the garden issue

8/13/2019 The Garden Issue

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T H E M E T R O P O L I T A N M U S E U M O F A R TT H E M E T R O P O L I T A N M U S E U M O F A R Tmuseumkidsmuseumkids

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1999Summ

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1999

T H E

G A R D E N

I S S U E

T H E

G A R D E N

I S S U E


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uring th e summer, everything s in b loo m even in t he Museum.

This issue o f M useum Kidsw ill ta ke you to g a rdens a ll throug h

the building; youll even g et a cha nce to desig n a g a rden of

your ow n.

Sta rt yo ur g a rden t o ur in The Ast o r Co urt. Its in t heChinese g a lleries on t he seco nd f lo o r. When you

w a lk in, w ha t is your immed ia te impression ? Do yo u

fe el like yo ure o ut sid e o r insid e? No w clo se yo ur

eyes and listen. What do you hear?

This g a rden w a s inspired b y a cou rtya rd in a scho la rs

g a rden in th e city of Suzhou, nea r Sha ng ha i, China .

Wha t d o you think it w a s used fo r? How do es it

ma ke you f eel?

Ga rdens such a s th ese usually w ere de sig ned a s pla ces w here scho la rs

people w ho spend their t ime stud ying , w rit ing, a nd thinking could

ta ke a brea k fro m city life . They migh t use t his kind of spa ce t o m ed ita te ,

visit w ith f riend s, or simply enjo y na t ure.

The rocks a nd pla nt s in t his g a rden a re cha ng ed sea son a lly. Alon g w ith

the a rchitectura l element s a nd t he poo l of w a ter, they w ere desig ned

to demonstrate the principles of yin a n d yang. Yin is represented by

such q ua lit ies a s da rk, cold, an d w et , a nd is tho ug ht to be feminine;

yang is just the oppo site b rig ht ,

hot , a nd dry a nd is ma sculine.

Can you find examples of these

op po site s in t he g a rden? Loo k,

fo r exa mple, a t t he running w a ter

a nd t he ha rd rocks; many ot her

examp les a re present a s w ell.

The layout of the g a rden show ca ses

a tra dition in Chinese d om estic

a rchite cture: room s bu ilt a rounda cent ral courtya rd. Wha t a re som e

ma teria ls tha t w ere used in the courtyard? How ma ny different ones ca n

you find? The Ming Roo m a t t he opposite end o f the courtya rd is a scho la rs

stud y; it s filled w ith tra dition a l furniture a nd de cora tive o bjects.

Chinese craf tsmen, w orking w ith a n America n crew , used tra dition a l tech-

niques a nd to ols to a ssemb le The Asto r Court f rom ma te ria ls ma de in China .

G A R D E N F A C T :

The M useum s goa l for t heir

gardens is authent icity ma king

the gardens as realistic as possible.

Each garden re fle ct s its locat ion in

t he M useum (a plant in The Asto r

Court , for example, w ould closely

resem ble one t hat grow s in China).

Can you f ind t his det ai l

in The Asto r Cou rt?

T H ED


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G A R D

Now its your turn to desig n a n oppo sites g a rden

w ith th e element s th a t a re include d h ere. Think

a bo ut w ha t purpose your ga rden w ould serve a nd

w ha t w ould be in it . You can use idea s from t his

g a rden or o thers in th e Museum, or ma ke up your

ow n. When you a re do ne, send us your creat ion

a nd w ell send you a Museum g ivea w a y. The

a d dress is:

I Made a Garden!

Ed uca t ion/STP

The Me t ropo lit a n Museum o f Art1000 Fifth Avenue

New Yo rk, NY 10028

G A R D E N S O N T H E G OEa ch o f t he d eta ils here com es from a g a rden som ew here in th e Museum.

The ga rden ma y be par t of a w ork of a r t , or it ma y be an a ctua l g a rden.

We ha ve g iven som e hints fo r each one to g et you sta rted. In ca se you g etrea lly stum ped , just t urn this pa g e upside d ow n fo r th e a nsw ers.

1. Find this work in the Nineteenth-Century European

Paintings and Sculpture Galleries on the second floor.

Ent ering from t he Greek g a lleries, w a lk do w n th e

B. Gera ld Cant or Sculpt ure Ga llery, ma ke a lef t , a nd g o

throug h t he last do orw a y. The a nsw er to the first clue is

eith er in t his g a llery or the o ne t o your left a s you en te r.

