My trip to the MET

     Last Tuesday, I was actually excited to participate in a class field trip with my class to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s been quite a while since I have done so and it may have been my first time at the MET, as far as I can remember. As I first entered the Photography and the American Civil War exhibition, I felt thoroughly interested and curious to learn about details of the war I was still not aware of. The rooms were quite spacious, which was pretty convenient because although, there were a lot of people, it wasn’t too tight and allowed me to move around comfortably.  I believe the spatial design of the exhibition served a purpose to encourage communication between people viewing the artifacts. Obviously, there wouldn’t be loud chatter among individuals to discuss the artifacts because it would be disturbing to others trying to concentrate. But, I think the exhibition made people turn to each other and, say “wow”, or “look at this”. I know I did just that a few times. Moreover, I strongly believe the architecture of the exhibition was a way to establish a personal connection between the viewers and artifacts of history because people can imagine the open and empty space in their head filled with the people in the pictures or the war itself. I found that walking through the exhibition was very thought-provoking to me, as I was asking myself questions like, “how did the photographer feel taking these pictures?” or “why are everyone’s face in these photos are serious?”

     There are a lot of things that individuals can discuss about the Civil War exhibition. One thing that was showcased more times than once in the first room I walked in was President Abraham Lincoln. He was on pins and even a chessboard as part of a sense or patriotism and support during the election. There was a portrait of him without a beard, which was relatively weird. But, more importantly, there are other things that stood out to me more that made me wonder or cringe. A connection I made between two artifacts that were rooms apart were among the 1860s “Civil War Portrait Lockets” and 1863 “The Children of the Battlefield”.  Lockets were tinytypes set in brass and gold plates cases which featured portraits of family. They served as a powerful tool to help the subject and family survive or fear that that they may not live through battles. On the other hand, “The Children of the Battlefield”, one soldier was found dead with only a locket that had a portrait of three small children. Papers all over made an attempt to find out whose father were he. As a result, it came to the attention of Philinda Humston who has three children and hasn’t heard of her husband since the battle at Gettysburg in October 1866. It definitely showed me how lockets were powerful in many ways. It stood for something personal and for something that was used publically to discover families that were perhaps torn apart. Something I found interesting during that time period, was an artifact titled, “Union Private with Musket and Pistol, 1861-65”. Almost every portrait seen with soldiers on either side of the Civil War was seen with a type of weapon. It stated, “Evidence suggest given a choice, most soldiers preferred presenting themselves armed with more than one weapon.” The photography studios were readily equipped with these supplies. I believe that this is because as a solider they must have felt a sense of pride and a weapon served as their security. Lastly, the artifacts I feel are self-explanatory and provoked disturbance in a way  are “The Scorged Black” and portraits of soldiers with significant injuries that were used for medical purposes. I was most intrigued by their faces because they seemed serious and stern and I was wondering why not a lot of soldiers’ faces did not express agony and discomfort.

     Overall, I think the exhibition was interesting. It contained a lot of artifacts that showed different aspects of the war. I think photography was an interesting medium to observe the war because like many say, pictures tell a thousand words. They represent stories within themselves. I think we can appreciate photography even more because we can see the great lengths that photographers like Mathew B. Brady, did to capture a captivating image; whether it was carrying a ton of equipment everywhere or even putting themselves in danger. I wish this exhibition could’ve had more of those telescopes where you see through it and the image is 3D and its right in front of you. I found that to be really cool and a great way to see something up close.