Informative, fun, and interesting are the first three
words that come to my mind when I think about my experience at the Cloisters
Museum in New York City. For those of you who may not be familiar with the
Cloisters Museum, it’s okay. I was wasn’t either until a day before this trip.
The Cloisters Museum is a part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art with exhibits
that include art and artifacts from twelfth to the fifteenth century of medieval
Europe. There are even salvaged architectural elements built into the museum, which
makes the experience truly original. There are not many places where one can
see medieval European art and artifacts inside a medieval European influenced
building, at least not in the United States.
When Dr. Christina Francis, my Medieval Literature
professor here at Bloomsburg University, explained to my class that this trip
would be a part of a class lesson, I was not too sure about the trip. Driving
to a museum that is dedicated to a topic, the medieval world, that I was not
familiar with, with a group of people I don’t really know, did not sound like
my ideal Sunday. Regardless, I had to go. It was a part of class, and the
medieval class itself was geared towards the analysis of the literary works of
medieval Europe. I knew that this trip would give me a better understanding of
the work and I was right! All I can say is I am extremely happy I walked away
with the experience I did.
For starters, as I explained, the Cloisters itself is a building
that contains parts of monasteries from medieval Europe. I was able to get a
first-hand experience of architecture that was common during the time period we
were studying. Inside, I was surrounded by art and artifacts from the medieval
world. There was even a garden that was home to vegetation and plants that
lived and were used, studied, or written about in this time period. As a class,
we talked about different displays the museum had to offer, like the tapestry
and its significance to the time period, stories, history, and art. We also
spent a lot of time looking at the religious pieces because religion had a huge
influence on the medieval world. I learned a lot about relics and the expensive
garnishing of the Catholic Church.
Personally, two of my favorite pieces were the stained
glass windows and the rosary with the skull. Both of these pieces are elegant
yet hint at death or punishment, which from what I took away from my experience
at the museum was a big theme of the medieval world. Everything from the
sculptures to paintings, as you can see in the window and rosary, is extremely
well crafted and detailed. They are garnished and well put together, yet there
is always a hint of death or punishment, something ugly amongst beauty, like
sin, always prominent in life. This reflects the influence the Catholic Church
had on every part of medieval life. People of that time were obsessed with the
idea of body and soul. They wanted a lavish life on Earth, but they were
constantly reminded about their soul and where it could end up, if they did not
live a righteous life. That is one of the biggest things I have taken away from
this trip and my medieval class. The idea of the Catholic Church having a strong
presence and influence over people and their actions. The thought of death and
what happens to one’s soul after it, alone has influenced a good portion of the
writings, art, and actions of this time period and I believe it is reflected
well in the two pieces I chose as my favorites.
One of the best
experiences had to come from not only seeing medieval life, but being able to
experience it first-hand. Outside, on the grounds of the museum, there was a
medieval fair. There was food, costumes, and venders that all looked like they
came straight from art that was inside the walls of the museum. I was even able
to hear live readings of books we were reading in class. I was experiencing
what I was studying and that made learning and retaining information easier.
One of the most
memorable parts of the fair had to be when I was able to see a live jousting
match. It had to be one of the coolest experiences I’ve had on a school trip
and honestly, it did not even feel like a school trip. It felt like an outing
with friends, an outing full of educational experiences; but like I said, it
was a fun time. Hopefully other classes get to experience this. I can’t think
of a better way to bring a class together and get lessons through to students
than by putting them in an environment full of what they are learning and
letting them see and experience it first hand with one another.
In my opinion, this trip shaped the structure for the
rest of the class this semester. After the trip, I felt like every aspect of
class became more interesting. I noticed a difference in the first class
following the trip. Since we had all spent the day in New York together, we
were able to get to know one another and that added to the discussions and
input from the class, in my opinion. Everyone seemed to open up more during
discussions. Maybe it was because we all were more comfortable talking about
class topics. People were more willing to share thoughts and ideas to friends
compared to strangers who one thinks could judge them. The trip also gave me a
face for the name kind of deal. Everything we saw at the Cloisters was either
talked about or was going to be talked about in class. The visuals really
helped me understand the concepts of the class, which again was geared towards
the analysis of this time period. The collection of art and artifacts at the
museum alone gave us a lot of things to connect back to our readings which
helped us make clearer and more precise connections to the thoughts that
influenced the writings of the medieval period.
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