The Museum of Natural History; Review #3
When I was in elementary school, my favorite subject was science. It was simply remarkable the way that nature had its own rules as to how the world worked. However, as the years passed and as studying science in school revolved around grades, my interest slowly dropped. Instead, I found myself dabbling here and there in the arts, which seems to be on the other side of the spectrum. So when I waltzed into the Museum of Natural History with Eilene, Kenny and Siwen desperately trying to avoid the onslaught of rain, I never expected to find two of my great loves reunited.
I have always had a fear of deep open water and as a child I was terrified to step into the Hall of Biodiversity from which large underwater creatures hang from the ceiling and even more horrified at the ‘giant whale room,’ also known as The Milstein Hall of Ocean, which recreates the image of being underwater, complete with a humongous humpback whale that looms overhead. To be honest, this visit to the Museum of Natural History was only the second time I had been in the Milstein Hall. The image of the whale surrounded by a dark blue room and all kinds of peculiar sea creatures still scared me, simply because the effect was so realistic. From below, the detail of the lines on the whale, the splotches of color on its skin and the creation of its face was done with such artistic skill that I could not help but be a little taken aback. The glassed exhibits around the sides of the room were absolutely stunning from the backgrounds, which were painted, the molding of plastic to create the effect of ocean foam and especially the detail on the models of the animals. Several times we had to ask each other if the models were perhaps stuffed versions of the real creatures. My favorite part of the room though, lied overhead where the image of water ripples and light on the surface of water was recreated onto glass tiles in the ceiling. While at first, the idea of feeling submerged frightened me, after standing and staring at it for a bit, the image became comforting what with the lush sounds of water coming from the video being played behind me. In fact, this was all a piece of art. It does its job in informing us about sea creatures and ocean life, but it also serves well to let us feel the exhibit itself. The designers really did a fantastic job that allowed us to feel and experience their art and while it caused some goose bumps, it certainly made its point.
Another surprising favorite of mine was the new Hall of Human Origins. Having taken forensics biology in high school, I walked into the exhibit simply because I was interested in the subject. Lo and behold, there really seemed to be art in every corner of the museum as the Hall of Human Origins contained exhibits on facial reconstruction, a robot that created ‘art’ and a machine to mix instruments and create worldly music. My favorite was the facial reconstruction exhibit. I had studied the effectiveness of facial reconstruction to forensics before, but while watching the video of it actual being done, it occurred to me that this was art too. Maybe it was a stretch, but there was something uniquely artistic about the way the forensic artist created a mold of the skull, drew the striation marks of muscle tissue and attached hair to the figure. It felt as if the artist was making a piece of sculpture, freeing the face hidden in the bones similar to the way Michelangelo claims he freed David from within the block of marble.
While I had always been interested in science and art, I never really considered the two having anything in common. In my head, the two fields were completely different subjects and were impossible to relate and when I stepped into the Museum of Natural History, I really was not expecting to find anything that was ‘art’. In actuality, I should have learned my lesson beforehand. The Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, directly across from each other, make perfect partners in crime whether it be spreading science or art.