1
00:00:01,333 --> 00:00:05,433
{\an8}♪♪

2
00:00:05,466 --> 00:00:09,100
{\an7}-This is the largest art museum
in the Americas...

3
00:00:09,133 --> 00:00:13,033
Five floors high,
four city blocks long.

4
00:00:13,066 --> 00:00:15,733
New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art

5
00:00:15,766 --> 00:00:19,600
{\an1}is 2.3 million square feet
of treasure.

6
00:00:19,633 --> 00:00:22,733
{\an1}-The museum was largely
an audacious vision.

7
00:00:22,766 --> 00:00:26,333
{\an1}-I just want to be surrounded
by art and beauty.

8
00:00:26,366 --> 00:00:27,566
♪♪

9
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:32,566
{\an1}-In 2020, the Met turned 150.

10
00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,000
{\an1}The museum planned
an anniversary year

11
00:00:35,033 --> 00:00:37,700
{\an1}nobody would forget.

12
00:00:37,733 --> 00:00:39,300
{\an1}-I'm this excited.

13
00:00:39,333 --> 00:00:42,633
{\an1}-Every year, we're pumping out
something pretty amazing.

14
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{\an1}-But as the revels began,
COVID struck New York.

15
00:00:45,933 --> 00:00:48,733
{\an7}-There are new warnings about
the coronavirus outbreak.

16
00:00:48,766 --> 00:00:52,800
{\an1}-For the first time ever,
the Met closed indefinitely.

17
00:00:52,833 --> 00:00:55,200
{\an1}-Walking through the museum
with 5,000 years

18
00:00:55,233 --> 00:00:58,566
{\an1}of the greatest works of art,
it's a spiritual experience.

19
00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,566
{\an1}-With the future unknown,
was its survival in question?

20
00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,100
{\an1}-This is an exhibition install
frozen in time.

21
00:01:06,133 --> 00:01:09,733
{\an1}This is a reminder
that we can overcome.

22
00:01:09,766 --> 00:01:12,966
♪♪

23
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,233
-Then the deaths
of African-Americans

24
00:01:15,266 --> 00:01:19,000
{\an1}at the hands of white
police officers shock America.

25
00:01:19,033 --> 00:01:21,633
{\an1}Demands for social justice
for all

26
00:01:21,666 --> 00:01:25,233
{\an1}have the museum examining
its past and its future.

27
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{\an1}-I could apologize all day long
for J.P. Morgan

28
00:01:27,466 --> 00:01:29,033
{\an1}and everybody else.

29
00:01:29,066 --> 00:01:32,333
{\an1}What is meaningful
is to put yourself on the line.

30
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{\an1}-The Met is an art museum,

31
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and every artwork
comes with a political message.

32
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{\an1}-Washington, you know,
as an indigenous person,

33
00:01:39,766 --> 00:01:41,566
{\an1}he's not one of
<i>my</i> 
heroes.

34
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-Time to address
what's on the walls,

35
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{\an1}what it's saying, to listen.

36
00:01:46,033 --> 00:01:48,033
{\an1}-These objects were stolen.

37
00:01:48,066 --> 00:01:51,100
{\an1}They were never intended to be
in a space like The Met.

38
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{\an1}-In its 150th year
comes an existential crisis.

39
00:01:55,733 --> 00:01:59,000
{\an1}The Met must change,
or it will be history.

40
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{\an1}-It's an extraordinary
political act of defiance.

41
00:02:02,333 --> 00:02:03,766
{\an1}-We're making new history now.

42
00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,833
{\an8}♪♪

43
00:02:24,333 --> 00:02:26,700
{\an8}♪♪

44
00:02:26,733 --> 00:02:28,900
{\an8}-It's July 2020.

45
00:02:28,933 --> 00:02:32,833
{\an7}The Met has now been closed
for four months by COVID-19.

46
00:02:32,866 --> 00:02:34,400
{\an8}♪♪

47
00:02:34,433 --> 00:02:36,900
In May,
the killing of George Floyd

48
00:02:36,933 --> 00:02:39,566
{\an1}has citizens of all races
across America

49
00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:44,233
{\an1}marching in support of
the Black Lives Matter movement.

50
00:02:44,266 --> 00:02:49,100
{\an1}On July 22nd, New York police
are clearing demonstrators

51
00:02:49,133 --> 00:02:50,966
{\an1}from City Hall Park

52
00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:56,233
{\an7}as curator Sheena Wagstaff
visits the Met's Breuer Gallery.

53
00:02:56,266 --> 00:03:01,466
{\an7}She's taking down a landmark
exhibition almost nobody saw.

54
00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:04,333
{\an8}♪♪

55
00:03:04,366 --> 00:03:07,433
{\an7}-I've actually never had the
pleasure of doing that before,

56
00:03:07,466 --> 00:03:09,466
{\an8}being able to go
right the way around it

57
00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:11,900
{\an7}and just see the room
reflected in it.

58
00:03:11,933 --> 00:03:13,466
{\an7}It's extraordinary.

59
00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:15,300
{\an7}-Do you mind reiterating that
one more time?

60
00:03:15,333 --> 00:03:20,266
{\an7}-No, I'm going to burst into
tears in a second, actually.

61
00:03:20,300 --> 00:03:21,600
{\an1}I've never actually been in here

62
00:03:21,633 --> 00:03:23,966
without people
being in the space

63
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,276
{\an1}because the show was only open
for nine days, and, of course,

64
00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:28,866
{\an1}it was crowded after we opened.

65
00:03:28,900 --> 00:03:30,366
What a pleasure.

66
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:31,700
What a tragedy.

67
00:03:31,733 --> 00:03:32,900
[ Chuckles ]

68
00:03:32,933 --> 00:03:35,833
Anyway...

69
00:03:35,866 --> 00:03:40,233
{\an1}-100 works by 88-year-old
painter Gerhard Richter

70
00:03:40,266 --> 00:03:43,900
explore a subject
that suddenly seems timely...

71
00:03:43,933 --> 00:03:46,766
{\an1}racial intolerance
and inhumanity.

72
00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,000
{\an1}-He was a teenager at the point
of the Second World War,

73
00:03:50,033 --> 00:03:55,600
{\an1}and he had the maybe temerity
or foolhardiness

74
00:03:55,633 --> 00:04:00,300
{\an1}to address directly
the legacy of Nazism in Germany.

75
00:04:00,333 --> 00:04:03,833
{\an1}Richter dared to go
where others feared to tread.

76
00:04:03,866 --> 00:04:06,300
I think this show
and one of the reasons

77
00:04:06,333 --> 00:04:08,666
why I'm so...

78
00:04:08,700 --> 00:04:12,066
{\an1}sad about the fact
that it's not reopening

79
00:04:12,100 --> 00:04:17,400
{\an1}is because the atrocities that
are reflected in this exhibition

80
00:04:17,433 --> 00:04:21,033
{\an1}and the way that an artist
has dealt with them,

81
00:04:21,066 --> 00:04:23,400
{\an1}having an unflinching gaze

82
00:04:23,433 --> 00:04:28,233
{\an1}on humankind's inhumanity
to people

83
00:04:28,266 --> 00:04:32,800
{\an1}has so many lessons to teach us
with the events

84
00:04:32,833 --> 00:04:35,700
{\an1}of this last four months
through the coronavirus,

85
00:04:35,733 --> 00:04:38,600
{\an1}but, you know, more recently
and more relevantly

86
00:04:38,633 --> 00:04:40,600
{\an1}in many respects, too,

87
00:04:40,633 --> 00:04:44,800
{\an1}the protests against
the lack of cultural, racial,

88
00:04:44,833 --> 00:04:46,800
{\an1}and economic justice
in our world.

89
00:04:46,833 --> 00:04:48,566
It's a barometer,
really, of our times,

90
00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,466
{\an1}I think, this exhibition,

91
00:04:50,500 --> 00:04:54,466
{\an1}and I'm just very sorry
that people are not seeing it.

92
00:04:54,500 --> 00:04:55,666
You know?

93
00:04:55,700 --> 00:04:57,800
{\an1}-The lockdown will end.

94
00:04:57,833 --> 00:05:01,900
{\an1}When that day comes,
what will The Met's purpose be?

95
00:05:01,933 --> 00:05:04,066
{\an1}-There's one aspect
of certainty.

96
00:05:04,100 --> 00:05:07,466
{\an1}Our institutions become
local institutions.

97
00:05:07,500 --> 00:05:11,833
{\an7}We have never, except probably
at the founding of the museum,

98
00:05:11,866 --> 00:05:15,066
{\an1}thought about the necessity
to be relevant,

99
00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:18,233
directly relevant
to our local communities,

100
00:05:18,266 --> 00:05:22,233
{\an1}so this is actually
a pretty amazing moment for us.

101
00:05:22,266 --> 00:05:23,800
But we just
have to get it right,

102
00:05:23,833 --> 00:05:26,233
{\an1}and we have to work damn hard
to get it right.

103
00:05:26,266 --> 00:05:29,800
{\an8}♪♪

104
00:05:29,833 --> 00:05:32,500
{\an7}-A month later, The Met is open.

105
00:05:32,533 --> 00:05:37,800
{\an7}There are no tourists, so in
its 150th anniversary year,

106
00:05:37,833 --> 00:05:40,600
The Met is back
where it started...

107
00:05:40,633 --> 00:05:43,233
{\an1}serving New Yorkers.

108
00:05:43,266 --> 00:05:45,300
{\an1}-People are looking for
an outlet

109
00:05:45,333 --> 00:05:47,700
{\an1}because everything
has been shut down.

110
00:05:47,733 --> 00:05:50,100
Knowing that
they can come here safely

111
00:05:50,133 --> 00:05:54,600
{\an7}is something that's really
sat well with New Yorkers.

112
00:05:54,633 --> 00:05:57,233
{\an7}Oh, my God, she loves it here.

113
00:05:57,266 --> 00:06:01,866
{\an7}She makes it so much easier
to not set anyone off.

114
00:06:01,900 --> 00:06:04,866
{\an8}They don't expect
the golden retriever, you know,

115
00:06:04,900 --> 00:06:07,166
{\an7}to be a security-type animal.

116
00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,833
{\an7}[ Indistinct conversation ]

117
00:06:10,866 --> 00:06:14,866
{\an7}-It's a big day in the
Samuel household in Connecticut.

118
00:06:14,900 --> 00:06:19,233
{\an7}Tracy-Ann is taking
her daughters to the museum.

119
00:06:19,266 --> 00:06:21,600
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

120
00:06:21,633 --> 00:06:24,800
{\an1}-She and husband Cleon
grew up in New York.

121
00:06:24,833 --> 00:06:26,766
{\an1}The Met was their place.

122
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,300
{\an1}-When we did live in New York,
we went a lot.

123
00:06:29,333 --> 00:06:31,400
{\an1}-One of the best dates
you ever took me on,

124
00:06:31,433 --> 00:06:33,433
{\an1}it was on Valentine's Day.

125
00:06:33,466 --> 00:06:35,400
You took me
to The Metropolitan Museum.

126
00:06:35,433 --> 00:06:37,866
{\an1}We had dinner at the restaurant.

127
00:06:37,900 --> 00:06:40,233
{\an1}That was a really lovely date.

128
00:06:40,266 --> 00:06:42,033
{\an1}We should do that again.

129
00:06:42,066 --> 00:06:45,233
{\an1}We have two daughters,
Kristen and Kelsey.

130
00:06:45,266 --> 00:06:48,500
{\an1}They are 4 and 10.
- Right.

131
00:06:48,533 --> 00:06:52,233
{\an1}-Kristen, she's the creative.
She enjoys writing.

132
00:06:52,266 --> 00:06:54,200
{\an1}She's created a book group
with her friends.

133
00:06:54,233 --> 00:06:55,833
- ZAK.
- ZAK, yeah.

134
00:06:55,866 --> 00:06:58,466
Her best friends'
first letters in their names

135
00:06:58,500 --> 00:06:59,733
{\an1}form the word "Zak."

136
00:06:59,766 --> 00:07:01,733
They've been
actively collaborating.

137
00:07:01,766 --> 00:07:03,933
-At first,
I thought it was a boy.

138
00:07:03,966 --> 00:07:05,200
{\an1}"I brought home..."

