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A Trip to New York

 When I was in my twenties and teaching at St. David's, I would visit the Met during free periods. I especially liked the Art of Africa and Oceania--because this wing was consistently empty, and because the art was so different from what I had studied in college.


Recently, for four years, the wing was closed--and now it's back. It's completely overwhelming. A special feature of the Met is its attention to "sight lines"--the rooms themselves should be works of art. So, for example, when you enter the Africa area, you see Oceania rearing its head in the distant background; you see monumental statues far, far away. It's like you are standing at the entrance of a cathedral.

Holland Cotter wrote about the two "figures of greeting"--which are important  to me. Although many of the African pieces are from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the two greeting figures are not; they go way, way back. They both seem to be people who are praying--but one has thrown his arms over his head, and the other is twisted up like a pretzel. If the pretzel figure is not praying, then perhaps he (or she) is in a state of deep anxiety (according to the Met).

These figures make me think of Degas's "Women Ironing"--one body expanding, one body contracting.

Also, although I don't pray, I recognize that there is often a link between wishing/hoping and anxiety. So I'm especially fond of the seated figure.

So very moving to see the renovations--and to see what's inside.






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