During the first sunny day after the relentless Spring Break snowstorm in New York City, I walked into the dimly lit space of the sixth-floor exhibition at the Whitney Museum. The first thing that registered in my mind was the stark white title An Incomplete History of Protest splayed out across the coal black wall. Read more about The Whitney: An Incomplete History of Protest – Yolanda Jin ’20[…]
To be clear, I hated abstract art. I didn’t understand it. Not only was non objective art confusing, it was frustrating. I couldn’t figure out what these wacky artists were trying to say, and it seriously upset me. I was looking at a coded message––knowing it held something beautiful, some secret answer to an unknown Read more about Favorite Museum Experience – Raya Ward ’21[…]
March is Women’s History Month. To be honest, I didn’t really know what Women’s History Month was until recently, when I learned that it “recognizes the great contributions that women have made to our nation.” Upon further research, I realized that it was also celebrated in the UK, Australia, and Canada. In honor of Women’s Read more about Women of PUAM’s Highlights Tour – Grace Guan ’20[…]
I will never forget sitting in a darkened seventh grade history room, legs crossed on an uncomfortable plastic chair, with an “Introduction to the Renaissance” Powerpoint playing on the projector. That was the day that I fell in love with Raphael. Raphael wasn’t one of the angsty, pre-pubescent boys in class who knew nothing but Read more about Favorite Art Museum Experience – Sydney Goldman ’21[…]
Some of the greatest learning experiences occur outside of the classroom. One such experience for me was participating in the Making History Visible Tour at the Princeton University Art Museum. Led by a small number of students from the Student Advisory Board who were also trained art museum student tour guides, the tour allowed me Read more about Making History Visible – Morgan Steelman ’20[…]
The mission of the exhibition Hold: A Meditation on Black Aesthetics was twofold. On one hand it displayed the Princeton University Art Museum’s initiative to raise exposure of African American art and works from artists of the African diaspora. On the other it tackled a conceptual problem: exhibiting black aesthetics without strictly defining black aesthetics. Read more about Hold: A Meditation on Black Aesthetics – Cathleen Kong ’20[…]
My favorite aspect of museums has always been their capacity to create a sense of atmosphere. To me, the way that museums best create atmosphere is through the arrangement of their most decorative rooms. At the Princeton University Art Museum, the room I find to be most “decorative” and evocative of a certain period is Read more about The Louvre – Julia Cury ’19[…]
Few titles are as overt as Ships in Fog, Gloucester, Massachusetts, but I maintain that this wonderful Fitz Henry Lane piece is actually not about boats nor harbors nor indeed anything maritime. Before you conclude that I’ve gone off the deep end, let me qualify that statement: ships and the sea certainly inform the painting’s Read more about Favorite Piece in the Princeton University Art Museum – Joe Ort ’21[…]
In Rome, it seems like every corner upon every street is abounding with art. Enter one non-descript, unassuming building to find a cozy chapel with a set of Caravaggio masterpieces adorning the wall. Enter another, and come face-to-face with a brilliant Bernini sculpture—gold, marble, and all. Rome itself is a museum—one that I was lucky Read more about The Vatican Museums – Ryan Golant ’20[…]
I recently completed my training as a student tour guide at the Princeton University Art Museum. As part of the training, the new class of student tour guides attended and participated in the annual Faculty and Staff Open House at the museum; It is this very museum experience that stands out to me today. When I usually visit a museum, I Read more about Favorite Museum Experience – Anoushka Mariwala ’20[…]