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Continual Exploration

As the season changes for one which inspires travel, I begin my continual explorations of cultures and worlds, starting with museums in New York City, specifically The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. My trip began on a bright overcast day at 8:45am leaving from Binghamton, NY. At about 10:45am I took a brief food stop at McDonald's, can't quite remember the name of the town, but it was about an hour away from New York City. Although I am from Brooklyn, New York, I never visited either of these museums, so despite the saturated clouds, my excitement was not dampened. Usually when traveling by bus, I observe the surroundings, whether it be landscapes, buildings, farms or simply the greenery. This time, however, my eyes and mind were focused on a narrower field, namely the pages of The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov. The effect of reading this book at that particular time was profound. While I would like to elaborate extensively on this book, I will save an analysis of this text for a later time. For now, suffice it to say that reading this book has prepared my mind for a travel to a past time and space.

At around noon I arrived at Cloisters, my first stop in New York City. Instantly I was taken back to the time of The Crusades and medieval Europe. The architecture and art, which were both transported from Europe and reconstructed in New York City, tell the story of a religious people striving for a strong relationship with the Divine. As I entered the first room of the museum, my eyes were immediately drawn to where hung a wooden crucified Christ, behind which I found a fresco-like image of the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus. The walls surrounding these works of art also reflect biblical stories, giving any visitor the sense of importance of religion during medieval Europe. This sense is augmented, when one visits the garden at the center of the museum. Surrounding this garden are rooms of Gothic architecture constructed by medieval monks for worship and teaching. As one makes one�s way through the halls, one notices immediately the strange moldings of various creatures on columns. Though it is unclear what purpose such figures would have served and whence they came, they certainly add to the aesthetics of the garden and the curiosity of the visitor who views them. Following the wrought out path of the museum, I descending a flight of narrow under lit stairs, which led me to about three sarcophagi, all of which contain the remains of crusade soldiers and/or members of their families. Chiseled into each sarcophagus is the soldiers coat of arms, and inscriptions I couldn't decipher. Moving along, I left this room and ascending another flight of dimly lit stairs and came to room decorated with medieval tapestry. The intricate detailed artwork can only be attributed to a well trained, skilled and devout individual. The rich texture of colors and detail of characters used to tell the story of the unicorn does what no written word can do in terms of taking us back in time to old beliefs and imagination. My time spent in the Cloisters came to an end exactly where I started in the room with the hanging Crucifixion. Next stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The monstrous size of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is only telling when one attempts to photograph its full ediface using a wide angle lens, but also when one enters the building. After making it past security, I went to the circular information desk, which was surrounded by a large number of patrons in my situation. Instead of waiting, I decided to start with the exhibition on Egypt, can't remember which time period, but I made way through the entire collection, before attending the tour on Islamic art, the primary reason I was there. Although I was thankful for the exhibition on Islamic art, I felt it was incomplete or sporatic, not to mention the lack of knowledge demonstrated by the tour guide. He seemed to lack critical insight when explaining the reasons for the art form, whence it came, and what it may mean. Then again, can I blame him? It appears even at all levels of academia a significant gap in Islamic knowledge. Eveything from Islamic folklore to music is investigated using Western tools, which ultimately leads to Western style conclustions. I am not sure if I willing to accept a Western analysis of the East, especially since some things cleary don't fit. So, I guess I will have to continue my studies.

I returned home with more questions and concerns than satisfaction of learning something. My exploration of cultures continues.