139
00:07:05,233 --> 00:07:06,466
{\an1}-The ZAK Book Club.

140
00:07:06,500 --> 00:07:07,766
{\an1}-The ZAK. [ Laughs ]

141
00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,100
Kelsey is more of
the adventurer.

142
00:07:10,133 --> 00:07:13,900
{\an1}-There's so much going on
with race in America.

143
00:07:13,933 --> 00:07:16,100
{\an1}It is a struggle for our family,

144
00:07:16,133 --> 00:07:18,300
{\an1}and right now, the struggle
is finding balance.

145
00:07:18,333 --> 00:07:21,666
{\an1}How much do we want
to expose our girls to?

146
00:07:21,700 --> 00:07:23,866
{\an1}How much do we want them
to be aware of?

147
00:07:23,900 --> 00:07:26,866
So where we are,
this area of Connecticut,

148
00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:28,300
{\an1}it's quite diverse.

149
00:07:28,333 --> 00:07:31,166
{\an1}However, we have to
get comfortable

150
00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:32,866
{\an1}knowing that we may enter a room

151
00:07:32,900 --> 00:07:35,566
{\an1}and there may not be anyone else
that looks like us.

152
00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,633
But that's why
it's very important

153
00:07:37,666 --> 00:07:39,700
{\an1}raising two young girls

154
00:07:39,733 --> 00:07:43,066
{\an1}that they're confident
in the skin that they're in

155
00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:45,566
and they're able
to see themselves

156
00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,666
{\an1}reflected beautifully,
whether it's in arts,

157
00:07:48,700 --> 00:07:52,166
{\an1}in magazines, the TV,
whatever it is.

158
00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,133
{\an1}So we seek things out.

159
00:07:55,166 --> 00:07:57,300
And we're off.

160
00:07:57,333 --> 00:07:58,433
Okay.

161
00:07:58,466 --> 00:08:02,566
You have to know
what you're looking for,

162
00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:08,233
{\an1}but The Met does showcase power
amongst people of color.

163
00:08:08,266 --> 00:08:10,600
{\an1}The African exhibit,
the Egyptian art,

164
00:08:10,633 --> 00:08:13,966
{\an1}for my girls to see themselves
reflected in history

165
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,133
{\an1}in such a powerful way,
it's important.

166
00:08:17,166 --> 00:08:19,166
{\an1}-Tracy-Ann is bound for a museum

167
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,400
{\an1}changed by the events
of the summer.

168
00:08:22,433 --> 00:08:25,933
{\an7}In June, an open letter
identifying racism

169
00:08:25,966 --> 00:08:28,166
{\an8}at New York
cultural institutions

170
00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,500
{\an7}demanded systemic change
with immediate effect.

171
00:08:32,533 --> 00:08:35,900
{\an8}Many signatories
were Met employees.

172
00:08:35,933 --> 00:08:39,133
{\an7}-One of the challenges for me,
to be perfectly honest,

173
00:08:39,166 --> 00:08:41,366
{\an7}has been trying to
come to terms with

174
00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,533
{\an1}and really understand
the nature of the anger

175
00:08:44,566 --> 00:08:46,700
{\an1}and the frustration
that have surfaced

176
00:08:46,733 --> 00:08:48,133
{\an1}in the light of this moment,

177
00:08:48,166 --> 00:08:50,533
{\an1}Black Lives Matter
and indigenous people

178
00:08:50,566 --> 00:08:54,133
{\an1}and so many others who have been
oppressed and that some of it

179
00:08:54,166 --> 00:08:57,033
{\an1}was directed at the leadership
of this museum.

180
00:08:57,066 --> 00:09:00,166
And I did not
fully see that coming.

181
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,233
{\an7}-In July, the executive team
drew up the commitments,

182
00:09:04,266 --> 00:09:07,100
{\an7}promising changes from
recruitment to acquisitions,

183
00:09:07,133 --> 00:09:11,066
{\an7}exhibitions to education.

184
00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:14,600
{\an1}-We designed a spreadsheet,
and I said to everyone,

185
00:09:14,633 --> 00:09:16,600
{\an1}"If we don't fill this out
and complete it,

186
00:09:16,633 --> 00:09:17,766
{\an1}then I should be replaced."

187
00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,100
I look at this
on a regular basis.

188
00:09:20,133 --> 00:09:22,133
{\an1}"Assessing our history.

189
00:09:22,166 --> 00:09:25,233
{\an1}A set of commitments
to anti-racism cannot begin

190
00:09:25,266 --> 00:09:26,933
{\an1}without an honest assessment

191
00:09:26,966 --> 00:09:30,600
{\an1}of an institution's own history
and present practices."

192
00:09:30,633 --> 00:09:34,533
{\an1}-The Met was born in an era
when some collectors' tools

193
00:09:34,566 --> 00:09:37,733
were a pickax
and a sense of entitlement.

194
00:09:37,766 --> 00:09:40,600
{\an1}The treasure of other cultures
was sometimes acquired

195
00:09:40,633 --> 00:09:43,533
{\an1}without respect or payment.

196
00:09:43,566 --> 00:09:48,200
{\an1}Some staff have expressed
long-held anger.

197
00:09:48,233 --> 00:09:51,733
{\an1}-I sit in a seat that was
occupied by many,

198
00:09:51,766 --> 00:09:55,366
{\an1}many predecessors going back
to J.P. Morgan and others,

199
00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,966
{\an1}and people are mad at them and
they're mad at the institution.

200
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,133
{\an1}So our job is to try
to figure out

201
00:10:02,166 --> 00:10:03,733
{\an1}how to deal with that,

202
00:10:03,766 --> 00:10:07,533
and for me,
that meant our commitments.

203
00:10:07,566 --> 00:10:10,533
{\an1}I could apologize all day long
for my predecessors,

204
00:10:10,566 --> 00:10:12,366
{\an1}but that's an empty gesture.

205
00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:16,133
{\an1}What is meaningful
is to put yourself on the line

206
00:10:16,166 --> 00:10:19,866
to bring change
that you think is needed.

207
00:10:19,900 --> 00:10:23,466
-The Met has been
deeply affected by a virus,

208
00:10:23,500 --> 00:10:26,300
{\an1}but will the demands
for social justice

209
00:10:26,333 --> 00:10:28,300
{\an1}change the place forever?

210
00:10:28,333 --> 00:10:30,733
-I think COVID
and Black Lives Matter

211
00:10:30,766 --> 00:10:33,433
{\an1}will be ultimately commingled
as an era,

212
00:10:33,466 --> 00:10:36,666
{\an1}but one of them is a disease
we're trying to survive.

213
00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:39,466
{\an1}The other is a society
we're trying to build.

214
00:10:39,500 --> 00:10:43,066
{\an1}And that should have
more lasting importance.

215
00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:45,633
-In the summer,
controversial statues

216
00:10:45,666 --> 00:10:48,100
{\an1}all over the country
were attacked.

217
00:10:48,133 --> 00:10:50,900
Dan promises
organizational changes,

218
00:10:50,933 --> 00:10:54,300
{\an1}but right now, the stories told
by The Met's art

219
00:10:54,333 --> 00:10:55,866
{\an7}are under scrutiny.

220
00:10:55,900 --> 00:10:59,066
{\an8}How many works
have the potential to offend?

221
00:10:59,100 --> 00:11:02,366
{\an1}19th-century sculpture
"Hiawatha"

222
00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,566
{\an1}by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
is a Met favorite

223
00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,800
{\an1}but perhaps not with
Native American visitors.

224
00:11:08,833 --> 00:11:11,633
{\an1}-We have an obligation
to explain

225
00:11:11,666 --> 00:11:13,366
{\an1}why these things are on view,

226
00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,733
{\an1}particularly when images
or objects might have

227
00:11:16,766 --> 00:11:20,166
{\an1}a pejorative perspective
on a culture or a people.

228
00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,066
{\an1}In this environment,
we're doing more labeling

229
00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:25,033
{\an1}because we want people to learn,

230
00:11:25,066 --> 00:11:27,866
{\an7}and we think that's a useful
thing for us to be doing.

231
00:11:27,900 --> 00:11:30,500
{\an8}That said,
there is always the risk

232
00:11:30,533 --> 00:11:32,966
{\an1}that someone might want
to deface a work of art

233
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:34,366
{\an1}for any number of reasons.

234
00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,166
{\an1}I think it's important
to recognize

235
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,166
{\an1}that everybody's complicated.

236
00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:41,866
{\an1}Everybody's complicated.

237
00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:44,466
George Washington
is a good case in point.

238
00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:47,066
{\an1}There is no question
that without George Washington,

239
00:11:47,100 --> 00:11:49,066
{\an1}this country would never
have come into being.

240
00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:53,066
{\an1}That is a historical fact,
and he believed in democracy.

241
00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:55,133
He believed in
what this country could be.

242
00:11:55,166 --> 00:11:58,066
{\an1}On the other hand,
he owned slaves.

243
00:11:58,100 --> 00:12:00,933
{\an1}He thought himself
a benevolent slave owner,

244
00:12:00,966 --> 00:12:02,733
{\an1}but the record says otherwise.

245
00:12:02,766 --> 00:12:04,933
He was a product
of the 18th century,

246
00:12:04,966 --> 00:12:07,133
{\an1}and he was a farmer
and a slave owner.

247
00:12:07,166 --> 00:12:08,700
And he thought
that was his right.

248
00:12:08,733 --> 00:12:11,133
{\an1}So the question then is
how do we reconcile

249
00:12:11,166 --> 00:12:13,800
these aspects
of this individual?

250
00:12:13,833 --> 00:12:16,133
{\an1}What should the historical
record of him be?

251
00:12:16,166 --> 00:12:19,066
{\an1}What should The Metropolitan do
about his legacy?

252
00:12:19,100 --> 00:12:22,866
{\an1}How should we display his art,
and how should we describe it?

253
00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:25,100
{\an1}Reasonable people can disagree,
and let them.

254
00:12:25,133 --> 00:12:27,466
{\an1}And through that kind of debate
and discussion,

255
00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:29,300
{\an1}we'll all learn something.

256
00:12:29,333 --> 00:12:31,300
♪♪

257
00:12:31,333 --> 00:12:33,866
{\an1}-The Met's commitments
have gone public.

258
00:12:33,900 --> 00:12:36,033
{\an1}The press has published them.

259
00:12:36,066 --> 00:12:38,433
{\an1}Will visitors feel a difference?

260
00:12:38,466 --> 00:12:40,066
{\an1}Only time will tell.

261
00:12:40,100 --> 00:12:43,866
{\an1}-You want to touch the dog,
you have to ask first.

262
00:12:43,900 --> 00:12:46,566
{\an1}-The Samuel family arrives,

263
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,066
{\an1}and Kelsey deactivates
The Met's security system.

264
00:12:50,100 --> 00:12:52,666
-[ Laughs ]

265
00:12:52,700 --> 00:12:54,466
{\an1}That was adorable.

266
00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:58,100
{\an1}-The place might seem grand
and imposing to the sisters,

267
00:12:58,133 --> 00:13:01,700
{\an1}but today, they're among
the most important people here.

268
00:13:01,733 --> 00:13:04,366
- Lead the way.
- They are The Met's future.

269
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,366
-Mommy wants to
show you something.

270
00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,133
♪♪

271
00:13:09,166 --> 00:13:12,133
{\an1}-Tracy-Ann takes her
young Americans

272
00:13:12,166 --> 00:13:15,900
to see art
that tells the national story.

273
00:13:15,933 --> 00:13:18,333
{\an1}Kristen reads between the lines.

274
00:14:05,233 --> 00:14:08,233
{\an1}Depictions of the general
are better-known.

275
00:14:08,266 --> 00:14:10,966
Emanuel Leutze's
portrait of 1851,

276
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,733
{\an1}"Washington Crossing
the Delaware,"

277
00:14:13,766 --> 00:14:15,700
{\an1}is an American icon.

278
00:14:15,733 --> 00:14:17,900
{\an1}-Let's take a look
at this picture together.

279
00:14:17,933 --> 00:14:19,800
{\an1}What's one big thing
that you see?

280
00:14:21,533 --> 00:14:23,966
{\an1}-Mommy, there's ice and trees.

281
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,133
{\an1}-Ice and trees. Good job.

