Your Reflections – Night at the Museum

This page compiles your reflections on art, community, museums, and more, informed by your time at Night at the Museum.

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My current major, biology on the pre health track, relates to the Night at the Museum event as medicine can overlap with the racial issues certain art pieces invoked. Medicine is about the science as much as it is about caring for all patients equally.
I felt that the museum had a wonder amount of works that related to the past and showed the history of different cultures and civilizations. There is no problem there. However- and it may be just because I didn’t see everything- but I felt like the museum was limited to only the past. There were not pieces I saw where I could relate to them and see how they reflected the world I currently lived and grew up in. Everything was dated.
This art piece was by Albert Bierstadt entitled A Storm in the Rocky Mountains.

I like how the colors came together and created a cool effect on the canvas. I have gone on hikes in the past and the view of the clouds/sky in this painting reminded me of the view I see when I hike.
I think that the art that is currently in the museum should have a suggested song to listen to while viewing the piece. This adds another layer to the type of feelings the artist wants you to feel when admiring their work. I think it would be a nice, interactive aspect of the museum and would appeal to a greater audience.
The place I saw myself in this piece of art was actually on the 1 percent that was not present in the painting. This painting represented me because the 99% made me think of everyone my age. It also demonstrates that I do not have the same college experience that a typical college student would have. I am having a more exhausting experience since I’m balancing multiple jobs with school, and I need these jobs due to personal circumstances. Another reason why this painting represents me is because even though I hang out with people my age my beliefs and my work rate separate me from them. The language barrier has also isolated me throughout my time at college because I don’t feel comfortable speaking English so the painting reflects how the 99% of my classmates have found their friends while I’m still struggling to find some. This piece of art reflects my community because 99% of Hispanics have a strong work rate that goes unnoticed and is truly only recognized for 1% of the things they contribute to American society. Finally, this represents New Yorkers because since New York is made up of many individuals with different skillsets it means that if New York needs change we are the ones that can fight for it since we are the majority of the state of New York.
The artwork I chose is an interpretation of the Virgin Mary, and the colors and change of Mary’s features gave her a more nurturing and mother figure. Mary is already seen as the impedimy of a mother and the collaboration of the cultures makes her seem more for the people.
I really liked the piece Biggers – web of life because it felt like a commentary on how women are the root of all life. The woman is the center of the roots, everything is branching off of her, and there are multiple bodies surrounding her in fetal position. It feels like it’s commenting on women’s role in the world and in society as child bearers and mothers, and how that can possibly be overbearing and suffocating.
Museums contain art, culture, and perspective. After attending Macaulay’s Night at the Museum, I can confidently say that this experience has reinforced my ideas about museums. I was able to observe many interesting paintings and sculptures which all exhibited these aspects of what a museum truly is. I would definitely encourage other Macaulay students to do the same!
I am currently studying Forensic Psychology and minoring in film! I definitely made some connections between the experience at Night at the Museum and what I’ve been studying so far. In regards to psychology, I took notice of the emotions evoked by a lot of the art within the exhibit, and found myself thinking about the headspace the artist might have been in when creating it. I thought a lot about the relationship people have with art, and how we tend to make personal connections when observing it to potentially establish relatability. As for film, there was a more subtle detail I noticed in myself, which was the fact that I took more notice of framing/composition of the art I looked at than I ever had before. I think it was really interesting how the things I’ve been studying came through during the Night at the Museum. Additionally, one of the books that were in the exhibit was one that I had read in my English class (The 1619 Project).
The meuseum covering centuries of American history, was able to coverpeices that even today remain relevant and poignant. The epices in this exhibit are centers not only around art history but on the human experience itself, covering things like social movements, cultural revolutions, and political reform all through different mediums of art. The exhibit did not shy away from showing pieces just because of controversial modern events, like the sculpture from Iraq in the Egyptian section despite the war in Iraq and like the Black Lives Matter sculpture, with the three women with braids. Instead the musesum embraced this controversial nature, and showcased these pieces leaving the viewers to interpret the pieces in there own way. The meuseum changed my viewpoint on mueseums, they are not only places of historical research but a bridge between multiple cultural communities and histories, bringing people from all walks ogld life together through a single painting. The museum thus has a much bigger role in society, serving as a center for social change by pushing reform through its diverse selection of art. I would certainly reccomand this mueseum to furture Macaulay students, or any student really, as it allows you to view things with a new perspective forcing you to open your mind and put aside any controversies and inherit biasness.