The Met Collective

07/16/2020

We're moving to Instagram! Follow us at for more student-led art content from The Met ✨

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.

06/04/2020

My name is Julia Montilla and I'm a SUNY Purchase College graduate majoring in Arts Management and minoring in Art History. Since I can remember museums have been a fun fascination for me, but I hadn’t found a true lifelong passion until late in my sophomore year of college. My passion for museum theory and curatorship has led me to intern and volunteer with five museums/exhibits/galleries within two years. I try to let enthusiasm drive my life even in the smallest of activities. I’m supernaturally good at jigsaw puzzles, and besides the Met, the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Le***an Art is my favorite museum. I have a healthy infatuation with food that’s from a lifetime of influences like my parents and the Cartoon Network show Chowder, enough to write my senior thesis on food as an art object. When I’m not reading, eating, or at a museum, you can find me on a rock wall or in a tree somewhere.

My favorite work from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York collection is Fragment of a Queen’s Face. It leaves so much to be desired, but we can imagine a million different stories of what an Egyptian queen might’ve accomplished in her lifetime.

05/29/2020

Collage art is the creation of a whole made up of separate pieces. You can work with a variety of materials such as magazine cutouts, pressed flowers, and newspaper clippings, with glues such as Modge Podge to seal everything together.

This week, we are challenging you to create a collage using whatever materials you have around you. Feel free to mix in different types of artmaking with your collage, such as sketching and painting. Try creating a self-portrait using your materials, or create whatever feels right to you!

If you want inspiration, check out Joe Brainard’s works. He uses cut outs of images, paper scraps, and pressed flowers in his creations. Brainard also combines other mediums, such as sketching, in his creations. There is no right or wrong in collaging! Post your creations so we can see what you’ve made!

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/486946?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=collage&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=9

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/486925
"

05/28/2020

Hi there, I am Elisabeth, better known as Lis! I am a rising junior at Columbia University where I study Comparative Literature & Society and Visual Arts. I am passionate about art education, material-based learning, and art publications.

Two of my favorite artists in the Met’s collection are Edouard Vuillard and El Anatsui (below are Vuillard's Garden at Vaucresson, 1920 and Anatsui's Between Earth and Heaven, 2006). When I’m not visiting the museum’s Modern and Contemporary wing, you can find me roaming around the city taking photographs.

The Met Collective reminds me how grateful I am to be two miles away from an institution that values and supports young voices. I am thankful to be a part of a community that is committed to sharing the power of art with our peers. I want every person to experience meaningful interactions that help shape the way they see art, the world, and one another.

05/27/2020

This is our version of the break meme, and it's a mood.

05/24/2020

Did you know that one of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’s former directors was a Monuments Man during World War II?

After graduating from Harvard, James J. Rorimer joined the Museum in 1927 and was later appointed curator in 1934 in his most specialized area, medieval art. He also played a key role in the development of The Met Cloisters in upper Manhattan before leaving the Museum to enlist in the US army in 1943.

During this time, he was promoted to lead The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, a plan devised to help protect cultural treasures and property in war areas during WWII. Specifically, James held the responsibility for the discovery and preservation of art treasures confiscated and hidden by the N***s. His mission covered territory across Normandy, France, and Germany, earning him several military awards such as the Bronze Star and Croix de Guerre. In 1946, James returned to The Met and later served as both the director of the Cloisters (1949-1955) and of the Museum (1955-1966).

James was one of several Monuments Men who joined The Met’s staff after the war. You can find more members and read about them here! https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/provenance-research-resources/monuments-men



Image: First Lieutenant James J. Rorimer, at left, and Sergeant Antonio T. Valin examine recovered objects. Neuschwanstein, Germany, May 1945. Photograph by U.S. Signal Corps

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XhqJE0mhn2U8EqqWUf6do3VWkyiR-gcb"

The Monuments Men were ultimately able to track, locate, and return more than five million looted cultural items.

