Superheroes Take Over the Met

In recent years, spring and summer have become the seasons belonging to the superhero. Year after year, Hollywood studios release films featuring old favorites like Spider-Man and the X-Men. This year, we already have Iron Man creating a buzz in theaters, and later on we'll have Batman returning in the highly-anticipated The Dark Knight.

Superheroes are everywhere and as a result, they're now being taken a little more seriously in other aspects of our society, including the art world. And last week, a special exhibition honoring the influence of superheroes opened in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was able to check out the exhibition, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, over the weekend. While it was a little smaller than I expected it would be, it was still a neat experience and I'm glad I had a chance to see the exhibition.

The exhibition, brought about by the support of Giorgio Armani and Condé Nast, aims to reveal the connections between fashion and the superhero. Basically, as the Met's Web site puts it, "the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body."

The folks at the Met organized the exhibition by themes, which include "The Aerodynamic Body," "The Armored Body," and "The Mutant Body." Visitors get the chance to view actual superhero costumes from films alongside clothing designed by the likes of Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, and the late Gianni Versace.

The exhibition starts off with Superman, showing us how the "S" logo on his chest is really not all that different from the logos we see on brand-name clothing. But the coolest part for all the geeks visiting the exhibition is the opportunity to view a mannequin dressed as Clark Kent transform into Superman. The Superman costume seen here is the same one worn by Christopher Reeve back in the 1970s.

"The Graphic Body" portion of the exhibition revolves around Spider-Man. One gets to see two of the Spidey costumes from the recent films, along with designer gowns that really draw upon the spirit of this superhero due to the inclusion of a "web" design. Sidenote: the Spider-Man costumes seen in the films really do have that interesting rubbery appearance. It seems that CGI hasn't played much of a part in enhancing the costume's look.

There are of course, quite a few more things that I could mention, but I'd prefer not to turn this entry into a laundry list. So I'll just mention a few more interesting aspects of the exhibition. "The Mutant Body" was a neat display, featuring gowns that contained some animal-like elements. I was also able to take a look at the application used as the Mystique "costume" in the X-Men movies — and honestly, I can't imagine what a pain it must have been to both apply and remove it from one's body.

And last but not least, I'd like to mention two things that were personal highlights for me — getting to see the new batsuit worn by Christian Bale in the upcoming The Dark Knight, along with Michelle Pfeiffer's catsuit from Batman Returns. The former was just really neat to see, especially since the costume involves some redesigning that means live-action Batman should have less of a stiff neck when we see him in the movies. But looking at it in person also helped me understand why so many actors have had issues wearing the many incarnations of the batsuit to begin with. Meanwhile Pfeiffer's catsuit, which also shows how tiny the actress must have been while filming, is practically a relic at this stage. Slightly battered and falling apart at the seams, it really is something that belongs in a museum even though it's not that old to begin with.

All in all, the exhibition was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. So if you're the least bit interested in superheroes, fashion or both, and find yourself at the Met between now and early September, I'd recommend checking it out.

England Travelblogue: The Museum Debate

When you're in London, you absolutely need to take advantage of the city's great museums. There are a lot to choose from: The Tate Modern, The National Gallery, The British Museum. The list could go on and on. And because there is no required admission fee at these museums — though patrons are encouraged to donate as little as £2.00 — there really are no excuses for people to avoid visiting them.

For me, it was always a dream to visit The British Museum. Nerdy, I know, but what else can you expect after reading about my other adventures?

It's just that as someone who is fascinated by Egyptology, though I'm definitely not an expert, it's always been my desire to see objects like the Rosetta Stone in person. Knowing that the museum houses one of the best Ancient Egyptian collections in the world, and knowing that the museum's overall collection itself has quite a fabulous reputation, I felt it was important for me to stop by and take a good look.

I had a field day as I wandered through the Ancient Egyptian section. I scrutinized sarcophagi, gawked at giant scarab sculptures, and stood in front of the Rosetta Stone in disbelief, only to be pulled out of my stupor by the adorable chatter of little French schoolchildren that had also gathered around to look at it.

And I found myself drawn to other ancient structures as well, such as the gorgeous Nereid Monument, pictured below.


But I bet you can sense the trend here and someone I know actually made the observation herself before I made the visit. "The problem," she said, "is that the majority of the things in The British Museum aren't actually British."

I've never really considered this a problem in the past. But I will admit that I had my first moment of museum "guilt" back when I went to the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. As much as I loved everything I saw that day, I occasionally found myself wondering if we had much of a right to look over the contents that once belonged inside an ancient Egyptian tomb. I wondered if it was really proper for the exhibition to make its way through the United States and other parts of the world, away from its country of origin.

I didn't necessarily experience such feelings of guilt while visiting the British Museum, but I couldn't help thinking back to the comment my acquaintance had made. Was it a problem that the items in the museum had been acquired from other parts of the world? In a way, I felt it wasn't. But I realized that some might consider it problematic due to the history of the British Empire. It is unfortunately likely that some of the items there can be linked back to a history of oppression. So I guess the question is, should one country's history affect the way we view international collections at its museums?

While some people may still have mixed feelings about places like The British Museum, I think we've reached a point in time where some of these thoughts might be somewhat irrelevant. This does not mean that we should disregard historical events. However, considering the fact that countries around the world contain artifacts and works of art that originally came from elsewhere, it would be unfair to look at The British Museum as the only example of its kind. After all, other major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, also contain collections from around the world. You can't let a country's past affect the way we view it in the present, especially when no actual harm is being done.

And in many ways, it's important to remember that museums exist for the sole purpose of preserving the past. Sure, items get dug up and uprooted from their home countries. But in some cases, this is actually a good thing.

I can't recall specific examples off the top of my head at this point, but I do remember seeing some items at The British Museum that came from now war-torn regions of the Middle East. There is a sad possibility that if these artifacts hadn't been brought to the museum, they wouldn't be with us at all.

While history may get uprooted in our ever-changing world, I feel it's more important to keep pieces of it intact instead of losing it forever. So even though certain aspects of museums may rub a few people the wrong way, it's probably best to think about the ways in which they do benefit our lives and contribute to our knowledge of the human race.