Musings from the MET (Steve Lang)

I visited the MET last weekend and saw some good things and some bad. First, I saw that they have a laminated card to the left and right of their wall painting. You could take the card and then stand back from the actual painting and read what it had to say.


The card had a diagram of the painting itself and identified the figures in the painting:


Our paintings in the Rotunda are very similar and could benefit from a similar set up. Currently you have to read the label close up and then take a step back to see the whole painting. Would people walk off with them?

I went through the rest of the Asian section, impressed by the collection. However when I got to the end of the Asian galleries, what did I see? This:

Objects in an elevator! That must be one smooth ride.

I also took a look at the Ur-nammu Stele:

I blew right past it because I thought it would be bigger having seen the 10 ft. reproduction, but eventually I found it and took a picture of it. Looking at this photo, I wish the steles in the Rotunda had enough lighting so you could see the inscriptions, but we also have paintings hanging in there so that could be an issue.

We originally had lights on the back of C284 but they actually blinded you from reading the inscription instead of illuminating it. Lesson learned: Lighting is crucial. Perhaps we could have laminated sheets with the inscriptions? But scholars really want to see the actual inscription, I'm still thinking about it.

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Asia Society (Steve Lang)

Here is 29-64-248 at the Asia Society. Things went smoothly, so there is nothing really to report. I thought I would just show a photo of one of our pieces in situ. On another note, I recommend checking out the Reading Public Museum. I went and saw the Degas and the Art of Japan exhibit which was very good. I liked the events that they tied into the Degas exhibit, not only at the museum itself but also at surrounding Universities and institutions in the Reading area. One thing that I LOVED, was a little area with books related to the exhibit. There were books about Degas and Japanese Prints, and various sources to learn about some of the things you were looking at. They set up a table and chairs and had books all over the place, from children's books to art catalogs, to how-to guides. They also had a video running that talked about how you make an exhibit and what went into the planning of this specific exhibit. The curator talked about who they had to hire to hang the pieces,the configuration of the catalog and how much shipping and packing adds to the cost. They probably did this because you had to pay extra to see the exhibit and wanted to educate the public that "it's not just about putting stuff on a wall."

I was also impressed with their range of collections as all of our sections were well represented. They got their start at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and had a little display about the history of the museum. They also had an animatronic curator, we need one of these. Who is most robot-like......



"Oh, hello, I didn't see you come in, welcome to the....."