by Jean Crescenzo

Created on: July 15, 2008   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

Have you seen a photo that made you smile? Looked at a painting that made you think you could have done that; or it looks like a four year old did it? Or have you stared at a sculpture trying to determine the front side? Then you have experienced and been moved by art. Easy wasn't it? That simplifies things of course, but that's the idea. Art should be simple to understand and fun too!

Art is for everyone! And the best place to get excited about art is at the Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has something special just for you. You can be assured that there is an exhibit on display right now that you will find exciting and interesting. If you're a mechanic you will certainly enjoy the collection of carriages, carts and other wheeled transportation the Met displays. Are you a fashion trend setter? Besides the period costumes, there are special exhibits like the superhero clothing designs. You can see Spider Woman's ball gown options, or the heavy mechanical suit Iron Man wore. Are you perhaps a bricklayer? Come and see how the early Phoenicians worked with stone and how the prehistoric people baked bricks. Do you want to finally understand Picasso? You will be able to learn how to do this from a docent or you could use a taped tour matched to a display genre.

You can go in and out of the huge quire gates as often as you please, pretending you are a nun or a monk or even wondering why someone would choose to be one! You will be able to see a pyramid with a reflection pool and have more chances for your imagination to run wild. You can wander into the pyramids, read some hieroglyphics, see how small humans used to be, and be awed by the talent and skill used in the designs. You may also be impressed by the talent and skill of the artists tucked into nooks and archways and sketching or painting their interpretation of an exhibit. Most people really like watching the artists work as much as they enjoy looking at the hanging works. It's a way of bridging the gap or linking the time line.

You can get some online information on current displays and impress a date. If that goes well, then bring your date to the balcony for the afternoon wine bar. In warm weather you can even have drinks on the roof with a lovely view of Central Park and the New York skyline.

Art has always been and will always be. Art IS. The Met helps you to grasp that concept in the most wonderful way. Gold, jewels, swords, dolls, paintings, photographs, statues, clothing are all here and all waiting for you to experience your own Renaissance. Come let the Met move you!

Learn more about this author, Jean Crescenzo.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.