Everything Old is New Again at Met Breuer Museum

Everything Old is New Again at Met Breuer Museum

NEW YORK—

When it comes to art, perspective is everything. Perhaps that's why directors at New York City's famed Metropolitan¹ Museum of Art decided² to shift theirs, setting their sights on a new location in Manhattan.

The Met Breuer opens March 18 in the same building once occupied by the Whitney Museum of American Art at 75th Street and Madison Avenue. Curators won't be straying far from the building's famous contemporary leanings, but they're putting their own perspective on modern art, and it's colored by their expertise³ in history and anthropology⁴.

According to the website, the Met Breuer will showcase modern and contemporary art "through the lens of history."

Met Research Assistant Brinda Kumar noted⁵, "The Met is known for its deep and historic holdings, and to position modern and contemporary within that longer context is something quite unique."

Two exhibits kick off the inaugural⁶ season, “Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible” and a Nasreen Mohamedi retrospective.

In “Unfinished,” visitors will see a vast collection of 20th- and 21st-century works that demonstrate how even the best artists, whether intentionally⁷ or not, left work undone⁸ or appearing as if undone. From Leonardo da Vinci to Pablo Picasso to Andy Warhol, a unifying⁹ theme emerges. It's an idea that has stood the test of time: We don't always finish what we start.

As far as the surrounding space is concerned, the spare and modern décor of the original building was left mostly unchanged by Met directors. Longtime visitors to the former Whitney Museum may have a hard time separating the building's former identity from its current holdings.

The dichotomy of old and new was not lost on art critics.

"For me, it was amazing to see Renaissance¹⁰ and Baroque art in this space where I've had my education in contemporary art over decades," said writer Leslie Camhi.

And perhaps "Unfinished" is a fitting title for the Met Breuer's own efforts to start anew in a space that's markedly different in both look and feel from the original Met Museum. By showcasing contemporary works like that of Indian artist Nasreen Mohamedi, visitors will begin to see the Met as more than just an exhibitor of Egyptian tombs and historical artifacts.

"They've taken a lot more freedom than the conservative Metropolitan Museum does, by mixing Renaissance and contemporary works together here," said art critic Linda Yablonsky.

Those contemporary works will ultimately have their own place in history, so long as viewers are open to their new perspectives.

Added Yablonsky, "The art doesn't mean anything until the viewer is with it, basically, to give it meaning. That's why we're here, to create a context for the old Whitney, now Met Breuer."

And in the context of the art world, new perspectives are always welcome.

1 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

4 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

7 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

8 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

9 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

10 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。