I have been raving to everyone about this hidden gem of a museum, especially to my dad. My dad and I both really love learning, and this is the type of place that him and I would go to together (he has actually been asking me if he can come along with me in class haha). I was in awe of the “Timescapes” exhibit. I think it can be hard to grasp the transformation of New York City, and this movie tells the 400 year story in 28 minutes. From start to finish I was captivated. I’m not sure if Erik Larson has made me think differently about the construction of New York City, but his description of the construction of Chicago’s trials and tribulations has definitely given me a new respect for the phrase “thinking outside the box”. I loved “Timescapes” because I am fascinated by the evolution of cities, and this had archival photos that could pinpoint locations still in existence today. This exhibit definitely altered my perception of architecture and New York City as a whole.
I also really enjoyed the “Voice of the Village” exhibit.
It got up close and personal with New York City, the LQBTQ community, musicians, poets, artists, politics, social justice, and resistance. I have been interested in photography and shooting/developing film since I was maybe 13, so I know the intricacy and the difficulty involved in film. This exhibit was mostly film pictures. I am in awe of all that was captured despite the “limitations” that comes with film (shutter speed, aperture, low light, limited shots, etc). These photos looked inside artists in their studios, poetry readings, famous musicians (maybe not famous at the time the photographs were taken), mayoral candidates, and so much more. A lot of these photos were just candid and genuine, something I really appreciate artistically, and especially in this selfie and posed picture driven society we are in now. Now we focus on pictures being “perfect”, but I don’t see that as a factor driving any of these photos. These photos tell a story, evokes feelings and thoughts. This is a quality of photography I wish we would return to.
I thought the “Stettheimer Dollhouse” exhibit was pretty wild. I don’t have much to say besides that I was blown away with the attention for detail and craftsman (and/or woman)-ship of this dollhouse. I just thought it was insane that something could be so small, intricate, and perfect. I was just so shocked, because most children have some type of dollhouse, but none of mine ever looked like this obviously. Someone put in an extreme amount of work to make it look this perfect, in terms of material, scale, accuracy to a time period, and just overall appearance.
