Sunday, September 19, 2010

September 19th



I was running late today due to the subway's weekend slowdown/scheduled repairs. I met Stephen Pause, the guest writer, on the steps of the museum. Stephen and I both went to Sarah Lawrence, where he was known by some "as the dead presidents guy." He has his MFA in creative nonfiction. Stephen had never been to the Met before. I love going to the Met with someone who has yet to experience it.

Since the Met is actually composed of 26 different 'structures' (most not visible from the outside) to get to different areas you sometimes have to go through the main entrance hall which connects to all three sections. You exit through guards and then after crossing the hall and passing ticket booths, you enter a new section past different guards. We visited the Egyptian wing first and were halted by a guard because Stephen had a tripod. He was informed that he could not wear it on his back and must carry it. He complied, and managed to take some good photos at the Temple of Dendur. Proceeding to the American wing we passed another set of guards. He was stopped again and informed that Stephen needed to get a free pass from the security desk to bring the tripod in. We went to the desk only to be informed that he must put his tripod in coat check because one was only allowed to have a tripod on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. Confusing.



We went to the American Wing in search of Washington Crossing the Delaware. However the room was under repair but we were informed that several pictures of Washington resided on floor 2A. Floor 2A ended up being Visible Storage, which I have not visited before. Visible Storage is composed of items that are not currently on display elsewhere, including; candlestick elephants, chairs, baseball cards, empty frames, A work desk from Tiffany and Jonathan Singer Sargent paintings. Everything is displayed in glass display cases, hung on these rippled metal white dividers. Because of the light and glass my photo's didn't turn out well but hopefully they will give you a bit of an idea. I really enjoyed Visible Storage, partially because it felt more honest and behind the scenes than other parts of the museum and also because some of the things they decided to display where wonderful while others could be found in your neighbors trash. I wrote while wandering between cases.



Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

So clear this evening,
a new dusk. My body foreign

in a mirror. Cautious field
of skin, aware of Marie

one room over, my father listening
to the radio announcer describe

Mantle hitting a foul.
The door unlocked.

Anytime they could enter,
interrupt my changed form.




Factors

Day of the Week: Sunday
Occupancy of Museum: Crowded
Arrived at: 12:15
Departed at: 2:00
Read on Commute: I finished Provenance by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo, and I am nearing the end of Thunderstruck by Eric Larson (slow going at the moment).

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