Grid of six artworks spanning 5,000 years of art history

Art, Explained

About the Series

Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world. Each episode is interpreted by a Museum photographer.

This series was adapted from 82nd & Fifth.

Credits:

Executive Director: Thomas P. Campbell
Producer: Teresa Lai
Director: Christopher Noey
Producer: Howard Silver
Editors and Sound Recording: Sarah Cowan, Stephanie Wuertz
Design and Development: Chips

Art Photography: Joseph Coscia, Jr., Katherine Dahab, Anna-Marie Kellen, Paul Lachenauer, Oi-Cheong Lee, Mark Morosse, Bruce J. Schwarz, Eileen Travell, Juan Trujillo, Karin L. Willis, and Peter Zeray
Portrait Photography and Imaging Direction: Jackie Neale Chadwick

"Explore" Feature Production: Austin Fisher, Amy Liebster
Original Music: Edward Bilous, Greg Kalember
Music Production: Michelle Dibucci for Sonic Highway
Post-Production Supervision: Paul Caro
Imaging: Helena Guzik, Kathryn Hurni, Elaine Lee, Steven Paneccasio
Additional Imaging: Scott Geffert, Chris Heins, Heather Johnson, Thomas B. Ling, Wilson Santiago
Web Editing: Michael Cirigliano, Annie Dolmatch
Additional Web Production: Helena Guzik
Proofreading: Robin Schwalb
Transcription: Denise Rohlfs
Rights and Permissions: Dina Selfridge, Eileen Sullivan, Jeri Wagner, Julie Zeftel

Advisory Committee:
Ian Alteveer, Carrie Rebora Barratt, Andrea Bayer, Christine Coulson, Michael Gallagher, Navina Haidar, Seán Hemingway, Melanie Holcomb, Elizabeth Kornhauser, Alisa LaGamma, Soyoung Lee, Marco Leona, Catharine Roehrig, Jeff L. Rosenheim, Perrin Stein, and Luke Syson

Special Thanks:
Aleli Alcala, Imtikar Ally, Christine S. Begley, Sean Belair, Greg Bernard, Stephen Bluto, Linda Borsch, Michael Bower, Einar J. Brendalen, Darren Bridenbeck, Barbara J. Bridgers, Denise L. Canniff, Rebecca Capua, Giulia Carciotto, Lori Carrier, Michael K. Carter, Fred Caruso, Tim Caster, Linlin Chen, Soon Chun Cho, Alison Clark, Maureen Coyle, Cristina del Valle, Annick Des Roches, Edward Devlin, Nina McN. Diefenbach, Abdelouadoud El Omrani, Ariel Estrada, Kate Farrell, Sean Farrell, Toma Fichter, Giovanna Florino-Iannace, Betsey Fortlouis, Maria Fredericks, Meredith Friedman, Joyce Fung, Bill Gagen, Manus Gallagher, Robert Gerstle, Matthias Giessler, Maria José Gil, Jessica Glass, Peggy H. Hebard, Ann Heywood, Morgan S. Holzer, Staci Hou, Edward Hunter, Dennis Kaiser, Nitasha A. Kawatra, Dennis Kelly, Colin Kennedy, Daniel Kershaw, Hermes Knauer, Camille Knop, Lisa Krassner, Eva Labson, Chad Lemke, Ricky Luna, Christine McDermott, Betsy Means, Ella Melitsky, Natasha Mileshina, Maya Nagaoka, Taylor Newby, Luis Nuñez, Shyam C. Oberoi, Levent Oklu, Mary Beth Orr, Shawne Osborne, Adam Padron, Kevin Park, Helena Perez, Beatrice Pinto, Emily Kernan Rafferty, David Raymond, Lucy V. Redoglia, Gwen Roginsky, Jonathan Rohner, Jacqueline Rosenbaum, Jennifer Russell, Nancy Rutledge, Gonzalo Saavedra, Sergio Salerno, Sarah Scatturo, Tamara Schechter, Patricia Seto-Weiss, Artemis Shaw, Marjorie Shelley, Hyla Skopitz, Allison Sokaris, Robert Sorenson, Jeffrey S. Spar, Sree Sreenivasan, Juan Stacey, Neal Stimler, Denny Stone, Jeffrey W. Strickland, Bérénice Taveau, Jane S. Tai, Sean Thomas, Elyse Topalian, Jordan S. Tuch, Masha Turchinsky, Daniel Vincent, Thomas C. Vinton, Jenna Wainwright, Christina Watson, Robert Weisberg, Jill Wickenheisser, Eileen M. Willis, Andrew Winslow, Yana Van Dyke, Hwai-Ling Yeh-Lewis, and Elizabeth Zanis


Two women in opulent dress and jewelry sit facing each other on a patterned carpet
Shimmering jewels in Pahari School paintings.
Olivia Dill and Marina Ruiz Molina
May 27
Futuristic sculpture of a fragmented, abstract human form in stone against a neoclassical arch. The tone is dynamic and modern amidst classical architecture.
How do Lee Bul’s sculptures hold space for critical remembrance to show how the past shapes our present?
Anne Anlin Cheng
May 16
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