Author: Hasan Choudhry

These photos connect to Alice’s community because they represent her living space and where most of her work was done. These photographs effectively capture how the rest of the community and townspeople viewed Alice because of the values of Victorian people at this time who placed immense emphasis on appearance.  The people at this time made sure to uphold their outward appearance in order to maintain the status quo and appear as though they are upper class. Furthermore, Alice’s estate is in relatively good condition with a well kept property and positive outlook for the townspeople/ community in the area.

In regards to what the photos mean to me vs. what they mean to Alice when taking them may be different. I view the photos as Alice being a very well off individual due to size of her estate and the means needed to maintain such a large house with a location right next to the beach and waterfront. In addition, the gates outside of the house tell me that Alice is a person who values her privacy which could be a result of some of her work that is very personal to her in many ways. Alice was a very eccentric woman who pushed social norms in the Victorian Era and challenged many of the ideas surrounding women at this time. On the other hand. Alice may have viewed these photos differently or the same depending on her perspective. Alice may have taken these photos of her estate and gate as a way to capture the home that she grew up in and to keep it as a sentimental piece as her childhood home. Alternatively, Alice may have taken these photos to show people outside of her area when she traveled where she grew up and her origins or just to simply keep it as a memory for wherever the future may take her.

Overall, the visit to Alice Austen’s house was a great learning experience that taught me a lot about some of the history behind the LGBTQ and gave me insight into some preservation sites in Staten Island. This was a new experience for me because I do not frequently visit this area of NYC and found it very informative to learn more about some of the artichectual history in the city.

 

The two pieces that I chose were from the Egyptian Art Exhibit on the second floor of the Metropolitan Museum. I have always been particularly interested in ancient Egypt and knowing more about how they were such an advanced civilization. Seeing these works of art gave me a bit of insight on some of their customs and traditions that governed their lives. The Sarcophagus of Payuhor caught my eye due to the sheer amount of detail and precision that had gone into the craftsmanship. Upon seeing this work of art, I took a couple of minutes to really stop and appreciate the inscriptions said to contain magical formulas for reunifying the spirit with the body after death. This unique way of thinking really challenged my preexisting ideas of art by broadening my definition of what art really is. I feel as though many of us, myself included, look at art as a visual experience of oil or paint on a canvas but when I took a closer look at some of these pieces, I took a deep dive into the culture, creativity, and beliefs of a civilization.

The second piece titled An Astronomical Ceiling was very fascinating to me to read about and explore the concept of Astronomy through this piece. I found it interesting how the Ancient Egyptians were such a complex and advanced civilization that found meaning in things that the average person today would not even think twice about. The suns, stars, and planets being seen as divine manifestations really explores the Ancient Egyptian belief of life after death which is another thing that I found very interesting.  Relating back to New York City, we have such a diverse population of people coming from many different walks of life with strong belief systems and forms of public expression. People display their beliefs and values all across the city in forms of art murals, graffiti, stickers, spray paint, etc. I believe that in New York City almost everyone has a story to share and that is similar to the Ancient Egyptians where they too have their own unique forms of expression where they put their beliefs on display for the world to see in the form of pyramids, sarcophagi, inscriptions, etc.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this first assignment visiting the metropolitan museum because it really gave me an opportunity to learn more about not only the Ancient Egyptians but also take a look at the Arms & Armor exhibit, the Japanese art, Roman Art, and many more. I look forward to more of these assignments and to exploring more of what Art in New York City has to offer.