MUSEUM ART

 As always, all resources need to be cited properly. For most projects (except for a standard museum visit) you’ll probably need to consult something other than the textbook, but be judicious about your resources. They should be included at the end of your paper as “Works Cited”. Within the text, you should note in shorthand what resource you used. Be absolutely careful to rephrase everything thoroughly for a paraphrase, and put quotes around ANY language that is used directly Museums are, by and large, monuments to human achievement. (As buildings, many of them happen to be architectural monuments worthy of study in their own right.) Given the time periods covered in our course, almost any museum in New York City (except, perhaps, for the Medieval-themed Cloisters Museum in Washington Heights) will contain relevant art and artifacts, from the Renaissance to the Postmodern Era. You should check out this entire list (Links to an external site.) of museums, but here are some suggestions in Manhattan if you are at a loss. If you haven’t ever been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Links to an external site.), now’s a great opportunity to check it out. You will find examples of almost any style of art there. If you are mostly interested in Modern and Postmodern, however, I would recommend heading instead to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (Links to an external site.), theGuggenheim (Links to an external site.), the Met Breuer (Links to an external site.), or the Whitney (Links to an external site.). For an incredible collection of paintings from around 1800 and earlier, head to the Frick Museum (Links to an external site.). There are also more specialist or history-oriented museums to visit, like the Jewish Museum of New York (Links to an external site.) or theNational Museum of the American Indian (Links to an external site.). Some museums aren’t monuments to human achievement but to the negative effects of human ambition. The most famous example would be the technologically sophisticated horror that was Nazi death camps. For this, visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage (Links to an external site.). War is generally destructive, but an inevitable part of the human experience: if war technology interests you, you should check out theIntrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Complex (Links to an external site.). Don’t be afraid to go off the beaten path! If you like trains, go to Brooklyn’s Transit Museum (Links to an external site.) (a favorite of mine)! The ability to transport people en masse is an incredibly important part of the human story. Brooklyn also has the amazing Brooklyn Museum (Links to an external site.), and you may find something you love in other boroughs as well. ATTN: PHOTOGRAPHY BUFFS: Unfortunately, ICP, the International Center for Photography, is temporarily closed. If you want to do your project on the evolution of photography, you should look at a bunch of museum’s websites to see if there are any special photography exhibits. You will definitely find something: the question is where. In the history-oriented museums, you are likely to find tons of documentary photography; if you are looking for art photography, the modern art museums are a good place to start. Most museums will have a substantial student discount with ID.