The Metropolitan Museum of Art will launch Connections, a new online interactive feature that highlights the perspectives and insights of Museum staff on works of art in the Metropolitan’s collection. on January 5.
Connections will be presented as weekly four-minute episodes throughout the year on the Museum’s website. Episodes are comprised of audio narration and slide shows of the works of art discussed, as well as links to contextual background. Each Connections episode explores a broad theme through the subjective and personal viewpoint of a Museum staff member. Participants will include curators, conservators, scientists, librarians, educators, photographers, designers, editors, digital media producers, technicians, administrators, executive staff, and many other staff.
Thomas P. Campbell, Director of the Metropolitan Museum, states in his introduction to the Connections series: “These journeys through the collection are not driven so much by art history as by broad, often personal themes. Some are playful; some are deeply complex. Here, as works of art are tied together—across time, cultures, and disciplines—we hear our staff’s individual responses to these objects, and by extension, introduce new ways to travel through and understand the Met’s incredible riches.”
“Connections is among the first initiatives of the Met’s new Digital Media Department,” commented Erin Coburn, the Museum’s Chief Officer of Digital Media, “and it exemplifies our efforts to enhance the visitor experience, online and in-gallery, through innovative and engaging uses of media and technology.”
The Museum is launching Connections with four episodes, now available online:
Small Things: Associate Director Carrie Rebora Barratt looks for tiny works of art in the Museum’s collection.
Virtuosity: Paintings conservator Michael Gallagher talks about the appeal of technical virtuosity.
Maps: Medieval art curator Melanie Holcomb explains how maps help her make sense of the world.
Tennessee: Video producer Christopher Noey describes how various works in the Museum bring to mind his childhood state of Tennessee.
Connections can be found at www.metmuseum.org/connections.