We knew as soon as the plane flew around Manhattan, giving us a gorgeous 360 degree view before landing, that it was going to be a really, really good day.
A few weekends ago, eleven other students and I, plus Professor Alan Loehle and Dr. Jeffrey Collins, flew to New York City for three jam-packed days of immersion in art and architecture. On Friday, after landing at the airport and dropping our bags off at the YMCA across from Central Park, we grabbed a bite to eat from the Columbus Circle food stands before heading off on our first museum adventure.
The Seagram Building
We took cabs over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Professors Loehle and Collins took us through the Egyptian and Greek wings of the Museum. We discussed the symbology of the Egyptian’s artistic vocabulary, as well as the ideas that shaped the Greeks’ sculptures and bronzes. At that point, we went off to explore the museum as much as we could on our own for an hour. We then walked over to Little Italy, where we ate an excellent authentic Italian dinner at Lunella’s, and then crashed back at the YMCA.
On Saturday, many in our group walked down to the West Side Restaurant for breakfast, and as we walked through the streets we discussed the architecture surrounding us. After loading up on carbs, protein and coffee, we were ready to hit the streets and see some more art. Our first stop was MoMA, or the Museum of Modern Art. One of the first rooms we entered had a few Van Goghs, one of which was Starry Night. The museum was not very crowded, so we were able to stand in front of the painting for several minutes. We walked through several other exhibits, featuring works by Duchamp, Paul Klee, Méret Oppenheim, Matisse, and even Monet’s Water Lilies.
We also looked at many of New York’s architectural landmarks, including the Guggenheim museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Lever building, and the Seagram building. We talked about the use of materials, as well as the structure of the buildings themselves. New York was the perfect place to look at architecture because of the variety of structures so close together.
Neue Galerie, a small exhibition venue in a re-purposed house, was exhibiting Munch’s The Scream, alongside works by Egon Schiele, Max Beckmann, Oskar Kokoschka and others. We wandered from room to room until the museum closed, and concluded our Saturday by splitting off into different groups to explore the city with a few hours of free time.
Sunday morning we went to Ground Zero for a few hours. Professors Loehle and Collins talked briefly about the architecture of the memorial, and we all shared our memories of 9/11 before taking a while to walk around the memorial and reflect on the events of that day. After lunch, our group elected to divide and conquer with our remaining time. One half of our group went to the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the other half went to the High Line along the Hudson River. The weather had warmed up significantly from Friday’s chill, so it was the perfect close-out to our short stay in New York before we boarded the plane and flew back to Atlanta.
If you were to me what our most “New York” moment was, I would say that it took place, unsurprisingly, on the subway. As we stood there waiting for a train, a lady came by and asked what city we were from, and if we would like a cake pan. New York is teeming not just with art and architecture, but with characters. I think one thing everyone in our group affirmed is that we all need to come back to New York for new adventures.
I went on this trip not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, since I am a business student here at Oglethorpe, with no studio art training whatsoever. But, after three full days of exploring NYC, with all of its museums, architecture, and unique characteristics, I was very glad to have gone. Dr. Collins and Dr. Loehle made sure that I understood the meanings behind various paintings, and were always more than willing to share their passion of art with me and the rest of the group. – Parker Allen ’18