282
00:14:36,866 --> 00:14:38,666
{\an8}-We're not sure
if that's a woman,

283
00:14:38,700 --> 00:14:42,066
{\an1}so women are not represented
in this picture, huh?

284
00:14:42,100 --> 00:14:45,066
{\an1}Now, Washington, he's a leader.

285
00:14:45,100 --> 00:14:46,900
{\an1}How is he different?

286
00:14:52,133 --> 00:14:53,866
{\an8}So he's armed.

287
00:14:53,900 --> 00:14:58,200
{\an7}Now, do you think Washington is
a strong leader in this picture?

288
00:14:59,766 --> 00:15:02,466
{\an1}Well, I wouldn't say
he's not doing anything.

289
00:15:04,233 --> 00:15:06,933
{\an1}Are you sure about that?

290
00:15:14,566 --> 00:15:17,300
So he's a leader.
- Yeah.

291
00:15:17,333 --> 00:15:20,300
{\an1}-But not in the sense of doing.

292
00:15:20,333 --> 00:15:21,966
{\an1}More in the sense of directing.

293
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,666
{\an1}Do you think that leaders in
these situations can be women?

294
00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:27,933
-Yes.

295
00:15:27,966 --> 00:15:29,300
{\an1}-Do you see this person?

296
00:15:29,333 --> 00:15:31,066
{\an1}He doesn't even have a face.

297
00:15:31,100 --> 00:15:32,309
{\an1}He just has a little sliver
over there.

298
00:15:32,333 --> 00:15:33,500
You can see him.

299
00:15:35,133 --> 00:15:37,366
♪♪

300
00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,033
{\an1}I rarely come into this section

301
00:15:39,066 --> 00:15:42,666
{\an1}because there really isn't much
that I can relate to.

302
00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:47,066
{\an1}You know, you see so many
pictures of...

303
00:15:47,100 --> 00:15:51,700
men winning,
and I would like to see more...

304
00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:54,066
{\an1}more representation
of some women

305
00:15:54,100 --> 00:15:58,300
{\an1}or people of color winning
so that I can show my girls,

306
00:15:58,333 --> 00:15:59,533
{\an1}"Hey, look, look!"

307
00:15:59,566 --> 00:16:02,366
{\an1}Or not even just to say,
"Hey, look, look."

308
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,500
{\an1}It's just something
that they see.

309
00:16:05,533 --> 00:16:07,533
{\an1}-Downstairs in the Great Hall,

310
00:16:07,566 --> 00:16:10,033
the iconic image
of George Washington

311
00:16:10,066 --> 00:16:13,766
{\an1}has inspired a very different
kind of history painting.

312
00:16:15,166 --> 00:16:18,100
{\an1}In 2018, The Met commissioned

313
00:16:18,133 --> 00:16:21,933
{\an1}two works from Native American
artist Kent Monkman.

314
00:16:21,966 --> 00:16:24,900
{\an1}-When I was invited
to do the project,

315
00:16:24,933 --> 00:16:28,666
{\an1}I thought of New York
as this portal for immigration.

316
00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:31,066
{\an1}So, Europeans basically flooding

317
00:16:31,100 --> 00:16:33,666
through New York
into North America,

318
00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:37,433
{\an1}ultimately displacing the
first people of this continent.

319
00:16:37,466 --> 00:16:40,666
{\an1}So I thought of arrivals
and departures,

320
00:16:40,700 --> 00:16:42,066
{\an1}and the Great Hall itself

321
00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:44,733
{\an1}is a place of arrivals
and departures.

322
00:16:44,766 --> 00:16:47,466
{\an1}-Monkman reinterprets
classic paintings

323
00:16:47,500 --> 00:16:49,666
{\an1}to suggest alternative stories.

324
00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:53,066
{\an1}The Met invited him
to explore their collections.

325
00:16:53,100 --> 00:16:56,066
{\an1}-The paintings or sculptures
made by the settler artists

326
00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:58,433
who were looking
at indigenous people

327
00:16:58,466 --> 00:17:02,366
{\an1}are always this romantic view
of the vanishing race.

328
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,566
{\an1}In fact, we're very much alive.

329
00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:09,933
{\an1}My work really is refuting
those themes of disappearance.

330
00:17:09,966 --> 00:17:13,933
{\an1}-The paintings feature
Miss Chief Eagle Testickle,

331
00:17:13,966 --> 00:17:15,733
{\an7}a gender-fluid persona

332
00:17:15,766 --> 00:17:19,366
{\an7}the artist inhabits
for public events.

333
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,300
-Looking at
the Emanuel Leutze painting,

334
00:17:22,333 --> 00:17:24,866
{\an1}he's the hero of that painting,

335
00:17:24,900 --> 00:17:28,466
{\an1}and I wanted Miss Chief to be
the hero of my two paintings.

336
00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:31,066
I wanted to make
a monumental painting

337
00:17:31,100 --> 00:17:34,066
{\an1}that really reflected
on indigenous perspective

338
00:17:34,100 --> 00:17:37,833
{\an1}to give it that same importance.

339
00:17:37,866 --> 00:17:40,866
{\an8}-Monkman is from
the Cree First Nation.

340
00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:43,833
{\an8}He works here
in Toronto, Canada.

341
00:17:43,866 --> 00:17:46,300
{\an7}Projects are frequently
a celebration

342
00:17:46,333 --> 00:17:47,866
{\an7}of non-binary sexuality

343
00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:50,466
{\an8}that's part
of Native American culture.

344
00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:52,866
{\an1}-We had people who lived
in the opposite gender,

345
00:17:52,900 --> 00:17:56,300
{\an1}people who were that
full spectrum of LGBTQ,

346
00:17:56,333 --> 00:17:58,866
{\an1}and they were misunderstood
by the Europeans who arrived.

347
00:17:58,900 --> 00:18:01,933
And they thought
they were disgusting.

348
00:18:01,966 --> 00:18:04,400
{\an1}This is a rather gruesome image

349
00:18:04,433 --> 00:18:09,133
{\an1}based on a 15th Century
engraving by Theodor de Bry,

350
00:18:09,166 --> 00:18:11,133
which shows
the Spanish conquistadors

351
00:18:11,166 --> 00:18:13,566
{\an1}throwing sodomites to the dogs.

352
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:17,966
{\an7}I'm not shy of making work
that has political impact.

353
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,933
{\an7}I have things that I want to say

354
00:18:19,966 --> 00:18:22,766
{\an1}that speak about the experience
of indigenous people,

355
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,133
both historical
and in the present,

356
00:18:26,166 --> 00:18:28,733
and those are
political experiences

357
00:18:28,766 --> 00:18:32,366
{\an1}because we've been colonized
and we continue to be colonized.

358
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,933
{\an1}-Monkman's political message
is delivered

359
00:18:34,966 --> 00:18:37,166
{\an1}with mischievous humor.

360
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,133
{\an1}-So a lot of my paintings,
Miss Chief is sort of central.

361
00:18:40,166 --> 00:18:41,800
{\an1}She's the witness who is there

362
00:18:41,833 --> 00:18:43,833
{\an1}while these things
are happening.

363
00:18:43,866 --> 00:18:46,833
{\an1}Like, Miss Chief is there
when the newcomers arrive.

364
00:18:46,866 --> 00:18:50,366
She's also there
when her people are displaced.

365
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,900
{\an1}There's a lot of humor in
Cree culture and in our stories,

366
00:18:53,933 --> 00:18:55,733
{\an1}but also, you know,
as a strategy

367
00:18:55,766 --> 00:18:58,733
{\an1}for just seducing people
into my work.

368
00:18:58,766 --> 00:19:01,666
{\an1}I use humor as a way
to kind of disarm people

369
00:19:01,700 --> 00:19:03,966
because I look at
a lot of dark things,

370
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,900
{\an1}and, of course, "Washington
Crossing the Delaware"

371
00:19:06,933 --> 00:19:11,433
{\an1}is this monumental celebration
of an American hero.

372
00:19:11,466 --> 00:19:14,800
And Washington
was a slave owner,

373
00:19:14,833 --> 00:19:18,366
{\an1}and he was burning down
indigenous villages.

374
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,133
So, you know,
as an indigenous person,

375
00:19:21,166 --> 00:19:23,366
{\an1}he's not one of
<i>my</i> 
heroes.

376
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,366
{\an1}-The museum's two paintings

377
00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,366
{\an1}are entitled "mistikôsiwak,"
or "Wooden Boat People."

378
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,366
-The Met,
in commissioning these works,

379
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,133
{\an1}they are saying, "We want to
engage with diverse voices.

380
00:19:34,166 --> 00:19:36,366
We want to engage
with indigenous voices,"

381
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,433
{\an1}and it was an opportunity
to reflect

382
00:19:39,466 --> 00:19:41,533
{\an1}on that colonial mind set

383
00:19:41,566 --> 00:19:45,100
{\an1}that created these narratives
in museums like The Met.

384
00:19:45,133 --> 00:19:46,400
{\an8}-Wow.

385
00:19:49,966 --> 00:19:52,733
{\an1}-In the Great Hall,
the Samuels find

386
00:19:52,766 --> 00:19:55,966
the epic painting
speaks directly to them.

387
00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,366
{\an1}-Over here, you see people
from different walks of life.

388
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,466
I mean, that guy
looks like Daddy.

389
00:20:03,666 --> 00:20:04,933
{\an7}The guy in the white coat.

390
00:20:04,966 --> 00:20:06,142
{\an1}Doesn't he kind of
look like Daddy?

391
00:20:06,166 --> 00:20:07,366
-Yeah.

392
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:08,766
{\an1}-He looks like he's a doctor

393
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:10,933
{\an1}because he's wearing a necklace
that has...

394
00:20:16,133 --> 00:20:17,300
-Oh, okay.

395
00:20:17,333 --> 00:20:19,166
{\an1}This is interesting.

396
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,333
{\an7}What did you notice?

397
00:20:31,566 --> 00:20:33,566
{\an7}And look what's on his hands.

398
00:20:36,333 --> 00:20:38,900
{\an8}-Yeah.

399
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:47,866
- Kristen.
- Yes?

400
00:20:47,900 --> 00:20:50,666
-Good job.

401
00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:53,666
{\an1}Before the museum shut down,

402
00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:55,833
we came here,
we saw these paintings.

403
00:20:55,866 --> 00:20:59,066
It caught my eye
because it's very modern,

404
00:20:59,100 --> 00:21:01,533
{\an1}but you never really
stop to look at them

405
00:21:01,566 --> 00:21:04,566
{\an1}because this has always been
such a busy hub.

406
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:06,933
{\an1}-Leading The Met's
diversity drive,

407
00:21:06,966 --> 00:21:11,500
{\an1}Max Hollein splashed the boat
people right at the front door.

408
00:21:11,533 --> 00:21:13,566
{\an1}-Placement is, of course,
part of this.

409
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:18,066
{\an7}They are not somewhere
in gallery 117 to the left

410
00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:19,776
{\an7}and then to the right
and then to the middle.

411
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,300
They have to be
strong positions.

412
00:21:22,333 --> 00:21:24,900
{\an1}This one had a huge opportunity,
but it's a challenge.

413
00:21:24,933 --> 00:21:26,566
{\an1}It's a challenge for the artist,

414
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,466
{\an1}so you push artists
to really respond to that.

415
00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:34,066
{\an1}And we respond to it well,

416
00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:36,066
{\an1}and I think that's the case
certainly for Kent.

417
00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:38,066
And then others
who might feel uncomfortable

418
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:40,066
with that level
of permanent exposure,

419
00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:42,666
but it's also
a very charged environment.

420
00:21:42,700 --> 00:21:46,433
{\an1}It's not just a white wall,
so you have to make sure

421
00:21:46,466 --> 00:21:49,866
that the work
can really stand its ground.

422
00:21:49,900 --> 00:21:52,866
-Art and politics
are inseparable.

423
00:21:52,900 --> 00:21:56,866
{\an1}Conservator Dorothy Mahan
works on a portrait painted

424
00:21:56,900 --> 00:21:58,966
{\an1}in Revolutionary times.

425
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,100
{\an1}-I'm cleaning this picture,
finally.

426
00:22:01,133 --> 00:22:03,200
It was in
the collection for 40 years

427
00:22:03,233 --> 00:22:05,600
{\an1}and never been in conservation.

