“At many institutions, special exhibitions represent the most current thinking about art and curation,” says Hollein, “while collections are often decades out of date.” The Met, says Hollein, ” is committed to displaying its collections in a contemporary way. We take seriously not just how we collect, but how we display. What are the narratives, the stories we tell? “

“For the Ancient Near East and Cypriot Art galleries on the second floor of the museum, NADAAA is exploring ways to bring the two collections — which had previously been separated — into dialogue, both spatially and curatorially. They are working with the notion of a torus or donut-shaped path flowing from one area to another and are employing a monumental ramp to stitch together the two collections and turn an ADA problem into a design feature. Linking to nearby galleries, such as those for Asian art on the north side of the Great Hall and Islamic art and European paintings to the south, the $40 million project will present a transcultural narrative. “We’re making connections across time, space, and culture that had once been obscured,” says Tehrani. A curving, ribbonlike ceiling will be suspended from above to define circulation and hide mechanical equipment, lighting, sprinklers, and other service systems. Tehrani is treating floors as “carpets” with sometimes richly hued materials such as terrazzo to evoke the colors that once adorned some of the sculptures and reliefs in the collection.” We want to create an immersive experience and establish a relationship between the human body and the individual artifacts on display,” says Tehrani.”

-Clifford A. Pearson, Architectural Record

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