I love the Met

This morning I had thought to take the afternoon off and go to the ICP or the Met. The day had started dreary, however. As the afternoon loomed, the skies opened with rain. I couldn't bike to the Met and I was unwilling to pay for a subway ride. I finished some work and took a shower.

K.T. called. She asked if I would make a delivery for her on 84th and 1st. She offered her Metrocard and the delivery fee. I said yes.

The Met was packed when I entered. Outside it was pouring. In the lobby, the room steamed with people coming in from the rain. The coat-check lines were long. In the Mideival room, a girl knelt before a 15th century statue of the Virgin with Child as if she was praying. I stood behind her. She turned and smiled. On the floor before her was an assignment she was filling out for school.

I went to the museum specifically to see the Chuck Close exhibition. The exhibit consisted of a number of his prints, proofs, and working objects. Various techniques were on display, including mezzotints, silkscreens, Ukiyo-E, and paper pulp multiples (a printing techinque I had never before encountered). While the show was small, it was spectacular. Exhibit text carefully detailed the processes, and the proof prints explicated the various steps.

Wandering through the museum, I casually browsed Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557). A number of beautifully illuminated manuscripts were on display as well as an awesome 13th century chandelier. On the way out I stepped into the American Wing.

On Feburary 12, 2005, Christo and Jean-Claude will launch their first project in New York City. 7500 gates, each 16 feet tall will follow the edges of the walkways and will be perpendicular to the selected 23 miles of footpaths in Central Park. Free hanging saffron colored fabric panels will be suspended from each of these gates, drooping to seven feet above the ground.

In a section off to the left of the building façade lies a winding gallery, which includes sketches and plans for Christo's project. The drawings are fantastic. I'm already trying to think of places above the park from which to take photographs.

If there's a reason to stay in New York for another year, this would be it.

Links: Chuck Close, Byzantium, The Gates. Posted by eku at April 13, 2004 6:49 PM