Twice in one week!

Well, they didn't allow pictures at King Tut. They had artifacts from the tomb, but not the actual sarcophagus. The mummy has never left the Valley of the Kings, but there was an identical model created for the exhibit. His father, Akhenaten, was a monotheist, amazingly, and changed the religious practices of Egypt. Tutankhamun (who was born Tutankhaten - Aten was the god his father worshipped) changed everything back when he took over. The name change signified the change in gods as well. Tut - image; ankh - life; amun - god = image of the living god. Their art was beautiful and incredibly well made. Shabti with prayers carved into them. Tiny feathers carved into golden images. A statue of Nefertiti carved from granite that looked alive. Everything was so colorful and even after over three millennia, the colors are still bright. Wooden images and implements are intact, due to the incredibly dry climate. I'm really glad we went.

Today, I went to the Met. I spent some time with the 5 Vermeers, and then went to the area of modern art I had missed last time. There were some dizzying sculptures on display. This one was a concave metal sculpture, made out of hundreds of mirrors. The artwork reflects whatever is around it, depending on the angle at which you look. You can see me upside down taking the picture.

These two are just giant panels of color from opposite sides of the room. I couldn't get the entire thing from one side:

Kristin Sigurdadsdottir (I think I have that right) has a couple of works on special exhibit. This one is a series of doors and mirrors that spiral the room getting smaller (or larger, depending on your viewpoint). You can see my feet in the mirror.

A recent acquisition, this bust is made of bronze and marble. I've never seen anything like it. Her head wrapping is so colorful...

A view of the Belvedere Castle in Central Park at twilight

And finally, Shepard Fairey has been in my neighborhood. (I'm becoming quite the graffiti expert, thanks to Rafe and Hero!)