05/21/2020

Hi there! My name is Bex and I am a 4th year student at Parsons School of Design where I study game design and film. Besides spending most of my downtime playing video games and watching films, I am a big fan of visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York! I am especially fond of The Met Cloisters and my favorite piece of the collection has to be “The Unicorn Purifies Water” from the Unicorn Tapestries. My favorite bit of the piece are the dogs and rabbits seen peeking out from the bushes.

05/20/2020

Comment and share your favorite art recreations below!

05/20/2020

How have you been managing your hair during quarantine? Let us know down below!

05/19/2020

Do you have papers that you don't need anymore? What about those magazines that you've been hoarding? You can use any type of paper to make a dynamic collage!

What You Need:
-A large piece of paper for the base of your college
-Paper to use in your collage
-Scissors
-Pencil
-Ruler

Steps:
1. Pick any 2 numbers.
2. What's your first number? Using a ruler, draw that many lines from side A to side B.
3. Repeat with the second number from side C to side D.
4. Cut pieces of paper that completely fill the shapes you created with your lines.
Rules: Your pieces should not cover the lines or overlap, and you should be able to clearly see your lines once completed.

In this example, The Met Collective member Theresa used magazines for her images and the numbers 4 and 4. Now we want to see what you make, share your collages in the comments below!

05/15/2020

Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman, and printmaker, born into a family of artists. His early work was informed by Surrealism (think: Dali’s melting clocks) and Cubism (think: Picasso), but in 1947 he settled into producing the kind of expressionist sculpture for which he is best known. His unique figures are extremely thin and tall. They are stretched until they are just lines implying a figure.

Inspired by Giacometti’s style, we invite you to make your own sculpture out of aluminum foil! With a piece of foil, you can create figures characteristic of Giacometti’s style. Follow the simple steps in the pictures to get started.

Post your creations and they may appear on our feed tomorrow!

05/14/2020

Hi everyone! My name is Ava, and I am a rising senior at Drew University in Madison, NJ. I am an Anthropology and Italian double major and a Music and Museum Studies double minor (a mouthful, yes!). I am super passionate about ancient history and art, and hope to pursue a career in museum work, which led me to The Met Collective! This experience has taught me so much about museum education, and at the same time, I get to collaborate with an amazing group of intellectual people who share this common goal of wanting to educate the public about art, culture, and history! Of my many favorite pieces at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, I especially love the fresco wall painting of Persues and Andromeda in the Greek and Roman Art wing. Besides depicting one of my favorite myths, I love its usage of cooler colors and I seem to discover new details upon every visit.

05/13/2020

Let us know if you can relate.

05/11/2020

Make your own Mini Met Art! The Met Collective member Syleste made a miniature version of the Bank Facade in the American Wing of the Met with shrinking plastic.
To do this craft, you don't need special shrinking plastic, but you can reuse any scrap #6 plastic you may have at home (this specific type plastic is important). Additionally, you will need a permanent marker, scissors, and a hole puncher (if you would like to hanging your creation from a keychain).

It's pretty simple! Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and on the plastic, draw a medium-sized version of your favorite The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York artwork. You'll have to make it fairly large, because it will shrink. Once you are done, cut out your creation and use a hole puncher to create holes as necessary. Put the plastic in the oven on a tray lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper for about 5 minutes. Once the time is up, let it cool, and you're done!

05/10/2020

What's your favorite artwork at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and why? Post a picture in the comments!

05/08/2020

After a few weeks of being indoors, it seems like just about everyone has turned to baking for comfort. If you have baked something recently, we would love to see it: whether it be cake, cookies, or something more advanced, like sourdough bread! We challenge you to take your baking creation and make art with them.

Still lifes were traditionally at the bottom of the hierarchy of painting, according to the Academy. They involved no figures or moving parts, unlike History Paintings, which were at the top of the painting hierarchy and involved many moving figures (think: David’s Death of Socrates). Tools needed to create a still life are simple: any arrangement of food or domestic inanimate objects will do.

