Even with only three years under its belt, the New York AP Art History (APAH) trip has become a famous part of its curriculum. This year, 31 students from grades 11 and 12 traveled to the Big Apple chaperoned by Mr. Michael Levin, teacher of AP Art History, Mrs. Allie Dunaway, teacher of Ceramics, and Mrs. Lauren Oliva, teacher of AP World History, for five nights. Students of APAH learn about 250 art pieces from prehistoric to contemporary from cultures across the globe. “I love it because we can feel the flow of humanity through buildings, sculptures, paintings and other objects,” said Mr. Levin. The trip is always full of excitement as students are finally able to see pieces they’ve learned about in person, find inspiration in new artistic discoveries, and appreciate the bustling culture of the city. The food is a major bonus as well. A few tips from Mr. Levin on how to enjoy an art museum include, “Be patient. Don’t take pictures (unless you are completing an assignment for the trip or adding to your 250 selfie scrapbook). Breathe and drink coffee. Don’t worry so much about what you don’t see (fomo [fear of missing out]), but embrace the spaces you occupy with open eyes, open mind.”
(Above) Ziqin Chiodi, grade 11, reflects in front of Henri Matisse’s The Swimming Pool, a room sized cut-out installation in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which had been originally set up in the artist’s home in Nice, France in 1952. Matisse had told his studio assistant that he, “Wanted to see divers” so he cut out swimmers and sea creatures and pasted them on a band of white paper, positioned just above his head. Visitors stand in the calm silence of watching liquid in paper form, the bodies and waves breaking through the white light.(Above) Left to right, Ziqin Chiodi, grade 11, Merium Qureshi, grade 11, and Elisa Davis, grade 11, take in Times Square after a dinner of New York City pizza. The skyscrapers hundreds of feet tall are each branded by flashing colors and messages making standing in front of The Ball feel like standing inside a computer. The girls have some free time before the large group reconvines to head back to the Hilton hotel to sleep. All photos by Serena Young. (All photos by Serena Young. )(Above) The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) is big enough to spend days spinning around, lost amongst the art from cultures across the world. When students visited, the Greek and Roman statues section was full of artists perfecting their craft. This demonstrates that art is never confined to one medium and can flow elegantly from one to the other. This man is sketching Letona and Her Children, Diana and Apollo, carved by William Henry Rinehart who uses restrained Classicism in showing the goddess of darkness looking upon the goddess of the moon (Diana) and god of the sun (Apollo).(Above) The Collaboration, starring Paul Bettany as Andy Warhol and Jeremy Pope as Jean-Michel Basquiat, was about a real-life collaboration between these two very different modern-day artists. Students will learn about these two artists as they are featured in the 250 pieces they memorize. Despite the initial apprehension, there were laughs, tears, and gasps during and after this spectacular show.(Above) The Met Cloisters was full of Gothic style pointed arches which would have been abundant in medival Europe. It is a museum on four acres of land showcasing art from the Byzantine period to the early Renaissance. Within these walls, designed to invoke a monastic way of life, are the famous Unicorn Tapestries, a series of seven tapestries made in 1495-1505 telling the story of a unicorn being hunted in a lush French landscape.(Above) People say it takes years to book a wedding at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and LHP’s students were lucky enough to experience a ceremony happening when they visited. Deep, soulful organs accompanied the students admiring the reliquaries just as pilgrims had done when its doors first opened in 1879. The classic Gothic style is evident when stepping in through the door, which feels like transcending into a place above.
