The Metropolitan Museum of Art: China: Through the Looking Glass Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has always been one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon…or a whole day (especially if it’s raining)! The grandiose architecture of the building itself is enough, along with the treasures that it holds. Ever since I was little I’ve loved history. Everything from historical architecture to old European paintings to novels about the American Revolution to even begging my parents in elementary school to spend our vacation re-tracing the Oregon Trail in full prairie style clothing (something which they never actually agreed to do!). I’ve also always had a passion for travel and seeing other cultures, seeing the world from different perspectives. Museums allow me to do this, to go back in history and travel the world, all while standing in one place.

As a great movie once asked “where does today meet yesterday?” (…If you must know the movie was a Sesame Street special called “Don’t Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art”…yes I consider that a great movie). The question itself is a thinker, and can have multiple different answers, one of them being a museum.  

Now on to the current show at the MET! Last week I went with my mom to see The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s special exhibition of China: Through the Looking Glass. The exhibition is a perfect example of where the East meets the West, through fashion, film, and porcelain design. Curated by the Costume Institute and the Department of Asian Art the exhibition spans three floors. The dresses were what stood out to me with their intricate beading and stitching work. The designs must have taken months or maybe even years to complete. My favorite ones were the blue and white dresses, as well as a magnificent gold dress that took my breath away and was in a room all to itself.

Not only are dresses otherworldly but so are the rooms they are displayed in. Two of the rooms in particular were transformed into what looked like a Chinese garden and palace corridor, such that when you enter you feel as though you’ve just walked back in time. It is definitely something that you have to go and experience yourself!

Do you have a favorite museum?

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~ Monique ~