Costume: The Art of Dress at the Met - Absolutely Perfect for Gearing Up for Fashion Week!
This audio-guided tour is somewhere between a treasure hunt, an episode of Sex and the City due to its narration by Sarah Jessica Parker, and a historical evolution of fashion that brings us to what fashion has become today! It is absolutely perfect for kicking off fashion week in your own way.
Of course, Fashion Week starts this coming Thursday, September 10!
Whom You Know sent two of its most enthusiastic fashion correspondents to check this out, including Peachy Deegan.
On the first floor one is introduced to the GREEK AND ROMAN ART where you are greeted by a large marble statue of a woman (headless and partially armless) draped in a tunic-styled scarfing that is draped from around the backside starting at the shoulder sweeping around to the mid-section, with a long, floor-length pleated style dress gathered at the bodice with a round layered neckline enhancing the statue's fitted short-sleeved dress. This was highlighted by the Goddess 2003 Exhibition done by the Met.
Next you encounter the terracotta bell-krater, the Ascent of Persephone as you make your way around to the ARTS OF AFRICA, OCEANIA, AND THE AMERICAS showcasing the Benin plaques: Oba on horseback and two Portuguese merchants; Asmat body masks; plains man's shirt; nose ornament, Peru, and the four-cornered hat, Peru/Bolivia with the audio-guided tour manuevering one on to the MEDIEVAL ART where you examine the Figures in a Rose Garden, leading to the ARMS AND ARMOR where you examine the portions of a costume armor- patterned like soft fabric in steel defenses, puffed and slashed and quite fashion-oriented! The edge of the neck was roped, the sleeves billowed and with close observation one will see how exquisitely designed the armor was. Following, the tour finishes up the first floor at the EGYPIAN ART, feauring a mummy mask of a woman with a jeweled garland which had components of both Greek and Roman facial elements.
The second floor galleries stimulate the senses and lead you to the first showing, the ASIAN ART, with the standing Bodhisattva Maitreya, on to the Goddess Durga, ending with the standing Brahma. The Brahma is quite an interesting character with four faces and four arms. Think of how many Clarins, Clinique, La Mer, Sephora etc products she could test if she had four faces and four arms! His belted skirt is quite versatile as well as it can be converted to shorts should the need emerge.
After that you encounter the famous EUROPEAN PAINTINGS, Jacques-Louis David, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and His Wife; Jean Honore Fragonard, The Love Letter; Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Woman; Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait of a Young Man; Peter Paul Rubens, Bubens; His Wife, Helena Fourment; and their Son; concluding with Anthony van Dyck, James Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox. We learned interesting tidbits including why black was so expensive to have as a color in fabric, and what else defined elite in fashion throughout these times.
The finale of this impressive tour reveals the exhibit of the 19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN PAINTINGS, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Madame Charpentier and Her Children.
Our preferred choice of Costume: The Art of Dress was the exposure to the exquisite European Paintings and the 19th Century European Paintings which exhibited the fine selections. Whom You Know strongly recommends taking this tour! Especially now as the advent of Fashion Week is upon us!
***
From our friends at the Met:
Metropolitan Museum Audio Guide Introduces
Costume: The Art of Dress Narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker
Audio Tour Organized by The Costume Institute Highlights
Historical Fashion Depicted in the Met’s Collections
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Audio Guide program will include a new tour, Costume: The Art of Dress, narrated by actress Sarah Jessica Parker, beginning November 25, 2008.
Costume: The Art of Dress Audio Guide, organized by The Costume Institute, will highlight historical costume in the Museum's permanent collections including painting and sculpture. The cultural significance of fashion throughout the ages, from the ancient world to the present, and the role it plays in expressions of social status, power, wealth, ceremony, taste, and sex will be explored through approximately 20 works of art.
“As a devoted and long-time fan of the Met, it gives me great pleasure to narrate this exciting and surprising history of the art of dress,” said Sarah Jessica Parker. “To be part of the Museum’s programs, in this way, is a great honor and privilege.”
Originally conceived three years ago as a tour led by Museum volunteers to augment the two exhibitions organized by The Costume Institute each year, The Art of Dress has become one of the most popular guided tours in the Museum. From an ancient Greek chiton on the Statue of a Woman in the Greek and Roman Galleries to the period dress of portrait subjects rendered by artists such as Rembrandt and Renoir, the audio tour supplements the volunteer-guided tour, which will continue to be offered Tuesday through Friday at 1:45 p.m.
“Looking beyond our encyclopedic collection of costume to the Museum’s other treasures puts clothing into a historical context,” said Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute. “Walking through the galleries listening to Sarah Jessica Parker’s narration will bring a sense of discovery and delight to the experience.”
Listeners can sample recordings, in any order they choose, of interviews with The Costume Institute’s Harold Koda; Andrew Bolton, Curator; and Chris Paulocik, Conservator; as well as commentary from curators and conservators from other areas of the Museum, including Greek and Roman art; arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; medieval art; arms and armor; Egyptian art; European paintings; and Asian art. A brochure available at Museum entrances will list the audio stops by gallery. In the galleries, works included on the tour will be labeled with the letter “C” and numbers that correspond to the brochure listings.
Developed in collaboration with the Museum’s curators and educators, Audio Guide programs provide valuable insight into the Museum’s vast permanent collection and special exhibitions--all in one player. Constantly updated, the program currently contains more than 94 hours of audio commentaries, including special selections such as Art and Music, an architecture tour of the Museum, a family Audio Guide specially designed for younger visitors, and The Director’s Selections, a highlights tour of 60 masterpieces narrated by Philippe de Montebello that is available in eight languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean).
Audio Guides are available in the Great Hall or at the entrance to selected special exhibitions for a $7.00 rental fee ($6.00 for Museum Members, $5.00 for children under 12, and $4.00 for groups larger than 15).
The Audio Guide at the Metropolitan is produced by Antenna Audio, the leading provider of audio and audio-visual interpretation to museums, exhibitions, historic sites, and visitor attractions around the world. Antenna Audio is a fully owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications, LLC.
The Audio Guide program at the Metropolitan Museum is sponsored by Bloomberg.
###
VISITOR INFORMATION
Hours
Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sundays, Tuesdays–Thursdays 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Met Holiday Mondays in the Main Building:
December 29, 2008;
January 19, February 16, and May 25, 2009
Met Holiday Mondays sponsored by CIT 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
All other Mondays closed; Jan. 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec. 25 closed
Suggested Admission
(includes Main Building and The Cloisters museum and gardens on the same day)
Adults $20.00, seniors (65 and over) $15.00, students $10.00
Members and children under 12 accompanied by adult free
Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827.
For more information (212) 535-7710; www.metmuseum.org
No extra charge for any exhibition.
