This page compiles your reflections on art, community, museums, and more, informed by your time at Night at the Museum.
To have your own reflection appear on this page, submit a reflection of your own.
Analog fan? You can also respond to these prompts on paper and peruse the responses of others. Come find our table on the third floor.
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Compare how this experience reinforced or challenged your previous ideas about museums. Would you encourage other Macaulay students to visit museums?
This experience reinforced my idea of museums because it truly exemplified what a museum is all about, culture. For example, the American wing showed so many various cultures just in one floor alone, it showed from black American to Japanese American to Caribbean American, and more. The cultures, though different, all blended perfectly when displayed together in nearby wings, creating a seamless experience as most museums aim to do. Different cultures are all beautiful in their own way and a museum aims to present them on all their beauty, and this museum and many others do so reinforcing my idea about museums.
Hunter College
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Where and how do you see yourself, your communities, and/or New Yorkers in this museum?
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Baruch College
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Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)
I chose the painting titled “Sunset at Sea” by Thomas Moran because it made me feel very calm. The water has always made me calm when I was a kid, and seeing this piece brought those memories back. The way you can almost see the waves moving with the detail the artist put in is so beautiful and just makes me imagine the waves swaying at the beach. Along with the water, the sunset on top just adds another beautiful concept that also provides a soothing feeling since it’s like the day is coming to a close and it’s the time when you wind down.
Rachel Dayts
Hunter College
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Where and how do you see yourself, your communities, and/or New Yorkers in this museum?
The essence of New York is reflected in every exhibit in this museum. Diversity, which is the fabric of New York, is a core part of the art on display here. For example, John Biggers’ (1924-2001) “Web of Life” showcases the different ways in which humanity interacts with Mother Earth. That, in of it itself, is an exploration of heterogeneity. As such, it is impossible for the art on display to not mirror New York City.
Lily Zuss
Brooklyn College
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Compare how this experience reinforced or challenged your previous ideas about museums. Would you encourage other Macaulay students to visit museums?
I previously thought that museums were solely a place for historians and art lovers. I didnt see how I would take interest in something that seems so far from me. However, my experience at this museum was not as distant as I’d believed. This museum drew from topics that I grew up learning about and are also passionate about (manifest destiny, racial injustice). I found myself still being able to find connections in the art I was viewing while also learning about the world around me. I think that this type of experience is extremely important for other Macaulay students to have.
Zunairah Sikder
Hunter College
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Where and how do you see yourself, your communities, and/or New Yorkers in this museum?
Everyone is in awe of all the pieces of art that surround us. Speaking for myself, it’s really cool to have a museum like this just a couple train rides away from where we go to school. I definitely don’t take advantage of the public museums that I have all around me, so it’s definitely a cool experience to be at the museum after hours and experience what all it has to offer. I’m in awe as I walk into every exhibit because it’s so amazing to see so many pieces of work all in one place for us to explore and learn about.
Isha Joseph
Hunter College
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Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)
This artwork was disturbing for me at first glance. The hands are in the position of either receiving or giving something up. I feel as though the artist here is giving up her hands.
The refined texture of the hands has a great contrast from the rough surface of the slab of rock. What I get from this is that her hands are a product of a large amount of labor as they have been transformed from rough rock to smooth, almost feminine, hands. This gives greater importance to the idea that she gave up her hands.
Stephen Lau
College of Staten Island
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Where and how do you see yourself, your communities, and/or New Yorkers in this museum?
I see my community and New Yorkers in this museum in the aspect of culture, colors, and diversity. In the exhibit we looked at I saw aspects of nature, the ocean, flowers, many colors, anatomical shapes, and figures. New York is very diverse and is full of color and different cultures.
Juli-Anne Sarji
Hunter College
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Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)
This piece, titled Vanity and Stool, by Kem Weber, stood out to me in the museum. My whole life I have been obsessed with the concept of mirrors, staring at myself in every mirror that I pass by. I always find something new to change about my appearance, whether it be the length of my hair, the amount of ear piercings I have, my weight, or cosmetic enhancements I plan to do in the future. Loving my self-image is something I have struggled with though out my entire life, but this piece, which highlights a positive force for growth and change, reminds me that no one is perfect. Individuals are always changing and evolving, and it is up to us to control how those changes impact our lives.
Olivia Gorski
Hunter College
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Choose a piece of art you saw that invoked strong feelings for you. Describe the response you had and why. (Don’t forget to include the title and artist.)
One piece of art that I saw that invoked strong feelings was Lake George by John Frederick Kensett. This work was a great oil illustration of Lake George, which I’ve had a great experience at. This connection invoked feelings of nostalgia and happiness in me, because nature calms me and I love the way that each artist can capture the same lake differently, including the still waters and the trees in the wind.
Victoria Bernadskiy
Hunter College