The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world, which is located in New York, USA, and carries with it a huge legacy of history in a year (Great Museums 00:13:01-00:14:22). The museum is historical, most of the compositions are permanent, but sometimes temporary ones appear. The Metropolitan Museum is located in a popular New York area and is easily accessible. It is a must-see not only for connoisseurs of history or art, but for any people who are ready to study or observe something new. The museum has many thematic departments, which are divided according to the historical period. The departments of the Metropolitan Museum are also divided by continent.
The Concept of Diversity
The Metropolitan Museum is truly unique, because one, two, or three days will not be enough for a full study. The concept is variability, since the number of options that are presented in the Metropolitan regarding art from different times is difficult to find in any other collection in the world. There are many details in the museum to get acquainted with each of which will take months or years of life, taking into account the permanent stay in the museum. There are over 14000 historical objects, which include almost every major civilization that has ever existed in the world (Great Museums 00:13:40-00:13:50). It creates an absolutely unique scenario, when the museum includes so many objects that each person, over time, can find something interesting for him or her individually. It can be like sports artifacts, as well as the objects of cultural identity, musical and other heritage. Preservation of such historical details and their transmission through generations is objectively a huge merit of the museum and its sponsors.
Atmosphere in the Metropolitan Museum
The atmosphere of art reigns even when viewed from the video, which is one of the museum’s concepts, created through an integrated approach. The atmosphere in the museum is also steeped in history. Looking at the video tour following the link, the viewer feels like a part of something larger, which is unlimited by the century of residence. In addition, the employees, who are dedicated to their work, play an important role in the creation of the atmosphere. Each area of the museum has its own curator who is an expert in this area. From interviews with them, it is noticeable that each of them talks with sincere interest about the history itself, the expositions, the specifics of the work, and other details. Their dedication to work is truly impressive, they tell the story of the origins of the various objects in the museum and convey their significance throughout the video (Great Museums 00:02:00-00:49:00). One of the staff members even talks about such minimal details as the change of light, which affects the way the sculptures look (Great Museums 00:27:00-00:28:40). This is a non-standard approach of the museum, which consists not only in simply arranging objects of cultural heritage, but also in conveying their scale and value.
Museum staff also treat each artifact with great love and care. This is noticeable by the way some objects are glazed without the possibility of touching for museum guests, but only visually observing. Also, the dresses in the “Collection of Collections” that are kept in the collection of the museum are an amazing selection (Great Museums 00:32:56-00:33:30). While they are shown on the video tour, it is noticeable that each of them is still kept in good condition and appearance, as much as possible. One can only guess how much effort and time it takes to keep them in this state.
Metropolitan Museum Website
The Metropolitan Museum of Art website is filled with a wide variety of content. This includes interviews with curators, where they tell in detail about their work, a particular exhibition, about the background or any other moments of the life of the museum and its contents. Moreover, the website contains information about the cost of entry, the available exhibitions at a given moment, with a description of each of them, so that any person who doubts his or her own parish can familiarize him or herself with and make an informed decision. The site also presents the possibility of using audio guides (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Audio guides help to familiarize oneself with the exhibition materials without having a human guide, who leads the tour within the museum. In addition, the Metropolitan Museum offers a membership program, which implies direct participation in the life of the museum, periodic visits for a special price for the member and additional guests.
The website is one of the main tools of the museum performing a role of the information portal and data source. The website of the Metropolitan Museum presents a highlight that the museum was opened after the pandemic and receives guests on the condition of new sanitation and safety measures. On its website, the Metropolitan Museum also promotes certain exhibitions that are new or most relevant at the moment (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). On the main website page a visitor can plan a personal visit, purchase tickets, become a member, view a map of the museum, study information about audio guides and group visits. The site is informative, but not overloaded, so it is easy to find the information needed.
In conclusion, The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a unique collection of historical sites, traditions, cultures, styles, and more. This museum is located in the United States, and has a unique atmosphere, which is created firstly through the variety of exhibitions, and secondly, with the help of unique museum staff who are passionate about history. The Metropolitan Museum makes a great contribution to the preservation and transmission of historical values.
Works Cited
“A World of Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” YouTube, uploaded by Great Museums, 2021.
Visiting The Met?. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021.