture is from the Brooklyn museum website I didn’t take the picture there.

The work by myself was a cool picture of a Native American man with a gun in his hand and he was riding a horse. It turns out that the man was a failed businessman who was moving west because of the recent westward expansion, and he was going to become a rancher.

The Night at the Museum was a great experience and I can see why it is hyped up early on in the year, to be able to close out a museum for the students. The use of group activity and solo activity was a great way to get the students engaged in the art.

     When I entered the Brooklyn Museum, I was greeted by a giant statue of two humanoid figures and continued onward to the auditorium. There I met many Macaulay peers, and we were all seated. A philosopher then explained that a museum is a place where culture is in conversation with itself. After that, we were dismissed from the auditorium to explore the museum in groups. 

     My group went to the fifth floor, which was full of paintings and sculptures of extremely high detail. The first painting that caught my eye was one of a raging waterfall. There you could see all of the fine details of the water crashing down onto the rocks below, how the lighting shines on the sky, and the details of the trees in the background. The crashing waves in the artwork reminded me of my trip to Canada, where I saw Niagara Falls.

      I continued to the next room, where I was greeted by another large and detailed painting. This had a detailed view of the mountains, a lake, and the sky. Additionally, the lighting of the painting also stood out to me, which was applied to the mountains, clouds, and even the small trees. In the middle of this artwork, the artist demonstrated their ability to show depth by fading out the view to a dark and distant valley. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the painting also included a Native American camp and them chasing their prey. This addition to the painting proves the careful attention to detail, ultimately revealing that this artwork took a very long time to create.

     After that artwork, I continued exploring the fifth floor, stopping and inspecting several works of art. It was clear that all of the paintings or sculptures were made by excerpt artists. Then I came upon a room where there were several works of art stored in glass containers. In the center of that room there was a metallic statue of a man looking at his hand. This statue showed all of the slightest creases in his clothes, thus making the statue look extremely realistic. As I continued to the rest of the fifth floor, no other work stood out to me as the others that I observed, and with that, I finished my experience with the Brooklyn Museum.

My time at the Night at the Museum trip was a really fun and unique experience; being in a museum closed off to the public, free to wander and observe many pieces in a short amount of time with peers, was very enjoyable. My favorite part of this opportunity, aside from viewing the many beautiful pieces on display, was being surrounded by diverse minds that I could hear and involve myself with in discussion, proving to me that art is truly subjective and that everyone has a different interpretation.

Upon entering the fifth floor, I was surrounded by protest art, especially many works depicting protests relevant to the United States and even New York City (which, from bias, was my favorite). For example, my group gravitated toward the large painting labeled Shifting the Gaze. This painting appeared to be painted over in thick white strokes, covering its initial beauty. However, it was done in a strategic and rather symbolic manner. The White family members’ bodies were covered, leaving the Black boy, the family’s servant, completely uncovered and thus the new focal point of the painting. This made it so the audience focused on the commonly overlooked subject, which was originally camouflaged. The history of this art fascinated me, especially since it was done to make light of the underrepresented community rather than hiding them. 

     

Additionally, I found that this museum was most fitting for embodying the many types of art we have learned about in class. For example, many oil paintings often depict noble persons and possessions as repetitively indicated by John Berger. Being able to see these many oil paintings extremely up close made light how realistic and textured these paintings truly feel. Another display I have not yet experienced was the art storage room. Although to me it seemed like a small-scale Ikea at first, it actually had quite an impressive assortment of art pieces, varying from furniture to canvases, which struck my interest. I was left curious as to why these many pieces were in storage, as to me it appeared random. I did enjoy this randomness, however, it was entertaining jumping from one thing to the next.

Overall, on the Macaulay Night at the Museum trip, I had a fun time looking at the extremely versatile displays together with my friends. The trip has also opened my eyes to methods of art I have learned about but have not viewed yet first-hand.

 

When I first heard we had a “Night at the Museum” trip, I immediately thought it was going to be like the movie where a T-Rex skeleton comes to life, but then I realized that stuff is impossible to be a reality. There may not have been any talking statues or Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, but I still had an interesting time at the Brooklyn Museum.

For starters, I was excited to go because I didn’t have any classes that day and a coach bus was bringing us there. I was ready to be immersed in the artwork and I got the chance to check off another museum I haven’t been to before. When we arrived, I was shocked by the architecture of the museum and thought to myself, “Well if the outside looks this cool, then inside it will be just the same, if not better.” As I sat in the auditorium with over 500 people and listened to the provost speak in a very philosophical manner, I found myself indeed agreeing with his interpretation of what is a museum. It truly is a place where culture is in conversation with itself, and it was proven to me as I explored the different exhibits.

Straight out of the auditorium, I noticed abstract and geometric patterns along the walls. Something about them was appealing to just stop and stare at them for some time. They were satisfying to look at, but they weren’t the abstraction that defined Picasso’s art, which I really enjoy analyzing. Contrastly, the Assyrian art that followed did not speak to me, to the point where I just glanced side to side and ended up at the end of the hallway without realizing. History is not my thing, so when I see it infused in art, I don’t really give it a second look. At the end of the hallway was a “perfect time” for a mini photo session of Macaulay CSI, and the mini groups we formed made the rest of the experience fun.

Afterwards, some of us went to the 5th floor where it was less crowded, and I could tell there was going to be something here that I would actually like looking at. The first thing that stuck out to me was this work called “Bring a Folding Chair: A Portrait of Shirley Chisholm”. Obviously, I did not touch it, but it was very tempting because I could tell there was a lot of texture to the work. The folding chairs on the skirt was something new and I didn’t understand it until I read Shirley Chisholm’s quote: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” The way I interpreted this was that if you’re not welcomed somewhere, carve out your own place and prove why you should be there. There were also a lot of oil paintings and I was able to connect what we talked about in the seminar to what I was seeing. There were paintings of fruit and landscapes, but also a blue wall covered in flowers and a painting of Virgin Mary surrounded by fruit.

The last stop for me was the storage room, where I saw a lot of furniture, specifically chairs, and some old paintings. The chairs did not look the most comfortable and I didn’t understand why they were placed in a museum. The one thing from the storage room that I liked was this lamp that had a cover similar to the roses and vase in Beauty and the Beast. Overall, I had a good time on the trip and now I can say that I have had my own Night at the Museum experience.