The Met Collective

07/16/2020

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07/06/2020

Although the opening of the Costume Institute’s “About Time: Fashion and Duration” has been postponed until the fall, we are excited to explore many of the exhibition’s themes over the next coming months.

The Costume Institute’s 2020 exhibition will trace a century-and-a-half of fashion from 1870 — the year the Met was founded — to the present. Following a disruptive timeline, the exhibition draws inspiration from the circular nature of fashion and the ever-changing experience of time. Especially now amidst the pandemic, time has taken on a new meaning. We are forced to find new ways to ground ourselves.
Today’s challenge is to make photographs that describe your spaces using whatever camera technology you have access to (feel free to incorporate other mediums like video or drawing if you want). Spend the next hour exploring your home or apartment. Revisit rooms, closets, bathrooms, stairs, walls, and windows. Focus on light, composition, and color. Feel free to create captions for each of your images, this can be a personal observation, a random memory, or a description of the picture.

07/02/2020

Hi my name is Niles! I am a senior at Brooklyn College majoring in English and minoring in Classics, who one day hopes to be a Curator of Greek and Roman Art. When not in class I spend my time reading Greek mythology, and studying classical history. I am excited to be part of The Met Collective because I believe that art has the power to unite people across time and space. Art centered programming, for and by college students is what we are about. My favorite work of art, The Marble Head of Zeus Ammon, lives in The Greek and Roman Art Wing. It is a prime example of how art can unite cultures through its inclusion of iconic features of both the Greek bearded Zeus and Egyptian horned Ammon.

07/01/2020

As SpongeBob once said, "Indoors, indoors, indoors, take it away penny!"

If you want to learn more about the image on the left, Grasset's The Sideshow, check out "Side Notes on the Sideshow" at https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/in-circulation/2017/seurat.

06/29/2020

Even though no one will be lining up on the Met steps for the Costume Institute’s annual Met Gala this year, we can revisit some of our all-time favorite Met Gala looks. For Met Collective member Elisabeth McLaughlin, it does not get much more Camp than Jared Leto carrying a 3D clone of his own head on the pink carpet.
What is your favorite look?

06/22/2020

The Costume Institute will conclude its exhibition “About Time: Fashion and Duration” with a small selection of garments from 2020 that link the concept of time to debates about longevity and sustainability. The exhibition’s curator Andrew Bolton has said that although time has dominated discussions within the fashion community, the accelerated production and consumption of the digital era had benefited companies but had left many designers feeling “creatively constrained”.
How we produce and consume clothing, shoes, accessories and other textiles is fundamental to the ecological integrity and sustainability of our world. Although sustainable fashion requires systemic change from a whole range of stakeholders in the fashion industry, it requires changes in our consumer habits. What do you think the future of fashion will look like? What does sustainable fashion mean to you?
Share your thoughts and show off your own sustainable fashion moments in the comments below!

06/15/2020

Although the opening of the Costume Institute’s “About Time: Fashion and Duration” has been postponed until the fall, we are excited to explore many of the exhibition’s themes over the next coming months.
The Costume Institute’s 2020 exhibition will trace a century-and-a-half of fashion from 1870 — the year the Met was founded — to the present. Following a disruptive timeline, the exhibition draws inspiration from the circular nature of fashion and the ever-changing experience of time. Especially now amidst the pandemic, time has taken on a new meaning. We are forced to find new ways to ground ourselves.
Today’s challenge is to make photographs that describe your spaces using whatever camera technology you have access to (feel free to incorporate other mediums like video or drawing if you want). Spend the next hour exploring your home or apartment. Revisit rooms, closets, bathrooms, stairs, walls, and windows. Focus on light, composition, and color. Feel free to create captions for each of your images, this can be a personal observation, a random memory, or a description of the picture.

06/12/2020

Traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, also known as The Way of Tea, is more than just enjoying a cup of Matcha. The ceremony is an art and a performance that showcases the delicate preparation and serving of tea. In Japanese culture, the practice of tea ceremonies emphasizes the simplicity of life and urges people to enjoy the present. Even the pottery involved in the process has an aesthetic importance. The Met’s collection is home to various pieces of different time periods, but all have the same importance in a tea ceremony. You can find ewers, tea jars, and tea bowls with beautiful designs and striking colours from the 1500s to the 1900s. When tea bowls are cracked, they are repaired with gold paint highlighting to cracks. The philosophy behind this practice, called Kintsugi, is to embrace the history of the breakage, as opposed to hiding it. Enjoy a cup of tea at home! While it won’t be the same as experiencing a traditional tea ceremony, a matcha latte can be made at home using matcha powder, a bamboo whisk and scoop. Check out bon appétit’s recipe here: https://www.bonappetit.com/drinks/non-alcoholic/slideshow/how-to-make-matcha.

The ritual of making this fine-powdered green tea is a calming way to get your caffeine fix. Here's how to do it, with step-by-step instructions

06/11/2020

Hi! My name is Sven Larsen and I’m so happy to be a part of the inaugural Met Collective. I’m currently a sophomore studying journalism and modern media marketing at Baruch College. I grew up in Queens and have always looked up to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York as one of the many stellar aspects of my home here in New York City, so this opportunity to be a part of it and work with so many of my talented peers is amazing. My favorite work of art here at the Met is this South American nose ornament in the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas wing. I love how “personable” these cats are and how artists have always paid homage to cats all throughout history and around the globe.

06/10/2020

2020 is definitely the year of going with the flow.

06/09/2020

Inside the museum, the Astor Court is alive with the sound of water, and fat koi fish living under silent stones. You don't need to be outside to enjoy nature- how can you create a garden in the space of your own home?
Pictured: The Met Collective member Olivia created this miniature garden with tin, teddy bear fur, a small log, and dried flowers.

06/07/2020

Happy Gemini Season! Late May marked the beginning of Gemini season (according to Western astrology) which lasts until June 21. The name Gemini is Latin for twins, referring to the twin brothers Castor and Pollux of Greek mythology that the Gemini constellation is named after. Twins have inspired more than just the zodiac, including artwork from all of the world.

This Double Bat-Head Figure Pendant has two identical figures adorned with matching weapons, headdresses, and clothing. Originally from 11th-16th century Chiriqui, these golden twins are strikingly golden, which was often used to denote power in many Central American artwork.

The Mughal emperor Jahangir created a money system that corresponded with astrology by having coins marked with the zodiac sign of the month they were minted. This coin with the iconic Gemini twins was minted during Gemini season in A.D. 1618. The creative choice of differentiating coins mirrors the ingenuity that is often associated with Geminis.

Famous twins Apollo and Diana have served as muses for countless artworks, like in this sculpture, Latona and Her Children, Apollo and Diana, by American artist William Henry Rinehart. Regarded as ""the last important American sculptor to work in the classical style,"" Rinehart stuck to tradition by choosing Roman myths as subjects that as coincidentally align with Gemini's dual nature as Apollo is the god of the sun and Diana is the goddess of the moon.