Winter 2019: Makayla Mikesell




I traveled to New York City last winter to explore the vast array of art museums that this beautiful city has to offer. During my trip, I was treated to an exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum called Making Marvels: Science and Splendor at the Courts of Europe. This exhibition was extremely relevant to my studies in Dr. Libby's Art and Science class. Many of the objects featured in the exhibit would have been used as tools for scientific exploration. They included clocks, microscopes, and astronomical equipment, such as this device.


They are even more mesmerizing in person, and their aesthetic beauty reflects their ability to attract viewers to explore scientific endeavors, an especially important concept in the 17th century.

I also visited the MoMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art for a taste of modern art. I enjoyed getting to see several works from artists that I've learned about, such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Meret Oppenheim.




However, the highlights of my trip had to be seeing the Dutch paintings in the Met and visiting the Rubin Museum. My favorite artist is Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch genre painter from the 17th century. I was fortunate to be able to view several of his masterpieces during my trip. One in particular, Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, was a painting I studied in Deconstructing Masterpieces with Dr. Dennis. Seeing this piece in person allowed me to practice as a museum docent. I had the chance to tell my friend all about the work, including its historical context and composition, and discuss why it is so engaging.

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The Rubin Museum features many masterpieces of Himalayan art. I found this museum particularly impactful because of the experience of sitting inside a Tibetan shrine room. The shrine room was filled with treasures of both the physical and spiritual realms, and he music that surrounded me inside of this sanctuary was refreshingly calming in the midst of a busy city. I was also moved by stories in the exhibition Shahidul Alam: Truth to Power. I feel I have a deeper understanding of the horrors many in Bangladesh experienced because of these powerful photographs.

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