Inside the Museum
“Repositories of Art and History—Shadows and Light—Ephemera, etc…”
If we were park rangers, would the magnificence of nature not be our muse? Would not poetry and photography flow out of us…if this was our nature?
If we sold postcards to tourists at the entrance to the summit of the Acropolis, would we not be inspired by the sunlight on the ancient marble stones around us at closing time? Would we not wander, at lunch or on break time, and wonder as we walked by the Parthenon or the Porch of the Maidens? Should we not photograph the caryatids in the cool morning light when they almost seem to speak to us…or we need them to. Should we not shake ourselves out of lethargy and complacency, from being jaded or depressed, and realize our good fortune to be at this profound place, beholding daily the history and majesty of the birthplace of Western civilization.
But we are New Yorkers. We have no ancient monuments nor natural sites in which to contemplate, no waterfalls, no golden rectangles, no redwood forests. Only these repositories of art where weʼve spent years walking, working, looking. Through assimilation, appropriation, observation, chance, happenstance; in exhilaration, desperation and aggravation. We use what we have. We use what we see. These brilliant artworks are our nature. These walls with their beauty and mystery, these halls with their shadows from New Yorkʼs famous silver light – this is our Walden pond, our Acropolis with special access to the secrets of marble in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
We give you…Inside the Museum.
Jefre Harwoods and Kaitlin Martin share this blog based on the time spent working “Inside The Museum” in New York City. The art is either made inside, inspired by, using found materials, appropriated images, photographs of the art, environs, and people inside the museum, and also from other museums.
All art, photography, graphic design, concepts, and writings are subject to copyright. ©Kaitlin Martin