428
00:22:05,633 --> 00:22:07,966
The painting
was painted in 1788.

429
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:09,700
{\an1}They were a power couple.

430
00:22:09,733 --> 00:22:14,700
{\an7}Even having a portrait made
in this size was a statement.

431
00:22:14,733 --> 00:22:17,966
{\an1}-Jacques-Louis David's painting
shows scientists

432
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,466
{\an1}Mr. and Mrs. Lavoisier
to be all work and no play.

433
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:25,300
{\an1}-That's not the way
the portrait began.

434
00:22:25,333 --> 00:22:26,900
{\an1}The first conception
of the picture

435
00:22:26,933 --> 00:22:32,333
{\an1}was a well-to-do couple
in stylish 18th century mode.

436
00:22:32,366 --> 00:22:35,033
They started out
in much more fancy dress.

437
00:22:35,066 --> 00:22:38,466
{\an1}She had a gigantic
high-style hat.

438
00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:40,866
{\an1}Originally, he was sitting
at a very fancy

439
00:22:40,900 --> 00:22:42,833
{\an1}French 18th-century desk,

440
00:22:42,866 --> 00:22:45,333
but David was
an incredibly good painter.

441
00:22:45,366 --> 00:22:47,466
The final finish

442
00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:51,533
{\an1}doesn't really display
any of those tremendous changes.

443
00:22:51,566 --> 00:22:54,300
-Then came
the French Revolution.

444
00:22:54,333 --> 00:22:57,533
X-rays reveal
a portrait flaunting wealth

445
00:22:57,566 --> 00:23:00,133
{\an1}that became dangerous overnight.

446
00:23:00,166 --> 00:23:03,433
{\an1}-All the years that this picture
was looked at and studied,

447
00:23:03,466 --> 00:23:06,533
{\an1}no one ever suspected
until it came up to the studio,

448
00:23:06,566 --> 00:23:08,366
{\an1}where we really got
a close look at it,

449
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:10,133
{\an1}that all these changes
were made.

450
00:23:10,166 --> 00:23:13,600
{\an1}-This is a map that shows
the distribution of that.

451
00:23:13,633 --> 00:23:18,433
{\an7}The red paint that you see there
is actually red.

452
00:23:18,466 --> 00:23:21,733
{\an7}-Red and black in the 1780s
is incredibly fashionable,

453
00:23:21,766 --> 00:23:23,533
{\an7}from Marie Antoinette
right on down,

454
00:23:23,566 --> 00:23:24,933
{\an8}and what's great

455
00:23:24,966 --> 00:23:27,566
{\an7}is the specificity
of that particular hat,

456
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,466
{\an7}which can actually be pinpointed
within a few months of being

457
00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:34,666
{\an7}at the height of fashion,
really specific in its moment.

458
00:23:34,700 --> 00:23:36,100
{\an7}Not really the timeless image

459
00:23:36,133 --> 00:23:38,766
that we think of
with the end result.

460
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,633
-You see
the table was fully painted.

461
00:23:41,666 --> 00:23:43,500
You see that
the leg was shifted.

462
00:23:43,533 --> 00:23:45,300
We really had
so many discoveries.

463
00:23:45,333 --> 00:23:48,933
{\an1}-You go from a really kind of
high-fashion, mundane image

464
00:23:48,966 --> 00:23:51,466
{\an1}to one that's science, reason.

465
00:23:51,500 --> 00:23:53,500
{\an1}We don't know what point
these changes happened.

466
00:23:53,533 --> 00:23:57,866
{\an1}We know that the royal
authorities were advising

467
00:23:57,900 --> 00:24:00,700
{\an1}Lavoisier and David
not to show this portrait.

468
00:24:00,733 --> 00:24:03,900
{\an1}Presumably, there's a discussion
that happens quite late on

469
00:24:03,933 --> 00:24:05,100
{\an1}where they decide,

470
00:24:05,133 --> 00:24:06,766
"No,
let's rethink the entire thing."

471
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,133
{\an1}-You know, we can understand
the history,

472
00:24:09,166 --> 00:24:12,966
{\an1}but when you actually see
that process,

473
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,466
{\an1}it does really give us
a closer glimpse at the time.

474
00:24:17,500 --> 00:24:20,166
-Well,
and Mr. Lavoisier is beheaded

475
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:24,466
{\an1}shortly after this is painted,
but this shows you how quickly

476
00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:27,300
{\an1}the political terrain
is evolving

477
00:24:27,333 --> 00:24:31,033
{\an1}and people uncertain
how to even address it.

478
00:24:31,066 --> 00:24:32,700
Are we good?

479
00:24:32,733 --> 00:24:35,700
{\an1}It's really so beautiful.

480
00:24:35,733 --> 00:24:38,766
♪♪

481
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:40,866
{\an1}-Okay, we got to go off
just like that.

482
00:24:40,900 --> 00:24:43,866
{\an1}-Yeah, just keep it close
to the wall, alright.

483
00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:46,633
{\an1}Ready? One, two, three.

484
00:24:46,666 --> 00:24:49,300
[ Whirring ]

485
00:24:49,333 --> 00:24:51,666
-In the
European Paintings gallery,

486
00:24:51,700 --> 00:24:56,100
226 years after
Antoine Lavoisier lost his head,

487
00:24:56,133 --> 00:24:59,766
{\an1}he and his wife are being hung.

488
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,400
{\an7}-Great, thank you.

489
00:25:02,066 --> 00:25:05,166
{\an7}Yeah, it's crooked,
but at least it's hanging.

490
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,033
Yeah.
- Right side needs to come down

491
00:25:07,066 --> 00:25:08,766
{\an1}about three inches,
but that's...

492
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,000
{\an1}-The French costume drama
is interesting...

493
00:25:11,033 --> 00:25:12,200
-The right side.

494
00:25:12,233 --> 00:25:13,966
{\an1}-...but The Met's full of

495
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,933
{\an1}the stories of the rich,
white, and dead.

496
00:25:16,966 --> 00:25:20,100
{\an1}What art is selected for display
and where,

497
00:25:20,133 --> 00:25:21,866
{\an1}whose stories are told,

498
00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:24,900
even the framing
are all political decisions,

499
00:25:24,933 --> 00:25:27,033
prompting debate
among the curators.

500
00:25:27,066 --> 00:25:28,433
{\an1}-More, quite a bit.

501
00:25:28,466 --> 00:25:31,866
-Department head
Keith Christiansen is retiring

502
00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:34,666
{\an1}after 44 years at The Met.

503
00:25:34,700 --> 00:25:36,500
{\an1}-I'm leaving at the right stage.

504
00:25:36,533 --> 00:25:38,433
{\an8}There needs to be
a younger generation

505
00:25:38,466 --> 00:25:41,066
{\an8}who now moves in
more keenly aware of

506
00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:43,533
{\an1}the museum's shifting
relationship with society.

507
00:25:43,566 --> 00:25:46,833
{\an1}I don't think I would be
the right person to do that.

508
00:25:46,866 --> 00:25:49,366
{\an1}-Good. Thank you all.

509
00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,500
{\an1}-I hope that as the present
and the past

510
00:25:52,533 --> 00:25:54,666
become further
and further detached,

511
00:25:54,700 --> 00:25:57,466
{\an1}it's always the primary mission
of the museum

512
00:25:57,500 --> 00:25:59,300
{\an1}to try and preserve

513
00:25:59,333 --> 00:26:02,700
{\an1}the particular voice
of the individual works of art

514
00:26:02,733 --> 00:26:06,733
{\an1}rather than to make them speak
what we want them to say.

515
00:26:07,666 --> 00:26:10,133
♪♪

516
00:26:10,166 --> 00:26:12,966
{\an1}-Sheena Wagstaff is a modernist.

517
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,433
{\an1}She'd like The Met experience
to say something new.

518
00:26:16,466 --> 00:26:18,333
-So you come into
the Great Hall,

519
00:26:18,366 --> 00:26:20,100
and you are
confronted immediately

520
00:26:20,133 --> 00:26:23,866
{\an1}with this beautiful Athena
on the left,

521
00:26:23,900 --> 00:26:27,300
{\an1}which heralds the beginning of
the Greek and Roman galleries,

522
00:26:27,333 --> 00:26:28,700
{\an1}and then on the right,

523
00:26:28,733 --> 00:26:32,466
{\an1}a pharaoh that heralds
the Egyptian galleries.

524
00:26:32,500 --> 00:26:34,066
And then right
at the top of the stairs,

525
00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:36,666
{\an1}you can see this huge Tiepolo,

526
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:42,066
{\an1}which is European civilization
that sits at the top.

527
00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:46,700
What would it be
if one changed that idea?

528
00:26:46,733 --> 00:26:49,166
{\an1}There are other stories to tell.

529
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,833
{\an1}The Met is already on its way
to tell those stories,

530
00:26:52,866 --> 00:26:55,833
{\an1}but we could be a little bit
more radical, perhaps.

531
00:26:55,866 --> 00:26:58,300
-Her modern
and contemporary galleries

532
00:26:58,333 --> 00:27:01,600
are full of
alternative narratives.

533
00:27:01,633 --> 00:27:05,100
{\an1}African-American artists
have a voice.

534
00:27:05,133 --> 00:27:08,133
{\an1}Kerry James Marshall's
celebration of the visit

535
00:27:08,166 --> 00:27:11,400
{\an1}to the studio of his hero,
Charles White.

536
00:27:11,433 --> 00:27:13,366
{\an1}Sam Gilliam's drape painting

537
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,366
{\an1}commenting on the state
of things in 1968.

538
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:22,766
{\an7}An homage to hardscrabble Harlem
by Faith Ringgold.

539
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,300
{\an1}Sheena's just bought another.

540
00:27:25,333 --> 00:27:28,366
-This is a piece
by Rashid Johnson,

541
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,433
and it's called
"Five Broken Men,"

542
00:27:30,466 --> 00:27:35,466
{\an1}representing a more generalized
version of what it means

543
00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:40,633
{\an1}to be a Black man in a society
that is still inherently racist.

544
00:27:40,666 --> 00:27:44,700
These are not
"political paintings," per se,

545
00:27:44,733 --> 00:27:47,300
but they have
a political undercurrent.

546
00:27:47,333 --> 00:27:51,300
{\an1}There is, I think, a new
state of urgency that museums

547
00:27:51,333 --> 00:27:53,666
{\an1}particularly need to respond to,

548
00:27:53,700 --> 00:27:56,433
The Met being
one of the biggest ones.

549
00:27:56,466 --> 00:28:01,533
{\an1}A response to the political
urgencies of this time.

550
00:28:01,566 --> 00:28:04,633
{\an1}-The museum is committed
to increasing the diversity

551
00:28:04,666 --> 00:28:08,700
{\an1}of art and artists,
but that will be a slow process.

552
00:28:08,733 --> 00:28:11,933
{\an1}-What I'm trying to get
is that opening shot,

553
00:28:11,966 --> 00:28:14,933
{\an1}finding the performer.

554
00:28:14,966 --> 00:28:17,933
{\an1}Framing the performer.

555
00:28:17,966 --> 00:28:20,500
{\an1}-It can be much more nimble
through its program

556
00:28:20,533 --> 00:28:22,633
{\an1}of live arts events.

557
00:28:22,666 --> 00:28:24,166
{\an1}-Let's try this way.

558
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,366
-Lee Mingwei is
a Taiwanese-American artist

559
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,366
{\an1}whose medium is performance.

560
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,500
{\an1}He's brought his touring work,
"Our Labyrinth," to the Met,

561
00:28:33,533 --> 00:28:34,966
{\an1}and a collaboration

562
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,500
{\an1}with celebrated dance master
Bill T. Jones.

563
00:28:38,533 --> 00:28:41,766
{\an8}-The idea arrived
when I was visiting

564
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:45,566
{\an7}some of the sacred sites
and temple in Myanmar.

565
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,933
{\an1}I saw all those people
cleaning the path

566
00:28:48,966 --> 00:28:51,900
{\an1}to the temple 24 hours a day.

567
00:28:51,933 --> 00:28:54,700
{\an1}It's a gift for the temple.

568
00:28:54,733 --> 00:28:58,133
{\an1}It's a gift for the people
who visit a temple.

