At the Museum

Some things are best done alone.

There is a long list of actions which are more fun with a multiple people. For me, traveling, dancing, going to the movies and dining are some of those.

Then I have the ones that I often do alone but enjoy much more in couples. Like bathing and sleeping.

Finally, I have a whole set that I prefer to do alone. Reading, writing my book, and watching people make that list.

So does going to the museum.

After I left the hairdresser, I decided I had to finally see the Blake exhibit at the Met. My hairdresser is six blocks from the Met and it was a lovely day so I started strolling along Fifth Avenue. The Blake exhibit had just closed but thanks to a recent post in photographica, I knew my first stop would be the roof garden, displaying the works of Shapiro.

Up until recently I didn’t know much about African art and hadn’t had any exposure to it. Last fall, in my art class, our teacher talked so much about tribal arts that I became completely fascinated with these works. I love the incredible level of detail given to each piece. These works are symbolic and most were used as part of a performance. They represented so much of the culture and belief system that we can deduce a lot about their priorities through these. I can sit in the room and stare at these carvings for hours at a time.

I believe that enjoying a piece of art is an experience best lived individually. Each person gets something different from being in a museum, especially one as large as the Metropolitan. There are pieces that I just walk by and ones that make me want to sit and stare for literally hours at a time. When I’m with someone else, I feel pressure to enjoy each piece equally. I worry about my friend being bored or feeling rushed. It’s one thing to visit a small showing of a few paintings, though I would still probably prefer to go to it on my own, and a completely different one to visit a large museum with some of the world’s most awe-inspiring works of art.

Today I felt really glad to live in New York City. Glad that I could just walk a few blocks and take however long I wanted to look at the brushstrokes of Seurat. I didn’t have to rush it into a weekend and drag my friends along.

I had the luxury of enjoying it on my own.

Previously? Movies.