Distracted Among Culture
To a certain extent, no one can dictate how your time at a museum should be spent and just as I was thinking about this walking through several halls at The Metropolitan Museum, I found a New York Times article that described this same assessment: “At the Louvre, Many Stop to Snap but Few Stay to Focus.”
I could spend as much time roaming a museum as I can lose track of time in a bookstore, cross-referencing information that I’ve inspected briefly elsewhere but ultimately what keeps me in any of these 2 places is the fundamental interest of learning from things that I consider a source of self-improvement.
Culture is as ubiquitous as you would expect it to be in a museum and yet you have to realize that not everyone is going to deem that attraction nearly as appealing as you instantly would. I must have walked around this boy at least 3 times after I shot this photograph and even then, he was completely absorbed in his Gameboy that the only way he could have objected to my presence is if I had snatched the device away from him.
The boy was obviously more interested in having a more contemplative, solitary experience with his gadget than he was with the amazing Tibetan setting he found himself in. To each his own.
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Chinese Viewing Room
I’ve been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York enough times during my college years to know that you don’t have to pay the $25 suggested price of admission as it says on their ticket board but of course that’s hush-hush information they wouldn’t openly tell you unless you have me standing on line behind you.
A $1 is my usual contribution and the Chinese exhibit is by far my favorite. There’s more to Chinese culture than great food and we New Yorkers are lucky to have several heavy populated Chinese communities which offer to anyone that’s interested the opportunity to explore more than what you would typically think about the culture.
The depiction of nature, trees and flowing is one of the larger artisitc themes in their culture and unlike other ones, their art has stayed pretty stagnant throughout the ages. This was one of the many rooms housing Chinese art in the museum.
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From Inside the Louvre
Rummaging through some photographs from when my wife and I vacationed in Paris 3 years ago has convinced me more that viewing art was not just limited to the narrow confines of the museum walls we were in. To visit Paris in itself is more than an opportunity to admire art even if pieces like the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory or the ever-so-stylish Mona Lisa is not your thing.
By the time we got home, we needed a vacation from our vacation because the amount of sightseeing through endless walking we experience was exhausting yet rewarding at the same time. According to guide books and from first hand experience, it’s nearly impossible to see every piece of art inside the Louvre in one day and we certainly didn’t try to but it was one of those recognizable landmarks in the world that you cannot go without seeing for less than 3hrs.
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Photo Essay: Metropolitan Museum
Apart from being able to travel anywhere in the world or to purchase endless amounts of gear, I don’t think there’s anything else a photographer would enjoy more than having the opportunity to shoot with other fellow shutterbugs.
Surprisingly enough, I’m don’t personally know as many photographers as I do several online, so it was interesting to find out that an ex-coworker is as deeply fascinated with the craft as I am and who’s currently majoring in it.
I believe that you’re connected to inspiring people, they’ll connect you to other inspirational people and pretty soon, you’ll belong to network full of some spirited individuals who are keen on the concept of creating something meaningful in the same way you are.
Entire conversations are not all necessarily dominated with photography talk but in between random conversation, there’s the equal excitement of learning from each other’s photographic experiences and lending each other’s gear.
Weather conditions in New York have been a deterrent lately so for the sake of still being able to walk around and shoot, we met up at The Metropolitan Museum.
Everything about this museum is attractive - from the building’s architecture to the collections housed inside. It could essentially take you weeks to see everything here. I’ve visited multiple times with each visit feeling as if I’ve barely scratched the surface but today wasn’t so much taking our time to read artwork inscriptions but to simply have a field day exploring the place with camera in hand.
The one inside tip I can give you about the museum is for you not to bee fooled in paying the admission price of $20 or $10 if you’re a student as it clearly states at the ticket counter. What they don’t tell you is that those are suggested prices. Admission is by donation only so it doesn’t matter how much you pay as long as you’re willing to give something. I frequent the place a lot so I like to think my $1 donation is enough.
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Hall of Science
We live 15 minutes away from what many refer to as a hidden gem in Queens. I vaguely recall the 4th grade school trip because during those times, who you sat next to on the bus ride was more important than the places we visited. Nevertheless, driving past it every morning to work always brings back a lot of childhood memories.
The New York Hall of Science is an interactive museum geared primarily towards children and I can already envision my wife and soon-to-be-born son visiting once he gets much older to appreciate the excitement of appreciating a subject like science.
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