Night at the Museum

Your Reflections

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

To have your own reflection appear on this page, submit a reflection of your own.

Analog fan? You can also respond to these prompts on paper and peruse the responses of others. Come find our table on the third floor.

  • Compare how this experience reinforced or challenged your previous ideas about museums. Would you encourage other Macaulay students to visit museums?

    This really challenged my idea that museums are boring. I think it was because I never went with people who wanted to dig deep into the idea the paintings had in them. I liked that exhibits for the 5th floor were all in a circle and so it leads you to go around and around and around looking at everything with new ideas and see everything combine into one. It’s truly amazing to see how much thought was put into everything. I highly recommend other Macaulay students to go to museums with people who want to learn. If you go with the wrong people I feel like your experience will be ruined, so pick the right people and enjoy the art and stories!

    Brooklyn College

  • Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)

    A piece of art which evoked strong feelings for me was Four Genders Were Born… by Nanibah Chacon (2022). While I understand that this work is meant to convey that indigenous cultures do not conform to the gender binary, that is not how this painting appears to a western audience. Rather, it is highly provocative. The painting appears to show a serious misplacement of genitalia. My initial response to this artwork was shock and revulsion. I wanted to look away. This is because the subjects appear to possess a deformity. However, the deeper understanding I garnered from this painting is that genitalia does seem to lack the significance it is traditionally ascribed in determining one’s gender. I observe a clear male and female in this painting even though the genitalia has been swapped. The facial features and the remainder of the body produce
    this gendered effect. Consequently, what this painting communicates in the bigger picture is that gender is nuanced and contains a myriad of characteristics aside from genitalia. Gender may be strongly associated with genitalia. That is why the image feels wrong. However, in contrast to conventional wisdom, gender is far more complicated than what is under one’s pants or dress.

    Jackson Mushnick

    College of Staten Island

  • Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)

    The Mancala Board was very interesting to me because it represents life—the holes in the board represented family or marriage and I found that significant because it represents the values of life. However I didn’t notice if any of the holes represented careers or other talents or hobbies which are significant aspects of humanity and society. It makes sense the holes represented family and wives because domestic life was the norm.

    Betzaly Collado

    City College

  • Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)

    I cried when I saw Nanibah Chacon’s piece, Four Genders Were Born…, with its two nude indigenous figures holding hands. The figures had sex characteristics in combinations that don’t align with our typical idea of male and female. The figures looked like me. I heard some kids behind me laughing at the piece. The figures did not hear them. I saw some kids behind me pointing. The figures did not see them. They could only see each other, whole and beautiful as they were. I saw them and cried.

    City College

  • Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)

    The piece of art which invoked strong feelings for me was the portrait of Shirley Chisholm by Bisa Butler. This artwork portrayed a revolutionary woman, whom encouraged us to create our own seat at the table when there are none for us. She embodies the true meaning of standing up for one’s rights. Her portrait, which composes of hues of red against a green background, appears bold and fiery, which is representative of her confidence and passion. Seeing her portrait, was truly an inspiring and captivating experience.

    Roziya Lakhram

    Baruch College

  • Where and how do you see yourself, your communities, and/or New Yorkers in this museum?

    Susan Chen’s “Chinatown Block Watch” resonated with me as an Asian-American. The painting depicts multiple figures with wary eyes as they walk around Chinatown. The description details the creation of Karlin Chan’s community control to protect residents from xenophobic attacks during the Covid pandemic, a period when those of Chinese heritage were targeted. In contrast to the vivid colors of the painting, possibly symbolic of diversity and how it should be celebrated, the people in the painting look at each other cautiously. To me, this piece offers the message that we often overlook the beauty of our differences and instead use it to villainize each other in times of conflict. It’s almost as if we are looking for someone to blame to make sense of a difficult situation.

    Brooklyn College

  • Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)

    The piece, “BYOC (Bring your own Chair)” by Black American inventor Nathaniel Alexander strongly resonated with me. In my culture, folding chairs are a commonplace item. Every household has one to accommodate guests and to invite others to join the conversation. Learning this bit of history about folding chairs was insightful. I was very appreciative of this information. I was also excited when I was able to draw a distinct line between Nathaniel Alexander’s invention and Shirley Chrisholm. As the first woman to announce her running in the presidential elections of the United States, her even more inspirational quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair”, illustrates the symbolism of folding chairs throughout America’s history.

    Rozalia Lakhram

    Baruch College

  • How would you relate your current major or field of study to your experience at Night at the Museum? What connections can you see?

    My current major at the money is political science. As a political science major we can enhance the understanding of art in a museum by exploring the intersection of politics, culture, and identity. Art often reflects societal values, power dynamics, and historical contexts, serving as a medium for political expression and critique. By analyzing artworks through a political lens, I can evaluate how artists respond to social issues, governmental structures, and movements for change. This connection not only enriches the appreciation of the art itself but also fosters a deeper understanding of the role of art in shaping and challenging political landscapes.

    Paola Jimenez

    Lehman College

  • Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)

    Richard Mayhew,
    Before the Storm

    This painting invoked a strong feeling of nostalgia for me. This is because to me the painting reminded me of when I was in my home and it was storming outside. To me it looked like there is a window and it is pouring heavily on it. You are looking out the window and you see the nature outside during a storm.

    College of Staten Island

  • Where and how do you see yourself, your communities, and/or New Yorkers in this museum?

    The Brooklyn Museum’s new exhibition is a clear depiction of the cultural climate in New York. Art is interpreted in various ways, but New York is know for its spunky-spin of cultural weight placed in each piece. When I explore and create art, I don’t stick to one style as it’s not the way I grew up. My community and family have taught me to reach into different areas of art to not only find the style I prefer, but to have a little inspiration from everything I see. This exhibition shows the reach into vibrancy and black-and-white; realism and over exaggerated cartooning; minimalist and detailed. If I am a New Yorker, I am a magnet of culture, and my understanding of art should follow as does the museum’s exhibition.

    Emmanuel Nudelman

    Baruch College