Josh Greenbaum Art: Afterlives: Contemporary Art in the Byzantine Crypt

Standing firmly as the largest museum in New York, The Metropolitan museum of art has no shortage of art and rarities one could spend weeks examining. In one exhibition you may be looking at priceless pieces by top contemporary names, while in the next room you may find ancient antiquities dating over three thousand years old. Many are familiar with the Byzantine Crypt exhibit at the Met, a dark cave-like room bearing ancient artifacts. Being that the Byzantine Empire came to an end in 1453, one might find it unlikely to find contemporary art in this space, but this is exactly the case. In the Afterlives exhibition, new and ancient come together, showing how modern artists are undoubtedly still influenced and inspired by the earliest ancient artists. The first Contemporary work I discovered in the crypt was Point of Contact, a sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, a revolutionary French artist who lived over five hundred years after the fall of the Byzantine empire. Known for bold bronze arachnid statues like Spider and Maman, Bourgeois paved the way for female artists looking to find their ground in the art world. Bourgeois has also explored human sexuality in many of her works, with her piece in the Byzantine Crypt being a medium size sculpture depicting a woman’s legs, bottom, and underwear. The sculpture is cast in bronze, a favorite material of Bourgeois which gives her work archival longevity, and faux-ancient look. Resembling a heart from a distance the piece would likely go unnoticed as an ancient table centerpiece.

Bourgeois, Point of Contact, 1968

In the display case directly adjacent to the Bourgeois is Fragment of a Stella, a piece that is authentically ancient. This is a painting from Roman Egypt, specifically thought to be as early as 4th century c.e. An early form of paint is used, likely made of rock pigment mixed with an early binding agent. Some of these binders may have included egg, honey, tree sap, or even urine. The surface is a simple wooden board, now broken and weathering aways, looks to be a small piece of a larger piece. This could have been a segment of a large mural. From what we can see a man of dark complexion is partially visible on the board, pointing left. To his right, a bird is perched in a way it appears to be speaking into the man’s ear. The bird iconography is associated with both Egyptian creator god Ra and underworld god Horus.

Fragment of a Stella, Roman Egypt, 4th or 5th century

Fragment of a Stella, Roman Egypt directly across from the Stella Fragment is Enoch, a piece resembling a pharos sarcophagas. At first glance many might think this is an artifact originating from ancient egypt, possibly a jar that once held remains. However, this is not the case as the piece was made as early as 2017 by Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan. Even Upon further inspection the figure piece is not a pharoh at all but in fact Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first black astronaut. The piece was cast in bronze, gold, steel, with retro radarreflectors, and blessed by a shinto priest in honor of Lawrence Jr., who died in a jet crash.