I have a confession to make to any of you out there reading this. It is something I am supremely ashamed of and rarely admit to anyone. It also something I have been meaning to correct for several years now, but somehow never do. Are you ready? My head is already hung in embarrassment. I have never been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have visited MoMA three or four times, spent days wandering through New York, visited Central Park for Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Gates. But never once have I been to the Met. It is utterly despicable for someone trying to make it in the art history world. I know, you need not remind me. You couldn’t possibly make me feel worse about it than I already do.
And the number of shows I have meant to see there! I just never have. You see, New York intimidates me a bit. I won’t go by myself so unless I find someone interested in seeing a show with me, I don’t go. This is why I saw Tim Burton. My fiancé was so interested, he was willing to brave his own dislike for NYC and go. But I have never convinced him of anything at the Met.
Today I am rather angry with myself about all of this. There is currently a show at the Met which I would desperately love to see. It is called American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. The show explores perceptions of American women between 1840 and 1940, exhibiting an absolutely amazing collection from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection. The costumes are simply breathtaking. They have been housed in a variety of rooms according to fashion eras, including “Gibson Girls,” “Bohemians,” “Screen Sirens,” among others. The “Gibson Girls” are particularly fascinating, with their over-the-top hairdos that overwhelm the mannequins’ heads. The allure of the exhibit is the transportation to long-gone eras.
The Met has most helpfully provided a video tour of the exhibit, set to music, to share it with anyone unable to visit themselves. This is how I, in all my shame, have been able to learn so much and enjoy this exhibit. You may ask why I do not simply hop on the train and go see the show? It does not end until August 15. There is still time. I have a variety of ready-made excuses (moving in several weeks, planning a wedding, preparing courses for the fall), but really it is my fear of New York alone that prevents me from going. It is not so much the city that scares me. I could find my way around just about any place on earth. But the sheer volume of people in NYC frustrates me to exhaustion. I always need someone to keep me from screaming at the other tourists or pushing the crowd around me. But, dear readers, I think all I need is some encouragement. Perhaps you could help bolster my confidence. I think I really will be quite disappointed if I don’t go soon!
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Go! You must and you will be perfectly fine going by yourself
Maybe you could go mid-week, this way you will not have to bear the extra foot traffic and tourists on weekends. Plus, in the end, even if you do scream at a tourist or two, it will be worth it, I am sure.