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Metropolitan Museum is Ready for Shark Attack
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 17, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 17, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Last week, we mentioned that the Metropolitan Museum of Art confirmed plans to show the Damien Hirst work, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a.k.a. "the shark floating in formaldehyde" to laymen. The museum sent us this cool image of the piece, so we couldn't help but mention it again.
The work is being loaned to the museum by hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen for three years, and while some eyebrows might have been raised about the Met showing such a modern piece of work, Met director Philippe de Montebello said in a statement, "Damien Hirst's iconic shark will be an arresting sight in the Metropolitan's modern art galleries. It should be especially revealing and stimulating to confront this work in the context of the entire history of art, an opportunity only this institution can provide."
If you're heading to the Met before then, check out Frank Stella on the rooftop and the new Greek and Roman antiquities galleries. Additionally, a reader pointed out there are real sharks to be seen at the NY Aquarium at Coney Island.
Tagged
art
coney island
Damien Hirst
death
history
metropolitan museum
museum
ny aquarium
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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