"This little Minoan jug is so small and unassuming that I feel it often gets passed by, unnoticed. If you stop and look, though, it's the most beautiful meditation on swirling waves and busy under-the-sea life. I always stop to say hello when I'm going through the Egyptian galleries, and I'm looking forward to saying hello again when we get to go back." 

Posted by Christina Marinelli, Senior Museum Instructor/Adult Learning Coordinator Greek. Decorated Jug, ca. 1575-1500 B.C.E. Clay, pigment. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.13E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Repost from @troyamuzesi • "7. #çanakkale #çanakkalebienali " Türkiye'nin her yerinden Müze dostlarıyla buluşmalarımız devam ediyor. Bizleri yalnız bırakmayan, güzel yorumları ile destek olan tüm ziyaretçilerimize ve sanat severlere teşekkür ederiz. Troya Müzesi #🏛️ 🕊️☀️🍁🍂 _______________________ #TroyaMüzesi #Museumoftroy #ÇanakkaleBienal #yedinciÇanakkaleBienali #Troy #bienalle #artforthesociallydistanced #museumwork #museummomentofzen #EMYA2020 @canakkalege (Kartal, İstanbul) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGBD2Omp-Ns/?igshid=8hi7xpknvpaw

Reposted from @brooklynmuseum "One of my favorite works in the Museum’s collection is this soothing, yet expressive, painting by the artist Ed Clark, which was exhibited in Soul of A Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. Painted from 1978-1980, Clark used his signature technique of moving paint across the canvas with a janitor’s push broom instead of a paintbrush. The use of a broom, creating thick bands of color, imbues a sense of movement and monumentality to the work. For me, the painting conjures the image of a sunset—something I look forward to watching each night during quarantine." — @julia_mellor, Assistant Manager, Special Events #ArtfortheSociallyDistanced ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Ed Clark (American, 1926-2019). Untitled, 1978-1980. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by The LIFEWTR Fund at Frieze New York 2018, 2018.13. © Ed Clark (Photo: Courtesy of Weiss Berlin and the artist. Photo by Gunter Lepkowski) #BKMContemporary #MuseumfromHome #MuseumMomentofZen https://www.instagram.com/p/B_sVsdNHTPx/?igshid=v12afymrb4hk

Mediation. Do you do it? I have on occasion but not regularly. The only way it has worked for me is to use an app that guides me through. Since I’m awake at 5 am, maybe now would be a good time to try it again. I think the title is a good reminder of something we all could probably use right now. Brings me peace. #meditationartwork #meditationchallenge #artinspo #artinspires #artforthehome #artforthesociallydistanced https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CZQc-pMNS/?igshid=y25ozum3pmjs

The @rubinmuseum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room has always been a place of reflection and refuge in Manhattan. Now the #rubinmuseum shares that anyone can bring the meditative sights and sounds of the Shrine Room into her/his home. Let’s #StayCalmStayHome Be safe, and be in touch. Visit the link at the Rubin Museum IG bio for a 2-hour-long stream of the Shrine Room featuring the meditative chants and flickering lights we’d encounter in person as museum’ members. ‪#CulturalAmbassadorRUTA @rutamex68 ‬ #MuseumFromHome #EngageWithChange __________ #MuseumMomentofZen #ArtForTheSociallyDistanced #NYCCulture2Go #Meditation #Mindfulness #Relaxation #NYCMuseums Posted @withregram • [ #IdeaTherapy ] Evolving with you! #IDEAcatalyst sharing #CultureShifting facts #IdeaTherapy #TrekkerATLAS #TRAVELengram #DigiBITACORA | #Newness #GloCal #Message #PoNgAtravel (at Rubin Museum of Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-SBJfVjjXQ/?igshid=10wt2b32qvbp8

"This Spacelander Bicycle always makes me smile. It was never economically feasible to produce such a bike in mass quantities, but that didn't stop designer Benjamin Bowden from designing the bike of his dreams, chock full of zany postwar biomorphic design elements. What a lot of visitors don't realize, however, is that this bicycle also features an electric hub dynamo that stores energy while traveling downhill to use on eventual uphill climbs. And if that isn't the inspiration we need right now, I don't know what is." 

