"Get Closer" Assignment

            This past weekend, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  My mission was to photograph specific details of various bodies of work for submission in the “Get Closer” amateur photography contest.  I explored the museum's vast collections, from the Greek and Roman galleries to the French Decorative Arts, looking at the particular characteristics that made up each piece of art.

Greek, Hellenistic, Marble Heads

I started by photographing Greek and Roman busts, sometimes getting so close in the pursuit of detail that I had set off the occasional alarm!  The Greek marbles heads were so distinct from each other, effectively illustrating the various characteristics of each individual’s face.  I love the Roman head’s profiles.  They reminded me of my father and grandparents, particularly in the quintessential Romanesque, bridge of the nose.

"The Burghers of Calais", Auguste Rodin

Kwoma Ceiling

As you enter the Oceanic Arts gallery, you are sucked in by the Kwoma ceiling artwork. The Kwoma are a group of people living in northwestern New Guinea.   These are the ceilings of their ceremonial houses, which have no walls, and are used for ritual.  The wood is heavily decorated with carvings and paintings.

"Sappho", Comte Prosper D'Epinay

Greek, Hellenistic, Marble Head