569
00:28:58,166 --> 00:29:01,600
{\an1}So the next day, I went
and just did the cleaning,

570
00:29:01,633 --> 00:29:04,233
{\an1}and the idea came to me

571
00:29:04,266 --> 00:29:08,000
that I would love
to do this in a museum

572
00:29:08,033 --> 00:29:10,766
{\an1}because museum for me
is a spirit house.

573
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,700
{\an1}-Okay, so what I'm suggesting
is glide along the wall

574
00:29:14,733 --> 00:29:16,066
and find her.

575
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:19,366
{\an8}Mingwei is quite
a masterful artist,

576
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:23,500
{\an7}and he has done a version
of this in many, many locations.

577
00:29:23,533 --> 00:29:28,366
{\an1}And I was asking, "What makes it
different in New York City?"

578
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:29,900
{\an1}My inflection has demanded

579
00:29:29,933 --> 00:29:34,100
{\an1}that the people in it
are as diverse as possible.

580
00:29:34,133 --> 00:29:37,000
{\an1}-I realize it's all about

581
00:29:37,033 --> 00:29:39,133
{\an1}what is it to be a Black,

582
00:29:39,166 --> 00:29:41,766
{\an1}be a Asian, be a Latino,
be a white

583
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:46,733
{\an1}living in a cosmopolitan city
such as New York?

584
00:29:46,766 --> 00:29:50,000
{\an1}-The work is a meditation
on kindness.

585
00:29:50,033 --> 00:29:54,033
{\an1}-We're at this moment
of Black Life Matters,

586
00:29:54,066 --> 00:29:56,700
and I, with Bill,
bring this work

587
00:29:56,733 --> 00:30:00,833
{\an1}to a relatively Victorian idea

588
00:30:00,866 --> 00:30:03,433
{\an1}of what a museum could be.

589
00:30:03,466 --> 00:30:05,233
-I have my fights
with the 19th century.

590
00:30:05,266 --> 00:30:06,700
{\an1}Oh, God. I don't know.

591
00:30:06,733 --> 00:30:09,133
I don't see any
Confederate monuments here.

592
00:30:09,166 --> 00:30:12,233
{\an1}But I can imagine the politics
of some of the people

593
00:30:12,266 --> 00:30:14,366
who made
some of these things here.

594
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:15,933
Not my concern.

595
00:30:15,966 --> 00:30:19,333
History.
We're making new history now.

596
00:30:19,366 --> 00:30:21,300
{\an1}-The dance is filmed
for broadcast

597
00:30:21,333 --> 00:30:23,933
on the Met's
own digital channel.

598
00:30:23,966 --> 00:30:27,433
{\an1}-Culture is almost like
a giant ocean liner.

599
00:30:27,466 --> 00:30:29,566
{\an1}You don't turn on a dime.

600
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:33,100
We find a time
where the museum had to retreat,

601
00:30:33,133 --> 00:30:35,166
{\an1}and now it's trying to come back

602
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:37,733
{\an1}and wants to come back
with what face?

603
00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:44,433
♪♪

604
00:30:44,466 --> 00:30:47,500
-For much
of the Met's 150 years,

605
00:30:47,533 --> 00:30:51,100
{\an1}the American Wing galleries
have displayed homegrown art,

606
00:30:51,133 --> 00:30:55,366
{\an1}telling familiar stories
to a largely white audience.

607
00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,766
{\an7}-It was a very limited
and biased account

608
00:30:57,800 --> 00:30:59,966
{\an7}of what constituted
American art.

609
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,533
{\an1}We're very cognizant of what

610
00:31:01,566 --> 00:31:03,166
has been left out
of that story...

611
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,366
{\an1}certainly women artists,
artists of color,

612
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,633
{\an1}Native American artists
and Latin American artists.

613
00:31:07,666 --> 00:31:09,366
{\an1}For the longest time,
this gallery

614
00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:11,133
{\an1}had the largest number of works

615
00:31:11,166 --> 00:31:13,366
representing
African-American figures,

616
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,133
but no works by
African-American artists,

617
00:31:15,166 --> 00:31:16,766
{\an1}so that was something,
when I arrived,

618
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:18,766
I really wanted
to address head-on.

619
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,366
{\an1}This work by an enslaved artisan

620
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,633
named David Drake
from South Carolina

621
00:31:24,666 --> 00:31:26,566
{\an1}dates to the 1850s.

622
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,533
{\an1}He was also signing them
and penning verse to go on them.

623
00:31:30,566 --> 00:31:32,633
This is at a time
that it was against the law

624
00:31:32,666 --> 00:31:34,100
{\an1}for enslaved individuals

625
00:31:34,133 --> 00:31:36,966
{\an7}to actually be literate
in South Carolina.

626
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,733
{\an7}It's an extraordinary
political act of defiance.

627
00:31:40,766 --> 00:31:43,833
{\an1}The moment we're in right now is
so deeply embedded in the past.

628
00:31:43,866 --> 00:31:46,866
{\an1}America was founded, you know,
on genocide and enslavement.

629
00:31:46,900 --> 00:31:49,133
That is something
we can't forget

630
00:31:49,166 --> 00:31:51,176
{\an1}because it explains so much
about where we are today,

631
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,176
{\an1}particularly now and the issues
we're dealing with,

632
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,133
{\an1}with racial justice,
income inequality.

633
00:31:56,166 --> 00:31:59,133
{\an1}It all has its roots
in our histories.

634
00:31:59,166 --> 00:32:02,533
{\an1}The Ames vase here.
The Indian vase.

635
00:32:02,566 --> 00:32:04,600
{\an1}It is an extraordinary feat
of carving,

636
00:32:04,633 --> 00:32:07,166
{\an1}no question is a work of art
in and of itself,

637
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,200
{\an1}but it's deeply problematic.

638
00:32:09,233 --> 00:32:11,000
{\an1}Now we started a new project

639
00:32:11,033 --> 00:32:13,500
{\an1}called the Native Perspectives
approach,

640
00:32:13,533 --> 00:32:16,900
{\an1}and we're actually inviting
Native scholars,

641
00:32:16,933 --> 00:32:18,533
{\an1}Native artists to respond

642
00:32:18,566 --> 00:32:20,766
{\an1}to these rather problematic
depictions.

643
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,033
Bringing in that
additional perspective

644
00:32:23,066 --> 00:32:25,566
{\an7}has been really revealing,
I think, for our visitors.

645
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:30,333
{\an7}We're not doing our job well if
we're not telling those stories.

646
00:32:30,366 --> 00:32:32,133
{\an8}-In 2017,

647
00:32:32,166 --> 00:32:37,100
{\an7}the American Wing expanded
its Native American collection.

648
00:32:37,133 --> 00:32:40,133
{\an7}A bequest of 91 items
of indigenous art

649
00:32:40,166 --> 00:32:41,700
{\an7}came with a condition...

650
00:32:41,733 --> 00:32:46,833
{\an1}they must be displayed
with other American arts.

651
00:32:46,866 --> 00:32:49,533
{\an1}Today, Sylvia Yount
gets a guided tour

652
00:32:49,566 --> 00:32:53,033
{\an1}from a new and exceptional
colleague.

653
00:32:53,066 --> 00:32:54,933
{\an1}Patricia Norby is the first

654
00:32:54,966 --> 00:32:58,300
{\an1}Native American curator
in Met history.

655
00:32:58,333 --> 00:33:00,366
{\an1}-What I find most striking
about this

656
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,433
{\an8}is the very fine
craftsmanship...

657
00:33:02,466 --> 00:33:04,366
{\an7}- Oh, extraordinary.
- Of this moose antler.

658
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,433
{\an7}This was significant
to the person who was using it.

659
00:33:07,466 --> 00:33:09,233
-And so not
as a ceremonial object.

660
00:33:09,266 --> 00:33:11,733
{\an1}-Well, our ceremonial items
are actually used.

661
00:33:11,766 --> 00:33:12,933
-Right.

662
00:33:12,966 --> 00:33:16,000
{\an1}-They still embody
great meaning.

663
00:33:16,033 --> 00:33:19,300
{\an1}Native and indigenous peoples
are incredibly diverse.

664
00:33:19,333 --> 00:33:24,533
{\an1}But environmental issues,
systematic racism, violence...

665
00:33:24,566 --> 00:33:26,666
{\an1}these are issues that Native
and indigenous people

666
00:33:26,700 --> 00:33:29,500
{\an1}have been dealing with
for a very long time.

667
00:33:29,533 --> 00:33:33,866
{\an1}For indigenous people,
these problems never ended.

668
00:33:33,900 --> 00:33:37,166
{\an1}You know, each of us
have our own origin stories,

669
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,066
{\an1}our own histories,

670
00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:41,933
{\an1}our own relationships
to our homelands,

671
00:33:41,966 --> 00:33:46,933
{\an1}and so our art reflects
all of these important elements.

672
00:33:46,966 --> 00:33:49,833
{\an1}Each have their own experiences
with museums.

673
00:33:49,866 --> 00:33:54,566
{\an1}There's no one set way
to work with each community

674
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,433
{\an1}other than to be respectful
of their ways.

675
00:33:57,466 --> 00:33:59,866
♪♪

676
00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:02,100
-No running,
no running, no running.

677
00:34:02,133 --> 00:34:05,800
{\an1}-Kristen and Kelsey have
reached the Egyptian galleries.

678
00:34:05,833 --> 00:34:09,033
{\an1}They're finding kinship
in deep antiquity.

679
00:34:09,066 --> 00:34:10,733
-We were talking
about the figures

680
00:34:10,766 --> 00:34:14,366
{\an1}and how they were painted
and how they look like us...

681
00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,533
{\an1}the colors used for their skins,
the reddish browns,

682
00:34:17,566 --> 00:34:19,733
{\an1}the raven black hair.

683
00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:22,533
{\an1}It's such a predominant
representation

684
00:34:22,566 --> 00:34:25,533
{\an1}of strength, beauty, power.

685
00:34:25,566 --> 00:34:28,466
{\an1}It's just fascinating to me.

686
00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:31,866
I was born
in Jamaica, West Indies,

687
00:34:31,900 --> 00:34:34,700
{\an1}and I came to America
when I was 8 years old.

688
00:34:34,733 --> 00:34:38,066
{\an1}My parents gave up everything...

689
00:34:38,100 --> 00:34:39,666
-Mm-hmm.

690
00:34:39,700 --> 00:34:42,700
{\an1}-...for better opportunity.

691
00:34:42,733 --> 00:34:45,866
{\an1}[Voice breaking] And...

692
00:34:45,900 --> 00:34:47,300
Sorry.

693
00:34:47,333 --> 00:34:49,900
{\an1}I started to find out
what my ancestry was.

694
00:34:49,933 --> 00:34:52,966
{\an1}[ Breathes deeply ]

695
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,100
{\an1}And I realized that...

696
00:34:56,133 --> 00:34:58,300
I'm sorry.

697
00:34:58,333 --> 00:35:00,133
It was hard to do

698
00:35:00,166 --> 00:35:04,533
{\an1}because our ancestry
is nonexistent.

699
00:35:06,766 --> 00:35:10,166
This genealogist
that was trying to help me

700
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,533
{\an1}shared references, websites

701
00:35:12,566 --> 00:35:15,400
{\an1}in which you can track
your ancestors

702
00:35:15,433 --> 00:35:19,866
{\an1}who came to the islands
through the ships.

703
00:35:19,900 --> 00:35:21,766
{\an1}And all you see is just, like,

704
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,500
{\an1}"Negro, Negro, Negro,
Negro, Negro, Negro."

705
00:35:25,533 --> 00:35:28,100
No names.

706
00:35:28,133 --> 00:35:30,333
{\an1}There's no way to track.

707
00:35:30,366 --> 00:35:32,566
{\an1}So this is where I come.

708
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:36,166
{\an1}I know that I have
African history

709
00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:39,566
{\an1}and what has been taught
to myself and my children

710
00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,300
{\an1}has been that of slavery.

711
00:35:42,333 --> 00:35:45,733
{\an1}And there's more. There is more.

712
00:35:45,766 --> 00:35:48,066
{\an1}Before that. What was it?

713
00:35:48,100 --> 00:35:51,166
♪♪

714
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,100
{\an1}-Gallery 131 offers one answer.

