Twice a year, the Advanced Studio Art 1 class takes a trip to visit an art museum to broaden our artistic horizons. This year, the museum of choice was the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

At the crack of dawn, we trudged to the bus, sluggish and half-asleep. Seriously, who decided we had to get to school at 6:40? We made ourselves at home on the relatively comfy bus seats and our excitement, though diluted by sleepiness, surged. Thankfully, we didn’t have to spend 3 continuous hours driving. After a small period of staring out the window at the bleak landscape of the literal middle of nowhere, we disembarked on a mission to explore the glamorous, lively, eventful rest stop of New Baltimore. There we stretched our legs and marveled over something that was truly the pinnacle of modern invention: a single pickle being sold in a tiny bag. A couple of Starbucks orders later, we boarded the bus and were back on the move. After a few hours of seeing nothing but nearly uninhabited rural New York, we were blessed with a sign of civilization. The bright blue box of the Ikea building rose into view, along with the other picturesque sights of Paramus, NJ. Slowly, the surrounding buildings got taller and taller, and a familiar, iconic skyline came into view. It was magnificent, given the silhouettes of the Empire State Building, the Bloomberg Tower, and many other recognizable skyscrapers perfectly outlined by the morning sun. We sped across the Lincoln Tunnel, a good portion of the money we had contributed for the trip going into the nineteen-dollar toll, and with each minute that passed, our anticipation grew exponentially. At last, the tunnel gave way to daylight, and we found ourselves surrounded by the tall glass buildings of Manhattan, a welcoming sight. As we drove through the city, we passed by beautiful stores and cafés, small art galleries, and even Times Square. Our drive came to an end next to a bagel cart on the curb not far from our final destination: MoMA. 

After a short walk, we all excitedly filed into the museum. We even got the very special privilege of entering from a staff entrance and placing our bags in a giant bin for safekeeping. The MoMa has a sleek, modern, almost bland aesthetic to it that contrasts and highlights the artworks they are displaying. They have artworks of numerous artists, some being Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Monet. During our visit, we were required to take photos of our favorite pieces, least favorite pieces, as well as 4 pieces that inspired or stuck with us. We also had to sketch 2 paintings of our choice. With this assignment in mind, we wandered around the museum, getting lost in its intricate rooms and works, both figuratively and literally. The rooms were organized in an almost maze-like fashion, making navigating our way around fairly confusing. However, it allowed us to stumble upon obscure rooms that added to the excitement and mystery of the overall experience. After over 2 hours of browsing the artworks, we of course had to stop by the gift shop. There were various things for sale, from carrot plushies to $85 hoodies to rainbow-colored cups. There was also merchandise for the artists, such as a Lego set of “Starry Night”, watches with famous artwork as the face, and band-aids with artwork on them. It was altogether an enjoyable, rewarding, and motivating experience. It made me excited about making art again, and I would go back. 

The real challenge was afterward when all 30 of us had to cross the road multiple times without getting split up or run over. It was a daunting task indeed. Striding through the luxury storefronts of downtown Manhattan, we made our way to Rockefeller Center. We took in the ornate gothic architecture of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was standing beautifully among a sea of angular modern buildings resting conveniently right across the street from Rockefeller Center. Also, across the street was the gorgeous sculptural piece adorning the side of Saks Fifth Avenue. We were once again reminded that art is all around us (quite literally), and we took a few group selfies. We were then left alone to shop at stores that could easily impoverish our whole bloodline if we were to purchase. We enjoyed window shopping and browsing diamonds from Tiffany’s that we knew cost more than all of our mere existences combined. Went into an upscale chocolate shop selling minuscule truffles for 6 dollars, and watched people fall on the ice rink. Not only that, but we even got a glimpse of the famous Christmas tree, though it was covered up since it was still being put up. 

During the NYC trip, we got the opportunity to visit Rockefeller Center and the Museum of Modern Art, but we also got the privilege to visit Bryant’s Park.  We had to walk through a small path on the side of a building that led us to the entrance of the park.  When we entered the park, we split up with our friends and explored.  The park offered a variety of shops, ranging from gorgeous jewelry stores to colorful puppet shops.  The kaleidoscope of shops left us in awe, igniting a fervor and desire to explore the whole park.  As we ventured through, we got to explore more of the park and experience the food shops. There was a diverse selection of food stalls that graced the vicinity.  We saw stalls that offered a variety of different cultural foods, Chinese, Greek, and Italian being some. We were fortunate to have carried enough cash with us to buy food.  Located in the center of the park was an ice rink and a Christmas tree, but not as big as the one at Rockefeller.  As we walked through Bryant’s Park, we could see the sky starting to fade slowly, telling us our adventure was about to end. Overall, this experience was a truly well-deserved field trip where we experienced not only the joy in exploring art, but also the thrill, excitement, and passion involved in making art.