2010 Trip: New York Day 4
20th June 2010
Today, I grabbed an iced coffee (for mental fortitude) and headed to the Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and most extensive museums/art galleries in the world. It has vast collections on everything from Henry VIIIs armour to illustrated scenes from the Ramayana.
On entering, my laptop was physically inspected, my bag was searched, I acquired an audio guide, and delved in. I had been interested in visiting since I saw the Thomas Crown Affair many years ago (which, while set in the Met was not actually filmed there). They say, for good reason, that one should plan to visit only a few specific parts of the museum. I think I managed to cover fairly large areas.
The Egyptian area was my first port of call. I think this is probably my favourite area of the museum and is just incredibly extensive. They have a massive conservatory that was built specifically to house a temple donated by Egypt (for US help during the construction of the Aswan Dam). But, the most interesting finds are actually a set of models from an un-looted tomb of an overseer. They are still complete, in their original colours and do not show their age. They display scenes from Egyptian life - a butcher, a granary, fishing/hunting boats, and ceremonial barges.
From here, I briefly spent time in the Medieval and Byzantine sections. I then explored the armoury, with a very impressive collection of both Eastern and Western arms from Samurai kit, to a brace of pistols inlaid with mother of pearl.
After a quick lunch, I quickly explored the absolutely vast classical section - Roman and Greek, before heading upstairs. A special Picasso exhibition (I actually really liked his early works, but I still can’t quite get my head around his complete change in style in 1912. The late 347 series is also fantastic.), drawings, Flemish and French masters, a weird bamboo exhibition on the roof, an exhibition on the changing styles of New York fashion, oriental art (including Indian and Japanese), middle eastern art (though most of this was under renovation).
My final destination for the day was the Impressionists and Modern Art collection. In my search for something I actually like and can relate to, I found to my surprise a number of works I could actually get. I particularly liked a number by Renoir, Monet, Springtime (Pierre Auguste Cot), and even some futurist works - one by Gino Severini in particular.
By this time it was late afternoon and I was museumed out. I headed out and caught the subway south. I grabbed some cheap tickets to see the Blue Man Group (I’m a student, right?). It was a really amazing show. It was a great example of turning a performance into an experience (cue UCanDance Fuego discussion). Drumming with paint on the drums to create a rainbow of jumping colours, incredibly comedic eating scenes, audience participation, the use of trick camera footage, a rave scene with masses of toilet paper glowing under UV lighting, really interesting instruments, and lots of humour. It was most excellent.
For a slightly sour end to the day, I decided to visit the Empire State Building (ESB). It was around 10pm, and there were still pretty decent crowds. Visiting during the day would absolutely suck.
Now, this is what pissed me off - it was effectively a tourist trap. US$20 to get a ticket. Another US$22 if you want to see the related IMAX show. In addition, they force you to get your photo taken, then charge US$16 for a single copy. They have removed maps from the top, so if you want one, it costs another US$8.
So after queueing multiple times, we got up to the 81st floor, to avoid queuing again, I took the stairs to the 86th. Yes, the view was fantastic, even if it was rather crowded. Then I went off to find the lift to the 110th floor, only to find that this would cost another US$15. On the way down one is made to walk through the gift shop to get out.
I felt lucky I still had a wallet when I escaped. Oh, and the staff are obnoxious and rude. Don’t get me wrong, there is a good reason why it became this touristy, the view is absolutely stunning!!