715
00:35:54,133 --> 00:35:56,500
{\an1}-[ Gasps ] What do you see?

716
00:35:56,533 --> 00:35:59,300
{\an1}-The Temple of Dendur
was built by Romans

717
00:35:59,333 --> 00:36:03,800
{\an1}in awe of North African gods
and architectural splendor.

718
00:36:03,833 --> 00:36:06,100
-We come from
such rich heritage,

719
00:36:06,133 --> 00:36:11,433
{\an1}but the only images being shared
in school systems...

720
00:36:11,466 --> 00:36:14,733
All slavery,
the civil-rights movements.

721
00:36:14,766 --> 00:36:18,866
{\an1}And I get it... those are
all important pieces of history.

722
00:36:18,900 --> 00:36:20,333
{\an1}But there is more.

723
00:36:20,366 --> 00:36:23,633
{\an1}There's engineering,
there's mathematics,

724
00:36:23,666 --> 00:36:28,533
there's science
where we've been trailblazers.

725
00:36:28,566 --> 00:36:31,766
{\an1}And I, in my late 30s,

726
00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:34,166
{\an1}I'm just now learning
about this.

727
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,933
{\an1}I wanted to give my girls
a head start

728
00:36:36,966 --> 00:36:38,433
{\an1}to learn about these things,

729
00:36:38,466 --> 00:36:41,733
to realize
that we are so much more

730
00:36:41,766 --> 00:36:45,466
{\an1}than the negative images
on the screens.

731
00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:47,966
We're descendants
of kings and queens.

732
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,533
♪♪

733
00:36:50,566 --> 00:36:53,566
{\an1}-The Met wants this
affirmative experience for all

734
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:57,833
{\an1}and has around 2 million objects
to tell their stories with.

735
00:36:57,866 --> 00:37:00,366
The museum lends
and also borrows

736
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:02,800
{\an1}on an international scale.

737
00:37:02,833 --> 00:37:07,233
{\an1}The Sahel exhibition celebrates
five ancient Saharan empires

738
00:37:07,266 --> 00:37:11,100
{\an1}that for over 1,300 years
produced great art.

739
00:37:11,133 --> 00:37:14,900
{\an1}Many of the 200 exhibits
are loaned by African museums.

740
00:37:14,933 --> 00:37:16,433
[ Buzzer sounds ]

741
00:37:16,466 --> 00:37:19,900
{\an1}Today it's being taken down.

742
00:37:19,933 --> 00:37:22,700
{\an1}The smaller objects are gone.

743
00:37:22,733 --> 00:37:24,833
Time to send
the massive portal stone

744
00:37:24,866 --> 00:37:27,433
{\an1}back to the Met's partner museum
in Senegal.

745
00:37:27,466 --> 00:37:29,900
-Morning, guys.

746
00:37:29,933 --> 00:37:32,500
{\an1}-The head of the Met's
in-house heavy lifting team

747
00:37:32,533 --> 00:37:35,133
is Crayton Sohan.
- [ Chuckles ]

748
00:37:35,166 --> 00:37:39,333
{\an1}-Nothing big moves in the museum
without his nod.

749
00:37:39,366 --> 00:37:42,933
{\an1}-So, we're going to
put the strap right here.

750
00:37:42,966 --> 00:37:46,033
{\an1}It's two and a half tons.
It's pretty heavy.

751
00:37:46,066 --> 00:37:49,300
{\an1}With this kind of work,
there's no trial and error

752
00:37:49,333 --> 00:37:51,100
{\an1}because everything we touch,

753
00:37:51,133 --> 00:37:54,733
{\an7}it's millions and millions
of dollars.

754
00:37:54,766 --> 00:37:56,566
{\an8}-Conservator Carolyn Riccardelli

755
00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:00,366
{\an7}regularly sends large parcels
across the globe.

756
00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:02,400
{\an7}Crayton wraps them all.

757
00:38:02,433 --> 00:38:06,600
{\an7}-I've built up a tolerance,
so I don't get nervous,

758
00:38:06,633 --> 00:38:10,200
{\an8}but it's hard
for a lot of people to watch.

759
00:38:10,233 --> 00:38:15,133
{\an1}-This bottom, we pull this way,
so we tip it over.

760
00:38:15,166 --> 00:38:18,033
In the air.
And we get them flat.

761
00:38:18,066 --> 00:38:22,433
♪♪

762
00:38:22,466 --> 00:38:26,133
All now together.
We got to be even.

763
00:38:26,166 --> 00:38:30,900
{\an1}You grow up with the saying
that everybody has a talent.

764
00:38:30,933 --> 00:38:32,200
Hold it.

765
00:38:32,233 --> 00:38:33,833
{\an1}We got to straighten it up
a little bit

766
00:38:33,866 --> 00:38:36,800
{\an1}and move them down this way.

767
00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:38,033
There you go.

768
00:38:38,066 --> 00:38:39,833
{\an1}I got into this department,

769
00:38:39,866 --> 00:38:43,600
{\an1}and things started
to come naturally.

770
00:38:43,633 --> 00:38:45,033
That's good.

771
00:38:45,066 --> 00:38:49,600
{\an1}It turns out that this
apparently was my talent.

772
00:38:49,633 --> 00:38:53,933
♪♪

773
00:38:53,966 --> 00:38:55,766
{\an1}I got the opportunity here.

774
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,100
I loved it here.
I work with some great people.

775
00:38:58,133 --> 00:39:01,066
{\an1}I guess people saw
what I can do,

776
00:39:01,100 --> 00:39:03,300
{\an1}and I got the breaks, I took it,

777
00:39:03,333 --> 00:39:05,466
{\an1}and I got encouragement
along the way.

778
00:39:05,500 --> 00:39:08,966
And here I am
36 years-plus later.

779
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,866
[ Chuckles ]

780
00:39:10,900 --> 00:39:15,766
{\an1}Where you came from
or your color or your religion

781
00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:19,533
has nothing to do
with what you can do.

782
00:39:19,566 --> 00:39:23,700
{\an1}You have it or you don't
with this kind of work.

783
00:39:23,733 --> 00:39:27,900
{\an1}-The Met began during
America's Industrial Revolution.

784
00:39:27,933 --> 00:39:30,800
European arts
were afforded respect.

785
00:39:30,833 --> 00:39:33,200
{\an1}The rest was of little interest.

786
00:39:33,233 --> 00:39:36,766
{\an1}For decades, objects
from Black and brown cultures

787
00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:39,433
{\an1}were ethnography, not art.

788
00:39:39,466 --> 00:39:41,600
♪♪

789
00:39:41,633 --> 00:39:43,233
{\an1}-These are all exquisite.

790
00:39:43,266 --> 00:39:45,200
{\an1}-Growing up, Mary Rockefeller

791
00:39:45,233 --> 00:39:47,433
{\an1}heard them called "primitive."

792
00:39:47,466 --> 00:39:49,366
-That was
the prevailing word then

793
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:52,100
{\an1}mainly because people
didn't respect

794
00:39:52,133 --> 00:39:55,366
and understand
this indigenous art.

795
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,966
{\an1}-In the 1960s, her father,
Nelson Rockefeller,

796
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,200
a collector
of this overlooked art,

797
00:40:01,233 --> 00:40:03,533
offered the Met
his entire collection.

798
00:40:03,566 --> 00:40:05,733
{\an1}-The museum was not interested,

799
00:40:05,766 --> 00:40:08,100
{\an1}and they encouraged Father
to give his collection

800
00:40:08,133 --> 00:40:09,933
{\an8}to the Museum
of Natural History.

801
00:40:09,966 --> 00:40:11,900
{\an8}And, of course,
he wasn't interested

802
00:40:11,933 --> 00:40:14,166
{\an7}in the Museum of Natural History
at all.

803
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:16,433
He was interested
in the recognition

804
00:40:16,466 --> 00:40:19,100
{\an1}of the excellence of this art.

805
00:40:19,133 --> 00:40:22,366
-In 1980,
Rockefeller finally won.

806
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:23,733
The new wing for

807
00:40:23,766 --> 00:40:26,900
{\an1}the Arts of Africa, Oceania,
and the Americas

808
00:40:26,933 --> 00:40:30,133
was dedicated
to Mary's twin, Michael.

809
00:40:30,166 --> 00:40:32,833
{\an1}As a boy, he'd been obsessed.

810
00:40:32,866 --> 00:40:34,933
{\an1}-Michael and Father developed

811
00:40:34,966 --> 00:40:38,700
{\an1}this incredible bond
over this art,

812
00:40:38,733 --> 00:40:43,066
{\an1}and Michael wanted
to get out of his environment

813
00:40:43,100 --> 00:40:44,733
{\an1}of how he'd been brought up.

814
00:40:44,766 --> 00:40:49,166
{\an1}They decided that New Guinea
was the place for him to go

815
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:55,133
{\an1}because they wanted to collect
art from the Asmat peoples.

816
00:40:55,166 --> 00:40:59,366
-In 1961,
Michael Rockefeller disappeared.

817
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:01,200
{\an1}Some said he'd drowned,

818
00:41:01,233 --> 00:41:04,366
{\an1}others that he'd been eaten
by cannibals.

819
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:06,100
{\an1}-I went to look for my brother.

820
00:41:06,133 --> 00:41:08,533
{\an1}It was a sad, terrible
experience for me,

821
00:41:08,566 --> 00:41:11,100
{\an1}but I was lucky enough
to go to New Guinea,

822
00:41:11,133 --> 00:41:13,966
{\an1}and it made me understand

823
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,133
{\an1}some of what Michael
must have experienced,

824
00:41:17,166 --> 00:41:20,133
{\an1}why he was so drawn.

825
00:41:20,166 --> 00:41:24,533
{\an1}And that art deals
with the kind of issues

826
00:41:24,566 --> 00:41:28,033
{\an1}that anybody in the world
are dealing with...

827
00:41:28,066 --> 00:41:31,700
{\an1}issues of safety, power,
life and death.

828
00:41:31,733 --> 00:41:34,433
{\an1}They were right out front
with those things.

829
00:41:34,466 --> 00:41:39,533
{\an1}There's all kinds of motifs
that have enormous meaning.

830
00:41:39,566 --> 00:41:41,366
{\an1}They're all metaphors.

831
00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:43,966
{\an1}See all these motifs here?

832
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:46,866
Some of them
are the praying mantis.

833
00:41:46,900 --> 00:41:50,033
{\an1}The female bites off the head
of the male,

834
00:41:50,066 --> 00:41:54,733
{\an1}and, of course, it's all related
to the ceremony of headhunting.

835
00:41:54,766 --> 00:41:58,533
{\an1}You can go into all the horrible
places about it all...

836
00:41:58,566 --> 00:42:02,000
{\an1}or you can step back
and try to see it

837
00:42:02,033 --> 00:42:04,800
{\an1}in a larger context
of what they were doing.

838
00:42:04,833 --> 00:42:07,100
And when you look
at the culture of the Asmat

839
00:42:07,133 --> 00:42:09,000
{\an1}and you look at the amount
of people

840
00:42:09,033 --> 00:42:11,366
that were killed
in that culture,

841
00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:15,600
{\an1}it is so minuscule
compared to our culture.

842
00:42:15,633 --> 00:42:18,166
{\an1}I hardly ever get to talk
about this stuff.

843
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:21,900
{\an1}I mean, I just remember having
these discussions with...

844
00:42:21,933 --> 00:42:24,566
You know, and...
And trying to... to see it

845
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,300
{\an1}from Michael's perspective

846
00:42:26,333 --> 00:42:28,866
{\an1}and why he was so excited
about these people

847
00:42:28,900 --> 00:42:32,466
{\an1}and why he loved that area
so much.

848
00:42:32,500 --> 00:42:35,933
{\an1}-The Rockefeller collection was
born out of Michael's devotion

849
00:42:35,966 --> 00:42:38,300
but still poses
the big question...

850
00:42:38,333 --> 00:42:40,866
{\an1}shouldn't it all be given back?

851
00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:44,733
{\an1}-I think that a lot
has to do with respect.

852
00:42:44,766 --> 00:42:47,133
{\an1}I mean, if objects are stolen

853
00:42:47,166 --> 00:42:51,500
{\an1}or that it's clear objects
were taken from a country...

