My Met Series is a group of prints that portray the grandeur of the Great Hall-the majestic space designed as the entrance and lobby of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The series is vigorously etched and deeply bitten to show a dramatic and contrasting use of light and shadow. My nearly decade-long creative journey has resulted in dozens of drawings, etchings and linoleum cuts of the Great Halls arches, pathways and nooks. I portray this space at the Met because of its awe-inspiring qualities-both architecturally and for being home to some of world history’s greatest artworks and artifacts. The Great Hall evokes the same feeling of amazement, solace and inspiration that I have always felt in churches since I was a child. I try to intimately transfer this feeling to the print-humility of self against the splendor of the structure. People are devoid from the work. It creates a tone that is both quiet and introspective, yet ominous and unsettling. I find this underlying tension appealing.
More info: jameshaggerty.net
"Passages", Etching and Chine Collé, 11¾ x 19¾"
"Transposition", Etching, 24 x 24"
"Amaranthine Light", Linoleum Cut, 16 x 8½"
"Arched Corridor", Etching and Chine Collé, 9 x 12"
"First Light", Etching and Chine Collé, 15 7/8 x 8"
"Spring Twilight", Etching and Linoleum Cut. 16 x 8½"
"Labyrinth", Etching, 11¾ x 5 7/8"
"Existence", Etching and Chine Collé, 17½ x 23½"
(Clockwise L-R) 1. "Celestial Night"; 2. "Spring Twilight"; 3. "Misty Morning"; 4. "Celestial Light"; 5. "Amaranthine Light"; 6. "Spring Glow"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Great Hall
Artist and prints
