Last Friday, our college bound students currently enrolled in the Bronx Opportunity Network Summer Program made a class visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Students visited the museum in preparation for a research project on one of the current exhibitions at the MET.
Students are working on their research project as a group activity, where students choose a piece of artwork that stands out to them, and then collaborate on a group presentation describing the piece and trying to deconstruct the message behind the piece.
Marohey Darboe said she was captivated by a lot of the exhibits at the MET, but wrote about one in particular: “The exhibit I loved the most was the Age of Empires Chinese Art of the Qin and Han dynasties. Everything about it was amazing. It was so nice to see the origin of paintings along with ancient Chinese statues that I have always seen in art books and textbooks. Even though I didn’t get to see everything, the things I did see were wonderful.”
Teresa Herrera wrote about the use of storytelling in Chinese painting: “Viewing the art, I was able to understand the history of the Qin and Han dynasties. I observed sculptures, paintings, calligraphy and architectural models. The message I saw in the artworks was to rule territories, rituals, culture.”
Jeannie Rios chose to write about the Native American art exhibit on loan from the Fenimore Art Museum. “One piece that still fascinates me is the Raven mask by an unidentified Haida artist. This mask was worn by the Haida clan and it represents the relationship between humans and their animal ancestors. Which further reminds me of the positive relationship Native Americans had with animals, unlike today’s society.”