854
00:42:51,533 --> 00:42:53,300
{\an1}not sold but taken...

855
00:42:53,333 --> 00:42:56,300
{\an1}they should get returned.

856
00:42:56,333 --> 00:42:58,966
{\an1}I think it's very difficult
to go back in history.

857
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:03,033
{\an1}Sometimes it's not clear.
But it's a challenging question.

858
00:43:03,066 --> 00:43:05,633
I don't feel
I have all the answers.

859
00:43:05,666 --> 00:43:07,900
♪♪

860
00:43:07,933 --> 00:43:09,200
{\an1}-It's being addressed by

861
00:43:09,233 --> 00:43:12,366
{\an1}Puerto Rican artist
Miguel Luciano.

862
00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,366
{\an1}He is a frequent visitor
to a Rockefeller collection

863
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,833
{\an1}of pre-Columbian Caribbean arts.

864
00:43:18,866 --> 00:43:21,533
This sculpture
has particular resonance

865
00:43:21,566 --> 00:43:24,066
{\an1}used in community ritual.

866
00:43:24,100 --> 00:43:26,166
Luciano is part
of a new Met project

867
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,933
{\an1}using art to build links
between the museum

868
00:43:28,966 --> 00:43:30,900
{\an1}and its neighboring communities.

869
00:43:30,933 --> 00:43:32,166
{\an1}-It's a really special object.

870
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:33,766
{\an1}It was probably used
in ceremonies,

871
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:36,500
{\an1}using this kind of
hallucinogenic plant medicine.

872
00:43:36,533 --> 00:43:38,733
{\an1}It's similar, I think,
to ayahuasca.

873
00:43:38,766 --> 00:43:41,700
{\an7}It's probably from Haiti
or the Dominican Republic,

874
00:43:41,733 --> 00:43:43,366
{\an7}the island of Hispaniola.

875
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:44,666
{\an1}If it weren't for the museum,

876
00:43:44,700 --> 00:43:46,466
{\an1}I would never have access
to this thing.

877
00:43:46,500 --> 00:43:50,166
{\an1}I'm grateful that it's here,
but I'm also very conflicted

878
00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:53,866
by my experience
of my own history and heritage

879
00:43:53,900 --> 00:43:56,166
{\an1}that's limited by the museum

880
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:59,166
and its kind of
institutional framework

881
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:01,733
{\an1}that has always been
a very colonial framework.

882
00:44:01,766 --> 00:44:04,600
{\an1}And the acquisition history
of so many of the objects

883
00:44:04,633 --> 00:44:07,200
that we find
in museums in general

884
00:44:07,233 --> 00:44:09,700
share these kinds
of colonial legacies.

885
00:44:09,733 --> 00:44:11,233
{\an1}But it's not so simple

886
00:44:11,266 --> 00:44:15,600
{\an1}as just returning them
to where they came from perhaps.

887
00:44:15,633 --> 00:44:19,366
{\an1}Obviously, the objects, they're
protected for preservation,

888
00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:21,333
{\an1}but it prevents us
from understanding them

889
00:44:21,366 --> 00:44:23,366
perhaps the way
they were originally intended

890
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,333
{\an1}for us to understand them.

891
00:44:25,366 --> 00:44:27,133
{\an1}And so how do we reimagine them

892
00:44:27,166 --> 00:44:29,133
in the spaces
of our own community

893
00:44:29,166 --> 00:44:32,066
{\an1}as opposed to this very
sort of, like, depersonalized,

894
00:44:32,100 --> 00:44:35,933
{\an1}sterile form of engagement?

895
00:44:35,966 --> 00:44:40,766
{\an1}-The fragile figure
wouldn't survive being handled.

896
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:42,733
{\an1}So Miguel has cloned it.

897
00:44:42,766 --> 00:44:46,300
{\an1}-This nice candy kind of gloss
is what I'm looking for.

898
00:44:46,333 --> 00:44:48,900
{\an1}-Working with the Met's
digital imaging team,

899
00:44:48,933 --> 00:44:52,366
{\an1}Luciano has modeled the figure
using a 3-D printer.

900
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:56,866
{\an1}Today, he's come to a Manhattan
plastics company to work on it.

901
00:44:56,900 --> 00:45:01,366
-This object is
a Taíno zemí cohoba stand.

902
00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:03,433
The top of this
would have been used

903
00:45:03,466 --> 00:45:06,000
as a pedestal
to grind cohoba from.

904
00:45:06,033 --> 00:45:09,000
{\an1}It would have been used
to have visions, right,

905
00:45:09,033 --> 00:45:11,200
{\an1}by the community leader,
like a shaman.

906
00:45:11,233 --> 00:45:14,633
{\an1}The imagery of the figure
has such an intensity.

907
00:45:14,666 --> 00:45:16,200
{\an1}The ribs on the back show you

908
00:45:16,233 --> 00:45:18,700
{\an1}that this character
was kind of emaciated,

909
00:45:18,733 --> 00:45:20,866
probably fasting
before the ceremony.

910
00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:22,933
{\an1}But this is what I love
about it...

911
00:45:22,966 --> 00:45:24,966
Is that his eyes,
you see those grooves.

912
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:26,866
{\an1}And so these were tears
carved in.

913
00:45:26,900 --> 00:45:28,633
{\an1}His teeth are gritting.

914
00:45:28,666 --> 00:45:30,566
{\an1}So that kind of intensity
of crying

915
00:45:30,600 --> 00:45:34,166
{\an1}and gritting and grimacing...
- Yeah.

916
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:35,833
{\an1}-...uh, it might have been part

917
00:45:35,866 --> 00:45:38,900
{\an1}of the physical experience
of taking cohoba.

918
00:45:38,933 --> 00:45:40,700
- Hm.
- And so these may have been

919
00:45:40,733 --> 00:45:43,700
{\an7}used in ceremonies throughout
the Caribbean, so, you know...

920
00:45:44,766 --> 00:45:47,300
{\an7}-There's still, like,
hieroglyphics on, like, rocks.

921
00:45:47,333 --> 00:45:48,900
{\an1}You pass by it all the time.

922
00:45:48,933 --> 00:45:50,933
{\an1}-This is what is exciting to me
about this object.

923
00:45:50,966 --> 00:45:53,733
{\an1}The whole purpose of making this
is so that people

924
00:45:53,766 --> 00:45:56,333
{\an1}who actually share
in the history and heritage

925
00:45:56,366 --> 00:45:57,733
of this object

926
00:45:57,766 --> 00:46:00,600
can understand it
in an up-close and personal way.

927
00:46:00,633 --> 00:46:01,800
[ Tool whirring ]

928
00:46:01,833 --> 00:46:03,033
{\an1}These are ancestral objects

929
00:46:03,066 --> 00:46:05,400
that have been
taken away from us,

930
00:46:05,433 --> 00:46:07,500
{\an1}from their ancestral lands.

931
00:46:07,533 --> 00:46:09,366
{\an1}Ultimately, these were stolen.

932
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,166
{\an1}They were never intended
to be in a space like the Met.

933
00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:14,833
{\an1}It is time for museums
to maybe reconsidering

934
00:46:14,866 --> 00:46:16,800
{\an1}their own colonial past

935
00:46:16,833 --> 00:46:19,666
{\an1}as they think about
how to be more relevant

936
00:46:19,700 --> 00:46:22,700
in the present
and in the future.

937
00:46:22,733 --> 00:46:25,300
{\an1}-Miguel's neighborhood,
El Barrio,

938
00:46:25,333 --> 00:46:27,633
{\an1}was once called Spanish Harlem.

939
00:46:27,666 --> 00:46:31,300
{\an1}Public art is on every corner.

940
00:46:31,333 --> 00:46:33,300
He's turning
the Met's ancient carving

941
00:46:33,333 --> 00:46:35,366
{\an1}back into art for the public

942
00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:39,633
{\an1}and, at his studio,
unveiling it for his mentor,

943
00:46:39,666 --> 00:46:42,366
Hiram Maristany.

944
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:44,866
{\an7}-I'm a little older than Miguel.
I'm a little older.

945
00:46:44,900 --> 00:46:46,942
{\an7}- Couple years. Couple years.
- Six months older than Miguel.

946
00:46:46,966 --> 00:46:48,733
{\an7}-[ Laughs ] Six months.

947
00:46:48,766 --> 00:46:49,933
{\an1}[ Indistinct chanting ]

948
00:46:49,966 --> 00:46:52,333
{\an1}-In 1968, the community formed

949
00:46:52,366 --> 00:46:56,700
the Young Lords
civil-rights protest movement.

950
00:46:56,733 --> 00:46:59,133
{\an1}Hiram was their photographer.

951
00:46:59,166 --> 00:47:03,433
His pictures
still adorn the area.

952
00:47:03,466 --> 00:47:06,966
In 1973,
they featured in a Met show...

953
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:11,033
{\an1}The Art and Heritage
of Puerto Rico.

954
00:47:11,066 --> 00:47:13,600
{\an1}-To this day, it's the largest
survey of Puerto Rican art

955
00:47:13,633 --> 00:47:15,633
that's existed
in any major museum.

956
00:47:15,666 --> 00:47:18,300
{\an1}-I think it would be fair
and just to give credit

957
00:47:18,333 --> 00:47:20,733
{\an1}to some of the people
at the Met.

958
00:47:20,766 --> 00:47:22,333
They took risk.

959
00:47:22,366 --> 00:47:24,033
{\an1}It was a mind shift.
- Absolutely.

960
00:47:24,066 --> 00:47:26,300
{\an1}I was one year old
when the show happens, right?

961
00:47:26,333 --> 00:47:28,866
{\an1}So, I was born in '72.
- I was three years old.

962
00:47:28,900 --> 00:47:30,900
{\an1}- [ Laughs ] Yeah, right. Right.
- [ Laughs ]

963
00:47:30,933 --> 00:47:32,976
{\an1}-But I'm saying, like,
the generation in front of me,

964
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:35,500
{\an1}right, it's an incredibly
influential show

965
00:47:35,533 --> 00:47:37,366
{\an1}for an entire generation.

966
00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:40,333
{\an1}So, this is what I'm doing
with the Met right now.

967
00:47:40,366 --> 00:47:42,300
{\an1}We actually went to see
Arte del mar

968
00:47:42,333 --> 00:47:43,900
{\an1}a couple weeks ago.

969
00:47:43,933 --> 00:47:48,466
{\an1}The premier object in the show
is the zemí cohoba stand.

970
00:47:48,500 --> 00:47:51,500
{\an1}This is a replica.

971
00:47:51,533 --> 00:47:53,300
The zemí in blue.

972
00:47:53,333 --> 00:47:54,900
- Amazing, man.
- It still needs a lot

973
00:47:54,933 --> 00:47:56,766
{\an1}of polishing and stuff.
- Mm-hmm.

974
00:47:56,800 --> 00:48:00,366
{\an1}-The idea is to actually
create a venue in El Barrio

975
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:03,100
{\an1}so we can actually
introduce this to the community

976
00:48:03,133 --> 00:48:06,433
{\an1}in a way where people can have
uninterrupted access to it.

977
00:48:06,466 --> 00:48:08,100
{\an1}- It's a great piece, man.
- Thanks.

978
00:48:08,133 --> 00:48:10,142
{\an1}- I love it. I really love it.
- I mean, it's in process, so...

979
00:48:10,166 --> 00:48:11,700
-Yeah. No, no.
This is a prime example

980
00:48:11,733 --> 00:48:16,133
{\an1}of what a really good
art project should be,

981
00:48:16,166 --> 00:48:17,800
{\an1}you know, at the end of the day.

982
00:48:17,833 --> 00:48:20,833
We come from
a colonized reality,

983
00:48:20,866 --> 00:48:23,000
{\an1}and a lot of our history
was denied us.

984
00:48:23,033 --> 00:48:24,633
-Mm-hmm.

985
00:48:24,666 --> 00:48:29,000
{\an1}-And in that denial, we lost
the ability to appreciate

986
00:48:29,033 --> 00:48:33,366
{\an1}some of the indigenous elements
of our culture.

987
00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:36,500
{\an1}-What you just described...
Access to our own history...

988
00:48:36,533 --> 00:48:38,900
{\an1}is really what drives
this whole project.

