The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city will always hold a special place in my heart. In a city that was loud, chaotic and at times seemed to be completely against me, this museum was truly a place of sanctuary. I would frequent this establishment multiple times a month, getting lost in the expansive winding galleries to retreat within my thoughts. The solid stone walls that held treasures of worlds and times further away than my mind could fathom gave me a respite from the outside world. Time stood still in there. The chaos of the city blocked out, with only the quiet sounds of shuffling feet, whispered observations and the hum of ancient statuary. Any excuse I had to go there, I would take it. With a friend or not, I was always calm and happy within the safety of the museums walls. As my number of visits grew, I learned to recognize art styles and symbols from different places, themes of different time periods in Egyptian art, names of gods and goddesses and chronologies of rulers. I even discovered a female Egyptian King who would come to be a huge historical role model for me.
I also uncovered much about myself within those gallery walls. I found out what exactly moved me, discovered what my true passions in life were. I developed my artist’s eye, my photography skills and my ability to really see a work of art and discover its meaning.
In a way, I grew up in that museum. It was a part of my most formidable years and I will never forget all that it did for me. One day I know I will visit it again. But until that time, I have hundreds of photographs to remember it by. These are a few of my favorites. Most are unedited and I think I will leave them that way; in the state they were made and how I have viewed them for years.