A Day at the Museum

For many people I know, the ideal vacation would be laying on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean, sipping on fruity cocktails in the sun. But for me, vacations are the ideal time to experience a new place – its history, its architecture, its restaurants, its culture, and most importantly its museums and galleries. For me, there is no more of an ideal way to spend my vacation than spending  a day at the museum.

For my March Break vacation this year, I decided to head to New York City for a 5 day cultural overload. One of my dearest friends, Andrea, and I packed as much walking, sight-seeing, Broadway shows, and museum-going into our daily itineraries as our bodies, (and more importantly our student budget), could handle. We were able to fit in three amazing museums into our trip – The American Museum of Natural History (The ANH), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

The ANH was spectacular, not only for the fun searching game that Andrea and I played trying to find all of the exhibits featured in the film Night at the Museum, (the gum chewing Easter Island statue, or the statue of Teddy Roosevelt on his horse), but also for its amazing animal exhibits, also famous in the media for Sheryl Crowe’s music video for “If It Makes you Happy”. One of my personal favourites was the Hall of Ocean Life, featuring a life-sized model of a 94 foot long blue whale. It is astonishing to think of such a massive creature roaming the ocean.

The MET is a museum that you really need to take more than one visit to in order to not only really take the time to see everything but also to really take the time to appreciate the amazing art work that adorns its walls and hallways. My personal favourites were pieces by Degas, Klimt, Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh. It’s astonishing to have the chance to be inches away from some of the most famous art work in history. Another highlight of the MET was the Temple of Dendur, a piece of Egyptian architecture dating from 15 BCE. It was funny to see ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics beside graffiti that tainted the piece during the Victorian era.

The MoMA was definitely an eye opener to me, considering my often snobbish approach to certain pieces of modern art.  I must now admit that I have developed a new found appreciation for certain pieces along the lines of Jackson Pollock. I was amazed also by the continued presence of amazing artists such as Picasso and Warhol. A highlight was the Tim Burton exhibit. It was interesting to see all of the clay characters from The Corpse Bride as well as various drawings, sculptures and other art work that truly reflect a unique imagination that Burton has had since he was young.

My trip to New York City was an amazing and fulfilling experience. I’m hard at work trying to plan, and save enough money, to go to Europe on my next vacation. Needless to say, you won’t find me spending my holidays laying on a beach somewhere.

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