989
00:48:38,933 --> 00:48:41,033
{\an1}These were ceremonial objects.
These were...

990
00:48:41,066 --> 00:48:43,233
{\an1}- They're religious objects.
- They were... Exactly.

991
00:48:43,266 --> 00:48:45,800
{\an1}I've been thinking a lot about
these ancestral connections.

992
00:48:45,833 --> 00:48:49,000
You know, even if
we're reimagining them

993
00:48:49,033 --> 00:48:54,133
{\an1}through this kind of, you know,
this blue resin artifice,

994
00:48:54,166 --> 00:48:58,366
{\an1}it's like... it's embedded
in there somewhere, you know?

995
00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:00,900
{\an1}-Miguel's Met project
will now expand

996
00:49:00,933 --> 00:49:02,300
{\an1}into the community.

997
00:49:02,333 --> 00:49:04,766
Regenerated,
the 1,000-year-old figure

998
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:10,433
{\an1}will again, he hopes,
promote unity and identity.

999
00:49:10,466 --> 00:49:13,166
{\an7}The largest art museum
in the Americas

1000
00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:16,900
{\an7}has a responsibility to empower
by making visible

1001
00:49:16,933 --> 00:49:18,600
{\an7}the stories of every citizen

1002
00:49:18,633 --> 00:49:22,400
{\an8}of a country
defined by immigration.

1003
00:49:22,433 --> 00:49:24,166
{\an1}The Met is led by a white man

1004
00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:28,100
{\an1}who grew up seeing the trauma
of the Civil Rights Movement.

1005
00:49:28,133 --> 00:49:30,233
Witnessing
racial injustice again,

1006
00:49:30,266 --> 00:49:32,366
{\an1}he's promising change.

1007
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:33,833
{\an7}-These issues affected

1008
00:49:33,866 --> 00:49:35,533
{\an8}the daily lives
of so many people

1009
00:49:35,566 --> 00:49:37,400
{\an8}that I consider
friends and colleagues

1010
00:49:37,433 --> 00:49:39,366
{\an7}that I didn't know
anything about.

1011
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:44,400
{\an1}And that's, I think, ultimately
what privilege is...

1012
00:49:44,433 --> 00:49:48,133
{\an1}the ability, the luxury
to say one thing,

1013
00:49:48,166 --> 00:49:51,900
{\an1}believe that you believe it,
but not really know.

1014
00:49:51,933 --> 00:49:54,800
{\an1}And we know that we have failed
in many ways.

1015
00:49:54,833 --> 00:49:57,366
{\an1}We have not always
been an institution

1016
00:49:57,400 --> 00:50:00,800
that is welcoming
to everyone, public or staff.

1017
00:50:00,833 --> 00:50:04,033
{\an1}What we can do is make sure
that this museum

1018
00:50:04,066 --> 00:50:06,366
{\an1}is really here for everybody.

1019
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:08,366
♪♪

1020
00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:09,933
{\an1}-How many eyes do you see?

1021
00:50:09,966 --> 00:50:12,366
{\an1}-Tracy-Ann and her girls

1022
00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:15,066
{\an7}are coming to the end
of their visit.

1023
00:50:20,466 --> 00:50:22,733
{\an7}-A god with a wet nose?

1024
00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:27,900
I'm hoping
that by seeing more images

1025
00:50:27,933 --> 00:50:32,133
{\an1}that are reflective
of diversity,

1026
00:50:32,166 --> 00:50:34,900
{\an1}my girls can find a place
for themselves

1027
00:50:34,933 --> 00:50:36,433
{\an1}within those images

1028
00:50:36,466 --> 00:50:39,166
and find beauty
and find success.

1029
00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:42,733
♪♪

1030
00:50:42,766 --> 00:50:45,366
{\an1}It's interesting to see
how historical figures

1031
00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:47,066
were portrayed.

1032
00:50:47,100 --> 00:50:49,100
There's a message
that they're sending...

1033
00:50:49,133 --> 00:50:51,333
{\an1}a message of authority, power.

1034
00:50:51,366 --> 00:50:54,100
{\an1}You look at an image,
but you don't have

1035
00:50:54,133 --> 00:50:56,766
{\an1}a full understanding
of the backstory

1036
00:50:56,800 --> 00:51:01,100
{\an1}or the conflict that surrounds
that particular image.

1037
00:51:01,133 --> 00:51:03,800
{\an1}-One has dominated their day.

1038
00:51:03,833 --> 00:51:05,942
{\an1}-It's really important
if we're going to present images

1039
00:51:05,966 --> 00:51:07,400
{\an7}of George Washington

1040
00:51:07,433 --> 00:51:09,233
{\an7}that we don't just take them
at face value.

1041
00:51:09,266 --> 00:51:11,700
{\an1}I mean, this is one of
the most heroicized depictions

1042
00:51:11,733 --> 00:51:13,366
{\an1}in the history of all art.

1043
00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:15,100
{\an1}So to draw attention
to that fact,

1044
00:51:15,133 --> 00:51:17,433
currently on view
there are wonderful responses

1045
00:51:17,466 --> 00:51:20,300
to this picture.

1046
00:51:20,333 --> 00:51:23,933
-Jacob Lawrence.
"The American Struggle."

1047
00:51:23,966 --> 00:51:26,466
{\an1}-There's a great painting
by Jacob Lawrence, actually,

1048
00:51:26,500 --> 00:51:29,766
{\an1}the leading African-American
artist of the 20th century.

1049
00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:32,533
{\an1}In Lawrence's telling,
Washington is absent.

1050
00:51:32,566 --> 00:51:35,100
{\an1}He's eschewed the "great man"
narrative entirely

1051
00:51:35,133 --> 00:51:37,133
to focus
on the anonymous soldiers

1052
00:51:37,166 --> 00:51:38,666
{\an1}who obviously were responsible

1053
00:51:38,700 --> 00:51:41,100
for the success
of this endeavor.

1054
00:51:41,133 --> 00:51:42,933
{\an1}-This exhibition is a highlight

1055
00:51:42,966 --> 00:51:45,933
{\an1}of Director Max Hollein's
diversity drive.

1056
00:51:45,966 --> 00:51:50,133
{\an1}In 1954, Lawrence began
this series of paintings

1057
00:51:50,166 --> 00:51:52,300
chronicling
America's birth pangs

1058
00:51:52,333 --> 00:51:56,133
{\an7}and honoring the contribution
of the Black population.

1059
00:51:56,166 --> 00:51:58,566
{\an7}His
<i>Washington Crossing
the Delaware</i>

1060
00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:01,266
{\an7}attracts Kristen's attention.

1061
00:52:06,733 --> 00:52:08,733
{\an7}-There's some obvious
differences here, Kristen.

1062
00:52:08,766 --> 00:52:10,766
{\an8}What do you think
about this piece?

1063
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:12,866
{\an7}Is there a leader here?

1064
00:52:15,266 --> 00:52:17,166
{\an1}-When the museum reopened,

1065
00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:20,300
{\an1}this exhibition became
the talk of the town.

1066
00:52:20,333 --> 00:52:22,500
{\an1}-Oh, look at these, Kristen.

1067
00:52:22,533 --> 00:52:24,466
- Hm.
- Wow.

1068
00:52:24,500 --> 00:52:26,300
{\an1}"In this harrowing scene,

1069
00:52:26,333 --> 00:52:29,333
blood-red streaks
punctuating a vertical mass

1070
00:52:29,366 --> 00:52:33,300
{\an1}of chained and armed
Black and white figures

1071
00:52:33,333 --> 00:52:35,533
{\an1}convey in visceral terms

1072
00:52:35,566 --> 00:52:39,766
{\an1}the powerful desire
to live free."

1073
00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:44,433
{\an7}-It's not a large exhibition
with regard to, like, checklist,

1074
00:52:44,466 --> 00:52:46,333
but it's immense

1075
00:52:46,366 --> 00:52:49,466
from a symbolic,
institutional standpoint.

1076
00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:52,733
This exhibition
has been planned for years,

1077
00:52:52,766 --> 00:52:55,066
{\an1}but it accrued timeliness

1078
00:52:55,100 --> 00:52:57,300
in the wake
of George Floyd's murder,

1079
00:52:57,333 --> 00:52:59,933
and then I think
it accrued additional meaning

1080
00:52:59,966 --> 00:53:02,366
{\an1}as we've all endured
our own struggles

1081
00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:05,366
under COVID
and social distancing.

1082
00:53:05,400 --> 00:53:09,366
{\an1}So there's a great sense
of a kind of communal experience

1083
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,800
{\an1}in this space, I think.

1084
00:53:11,833 --> 00:53:13,133
{\an1}Jacob Lawrence's narrative

1085
00:53:13,166 --> 00:53:15,500
has to do with
the necessity of struggle

1086
00:53:15,533 --> 00:53:20,066
to achieve
and maintain a democracy.

1087
00:53:20,100 --> 00:53:23,033
{\an1}I think that those themes
also are resonating

1088
00:53:23,066 --> 00:53:26,033
{\an1}as the U.S. approaches
the election.

1089
00:53:26,066 --> 00:53:28,733
{\an1}Jacob Lawrence, he's arguably
the most important

1090
00:53:28,766 --> 00:53:31,666
{\an1}Black American artist
of the 20th century.

1091
00:53:31,700 --> 00:53:33,633
{\an1}But regardless of his race,

1092
00:53:33,666 --> 00:53:37,666
{\an1}just... he's fundamentally
one of the greats.

1093
00:53:37,700 --> 00:53:40,066
{\an1}-This is my first time

1094
00:53:40,100 --> 00:53:45,133
{\an1}going to an exhibit
in which a African-American

1095
00:53:45,166 --> 00:53:48,933
is celebrated
on such a large scale.

1096
00:53:48,966 --> 00:53:50,966
{\an1}Though the theme itself...
[Chuckling]

1097
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:54,333
may not be the most beautiful,

1098
00:53:54,366 --> 00:53:56,666
{\an1}in the end, there's triumph.

1099
00:53:56,700 --> 00:54:02,633
{\an1}There is this thirst
for freedom at any cost.

1100
00:54:02,666 --> 00:54:05,200
♪♪

1101
00:54:05,233 --> 00:54:07,833
{\an1}And that should be celebrated.

1102
00:54:07,866 --> 00:54:09,633
{\an1}I can't wait to see

1103
00:54:09,666 --> 00:54:12,800
{\an1}what the next 50 years
will look like.

1104
00:54:12,833 --> 00:54:15,400
{\an1}Even if I need a wheelchair,
she'll take me to the Met

1105
00:54:15,433 --> 00:54:18,300
{\an1}because she knows just how
important this place is to me.

1106
00:54:18,333 --> 00:54:22,833
♪♪

1107
00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:28,200
{\an7}-The Met has now safely reopened
to visitors' delight.

1108
00:54:28,233 --> 00:54:31,500
{\an7}-It means there is some
semblance of normalcy.

1109
00:54:31,533 --> 00:54:34,933
{\an1}-Looking at beautiful things,
just... I need it.

1110
00:54:34,966 --> 00:54:37,033
{\an1}-But the crisis isn't over yet.

1111
00:54:37,066 --> 00:54:38,733
{\an1}-It's not like it was before.

1112
00:54:38,766 --> 00:54:40,142
{\an1}-We're likely to see
somewhere between

1113
00:54:40,166 --> 00:54:43,400
{\an1}$100 and $150 million of loss.

1114
00:54:43,433 --> 00:54:44,966
{\an1}-Each of the collecting
departments

1115
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:48,000
{\an1}has gone to their donors,
their supporters.

1116
00:54:48,033 --> 00:54:49,433
{\an1}-There are a lot of
tough choices.

1117
00:54:49,466 --> 00:54:53,766
{\an1}-"Love and Money,"
next time on "Inside the Met."

1118
00:54:55,266 --> 00:54:58,033
{\an8}♪♪

1119
00:54:58,066 --> 00:55:00,600
{\an7}-To order "Inside the Met"
on DVD,

1120
00:55:00,633 --> 00:55:04,800
{\an8}visit ShopPBS
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

1121
00:55:04,833 --> 00:55:08,966
{\an7}This program is also available
on Amazon Prime Video.

1122
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:16,866
{\an8}♪♪

1123
00:55:16,900 --> 00:55:24,833
{\an8}♪♪