Reaction Paper #3: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A few weeks ago, my best friend Angela (a student at St. Joseph's College) invited me on a bus trip with her school to The MET. After penciling it in our schedules, confirming our attendance, and preparing for the expedition, November 5 arrived and we were on a bus to New York City.
The day started off rather early, but was nonetheless very enjoyable. We got to the museum at around 10 am and it was practically desolate; for the first hour, we had the place to ourselves. Angela had to complete an assignment for her art class, so we visited the work of Lilly Martin Spencer. Angela admired the paintings and took some notes. When she was satisfied with the information she had gathered, Angela turned the lead over to me. As the photo nerd I am, I immediately bolted to the other side of the museum in search of the photographs.
Unfortunately, the main photography exhibit was closed, so I was unable to see Edward Steichen's The Pond -- Moonrise. I was pretty disappointed, but that didn't stop me for being overly excited about spotting a Daguerreotype by Southworth and Hawes.
I was also able to see Dorothy True by Alfred Stieglitz. I had not seen this photo prior to going to the MET, so it was such a unique experience to view a piece for the first time in person. At first, I thought it was just a photograph of a leg, which I thought was okay, but didn't quite understand why it was exhibited rather than one of Stieglitz's other pieces. But then I noticed an eye... and then another eye... and then a mouth -- slowly, I began to recognize that not only was there a leg, but there was also another exposure on this print. It was very faint, but when I saw it I couldn't take my eyes away. It was absolutely breathtaking.
On top of seeing some photographs, I got to view some work from one of my all-time favorite artists: Roy Lichtenstein. My love for his art bloomed in middle school when, for an art assignment, I had to recreate a famous artist's work and I chose him. Every time I see a piece of Lichtenstein's in a museum, my inner middle schooler gets so excited. There is something so satisfying about following a creator for so long and your love only growing as the years go on.
After spending some time at the MET, Angela and I walked around Central Park and did an impromptu autumnal photo shoot. I am quite proud of how the photos turned out, and altogether am left satisfied after my trip to the Upper East Side.