Flags f lut t er and sw ay in t he breeze.

Flow ers in bloom w here are the t rees?

Some of t he people look ou t t o sea. Which paint ing

can it be?

P L A N T F A C T :

Over 3,000 ground

cover plants grow in

the American Wing

courtyard.

In w hat work of art

does th is f lag f lut ter?

Why do you visit The M et ropolitan M useum of Art?

The Metropolitan Museum is one of our Citys finest culturalinst it ut ions. Visit ing the M useum, w ith i ts great collect ionof art and art ifact s, is l ike taking a hist orical tour around

the w or ld . Every visi tor and resident should take t hatw onderful t r ip at least once. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mayor


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2. Find this work in the Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries of Egyptian Art on

the first floor. HINT:Ta ke th e corrido r to t he rig ht o f The Tomb o f Perneb .

Make a r ig ht a nd ent er the f irst d oo rw a y you see.

Thirt een det ai led models.

Each one com plet e.To build so many w as surely a f eat .

Boat s? There are many. But a gard en?

Only one.

If t he w ood w asn t pro tected , w ou ld

there now be none?

3. Find this work somewhere between

the Modern Art galleries and the

Carroll and Milton Petrie European

Sculpture Court.HINT: You ha ve to

ta ke a n elevato r.

The view from here is ci tyw ide.

Build ing s and park seen up hig h.

Fou r f loo rs up In t he open air.

Can t he sculp t ures t ou ch t he sky?

GARDENANSWERS

1.ClaudeMonet,French,1840-1926.GardenatSainte-Adresse.Oiloncanvas;385/8in.

(98.1x129.9cm).Purchase,specialcontributionsandfundsgivenorbequeathedby

friendsoftheMuseum,1967,67.241.

2.ModelofaGarden.Thebes,earlyDynasty12,ca.1990-1985B.C.Gessoedandpainted

woodandcopper;l.33in.(84cm).RogersFundandEdwardS.HarknessGift,1920,

20.3.13

3.TheIrisandB.GeraldCantorRoofGarden

Where is th is garden blooming ?

Where is this sky-high view?

S O M E Q U E S T I O N S T O T H I N K AB O U T AS YO U

L O O K AT T H E G AR D E N S I N T H E M U S E U M :

What makes a garden? How are the gardens in the Museum similar?

How are they different? If you saw some of the gardens in different seasons,

how do you think they would change? How do the gardens in the Museum

r e se m b l e o n e s y o u h a v e s e e n i n o t h e r p l a ce s ?

E N I S

PHOTOBY

SARACEDER

MILLER


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Ben Fieman is the Assistant Bui lding Manager forHorticulture in the Museum. He is responsible fortaking care of the Museums indoor gardens and outdoorgrounds. The indoor gardens include The Astor Court,

The Charles Engelhard Court, and the Carroll and Milton Petrie EuropeanSculpture Court. The outdoor grounds consist of the landscape along FifthAvenue, which includes the sixty-four London plane trees that are planted onthe paved plaza between Fi fth Avenue and the Museums faade.

Q: What are some of your responsibilities?

A: Along with the curators, I m part of a team that helps set the design andtheme of a garden. The curators tell us what they want. They might say, Wewant a deciduous tree [a tree that sheds its leaves] here. Given the location,

amount of light, the temperature, and so on, I would suggest a tree. For example,

in The Astor Court, the curators wanted a deciduous tree to remind people of

some of the screens in the Chinese galleries. The black olive tree, which has little

green leaves, was selected.

Q: Where do the plants come from?

A: We conduct a thorough search for the perfect plant. Most of the plantscome from the tri-state area [New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut], but some

plants are shipped from around the world. Some nurseries even grow plants just

for the Museum.

Q: Do you take care of the plants all by yourself?

A: No. Four gardeners from the Buildings Department help withmaintenance and upkeep of the gardens.

Q: How often do you water and feed the plants?

A: Plants are best fed in the spring, when there is new growth, not when theyare dormant in the winter. During warm weather, when the ground dries out

quickly, plants need more water. We use warm water that is comfortable to thetouch so we dont shock the plant.

Q: What is your background?

A: I have a college degree in landscape architecture.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Seeing visitors admire the displays.

QandAS U E


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The

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ofArt

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Avenue

NewYork

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the garden issue

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