Snap a picture or make a drawing of your own still life, featuring your new bakes!

Pictured here are Edouard Manet's "The Brioche" and Raphalle Peale's "Still Life with Cake."

05/07/2020

Imaynalla kachkanki! I’m Alex, an archaeology student at CUNY. As an active researcher, I have excavated sites in Spain, Greece, and North America to study ancient environments through the plant and animal remains left behind. When I’m not in the field, I love helping out as a member of The Met Collective because I get to create fun content and events that show college students how art can both enrich and empower their lives.
One of my favorite pieces at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York is an unnamed French Smallsword in the Arms & Armor exhibit. It’s threatening yet maintains some of the most intricately beautiful metalwork I’ve ever seen. A seldom known fact is that smallswords aren’t that small! They just have shorter blades compared to earlier swords. My favorite quote is: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves.

05/06/2020

Who else has been wearing full-on sweats these past few weeks?

Artwork via The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

05/05/2020

This spring in quarantine can look like an Edward Hopper painting. Just like in this view of the Williamsburg Bridge, we can appreciate the beauty of our season from afar. What signs of life can you see from your window?

04/30/2020

Hi, my name is Goldie Gross and I’m a senior at Baruch College, where I study Art & Business. I am an artist and a sometimes-curator for the Jewish Art Salon, and I just finished my year-long thesis on art in the Communist Yiddish press (yay!). I’m a part of The Met Collective because I’m passionate about community-building and art education. My current favorite artwork at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York is The Young Saint John the Baptist (circa 1480–82) by Piero di Cosimo. I think that it feels shockingly fresh and contemporary.

04/29/2020

Which Met Mood are you? Comment below!

1. Gladys Kleinman’s Bermuda Bound
2. José Guadalupe Posada’s A Woman Eating and a Man Facing Her with an Angry Expression and Raised Fists
3. Julius Thiengen Bloch’s The Student
4. Giacomo Ceruti’s An Old Man with a Dog
5. Henri-Charles Maniglier
6. Annibale Carracci’s Two Children Teasing a Cat
7. Frans Hals’ The Smoker

04/28/2020

Here is our favorite re-created work from last week. Alex used a necklace and a Gundam figurine to pose as this 18th-century angel. Stay tuned for more!

Angel by Giuseppe Sanmartino vs. Wing Zero: Endless Waltz

04/23/2020

Hi! My name is Syleste Alexander, and I am a rising junior at the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island. I am currently majoring in Marketing and minoring in Management and Art History, and I hope to pursue a career in Arts Administration. What I love most about The Met Collective is that it gives me the ability to work with a diverse group of peers who are as passionate about art as I am! My favorite work of art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York is the United States Branch Bank, Wall Street facade in the American Wing; I love how it builds on the atmosphere of the art surrounding it, while being an interesting part of United States and Met history!

04/21/2020

Who says you need a studio to create a masterpiece? This week, we are recreating works from the collection using only materials found at our homes. Olivia recreated Christ Child with an Apple, on view at The Met Cloisters, using a bowl, a foam ball, a match, the head of a teddy bear, and a doll as old as herself. What can you come up with?

Post your home creations in the comments with the original work of art and we will feature our favorites on our page next week!

04/18/2020

We think "Chinese Man at Desk with an Abacus" has a great set-up for working from home. Thanks for sharing some of your own desks with us yesterday!

04/17/2020

Chinese Man at Desk with an Abbacus is us right now. Show us your desk set-up or best recreation of this painting by tonight and we'll repost our favorites tomorrow!

04/16/2020

The Met Collective is a group of students that came together to plan College Night at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. That is, until the world turned upside down. Now, we're here to bring you quality art content. No need to come to NYC: we're bringing The Met to you. What do you want to see?