On Thursday afternoon, my roommate, Cierra, and I decided to take a trip uptown to sunbathe in Central Park and to explore The Met. The two of us like to pair our headphones so we can listen to music while we walk down the street together, and we thought that it could be fun to do the same while wandering around the museum!
We decided to take it one step further, though, and create a playlist and guide that we recommend following on one of YOUR next trips to The Met!
We started our visit in Alice Neel: People Come First, an exhibition showcasing the paintings from, as The Met describes her, “one of the century’s most radical painters, [and] a champion of social justice.” Alice Neel said, “For me, people come first… I have tried to assert the dignity and eternal importance of the human being,” hence, the title of the exhibit. The first song that we thought to put on was “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest. Check out the full exhibition overview here. Walking through the exhibit, you see Neel’s depiction of everything from the human body to demonstrations of activism. Her art captures an authentic image of New York City.
Next, we explored Pictures, Revisited, an exhibition focused on the evolution of visual appropriation using images from the 70s onward (The Met). As we wandered through the exhibit, we put on “Mary Always” by Khruangbin, the perfect groovy psychedelic sound to set the mood.
Some of our favorite pieces from Pictures, Revisited:
Smokin’ Joe Aint J’Mama by Hank Willis Thomas
Rock Star (Character Appropriation) by David Lamelas
Rietveld Chair by Sarah Charlesworth
Miss Chatelaine by Suzy Lake
We ended our time at The Met in the Avant-Garde room. The two of us immediately split in two different directions because of how visually stunning all these pieces were. I, Cierra, knew immediately what I wanted to hear when I walked in: “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard. It paired perfectly with Thomas Hart Benton's “America Today”, a stunning room-sized mural; the visuals in tandem with the music made me feel like I had transported right into the world of the painting. And I, Juliette, knew immediately that I needed to hear The Voidz when I walked into that room. I made my way towards some of Picasso’s pieces and put on “Father Electricity." The Voidz’ experimental sound fit perfectly with the art.
Here’s our playlist in order of the guide above!
Playlist:
Listen on Spotify HERE
**For our 21+ friends: smoking a joint beforehand may enhance the experience.**