Posted by Anna Cieslik, Public Relations Associate Benjamin G. Bowden (American, born England 1907-1998). Spacelander Bicycle, Prototype designed 1946; Manufactured 1960. Fiberglass, metal, glass, rubber, fox fur. Brooklyn Museum, Marie Bernice Bitzer Fund, 2001.36. Creative Commons-BY

"Senju Hiroshi's Waterfall is a transporting work of art that I long to stand in front of and absorb. Hiroshi has spent decades using Nihonga practices—traditional Japanese materials and techniques—to create a fully immersive experience. When I stand near Waterfall, I can hear the cascading water, feel the bounce of the spray, and even smell that fresh scent of a forest walk. As I write these words, I travel to that moment and am set free." 

Posted by Elizabeth Crowell, A.R.T. Guide Senju Hiroshi (Japanese, born 1958). Waterfall, 2012. Natural pigments on paper mounted on board. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Sundaram Tagore, 2015.4. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"I think many of us working alone at home right now can identify with Gustave Courbet’s painting Isolated Rock (ca. 1862). Windswept clouds, a stony shoreline, and the singular rock, roughly yet beautifully painted with a palette knife, make for a melancholy image that evokes feelings of helplessness and inevitability in the face of natural forces. These days, however, I’m choosing to give Courbet’s painting a more hopeful (and very anthropomorphic) spin by imagining this magnificent, solitary rock facing the sea, sky, and future with strength and determination." 

Posted by Lisa Small  Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877). Isolated Rock (Le Rocher isolé), ca. 1862. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, 41.1258 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"Tara is the Buddhist goddess of compassion.  Devotees pray to Tara for good health, long life, and deliverance from danger, so she seems particularly appropriate for the current moment. The Brooklyn Museum's image of Tara looks reassuring: she is calm and relaxed, with a little smile still visible on her slightly damaged face. With her palm held out on her lowered hand, she is making the gesture that means 'your wish is granted.'"

Posted by Joan Cummins, Curator of Asian Art Green Tara, 8th century. Khondalite. Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 60.138. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"One of my favorite works in the Museum’s collection is Fred Wilson’s striking Grey Area (Brown Version). It speaks to many in our community and there are a lot of ways to interpret it. The artwork is a commentary on how the racial identity of Ancient Egyptians has been whitewashed throughout history, and it's also a celebration of Black and Brown beauty and power, the diversity and solidarity in our communities, and a celebration of sisterhood. ⁠⁠

It’s also very beautiful to look at! The bust of Nefertiti is one of the most recognizable images in art history and her image is a symbol of pride for a lot of women. I have seen these queens greet many of our visitors in my eight years at the Museum. I love to witness people gravitate to this installation and insert themselves into the lineup of queens, especially at our First Saturdays!"

Posted by Lauren Argentina Zelaya , Director of Public Programs

Fred Wilson (American, born 1954). Grey Area (Brown version), 1993. Paint, plaster and wood. Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr. and bequest of Richard J. Kempe, by exchange, 2008.6a-j. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"This one is for all of the working moms out there. The work/life struggle is real these days. Get the work done, cuddle your little people close, and also try to find some time for yourselves. We're rooting for you!" 

Posted by Kathy Zurek-Doule Egyptian. Woman with a Baby Stacking Fruit, ca. 670-650 B.C.E. Limestone,. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 48.74. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"I am reminded from an art therapist that we have a need for periods of absorption that can provide the opposite of alienation. Art-making—drawing, singing, cooking—can lead to a sense of reverie that can be a comfort in difficult times." 

Posted by Jane Dini, Senior Curator, American Art John Singer Sargent (American, born Italy, 1856-1925). An Out-of-Doors Study, 1889. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 20.640 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"I love this bright abstract painting inspired by nature from Alma Thomas. I explored Alma Thomas’ work with young children when it was featured in Soul of a Nation. Teaching artist Camilo Godoy and I facilitated an activity with 4–6 year olds and their caregivers, in which each family had one color of tape and ripped them into pieces, and then shared them with other families to paste onto a piece of paper, to replicate the thick brushstrokes and rich color of Thomas’s artwork. 

It was a lovely experience that centered care, sharing, and community. I will miss working with families these next few weeks and look forward to congregating when it doesn’t compromise our public health and care for one another." 

Posted by Tamar MacKay, Family Programs Coordinator/Lead Museum Instructor⁠ Alma W. Thomas (American, 1895-1978). Wind, Sunshine and Flowers, 1968. Acrylic on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, 76.120. © artist or artist's estate

"This painting is set as my computer's desktop background at the Museum. As a specialist in ancient Egypt, I am also fascinated by the ways that other people have interpreted it through history. Rice's painting is based on a production staged in early twentieth-century Paris by the provocative and avant-garde Ballet Russes based on the life of Cleopatra. Plus, the possibly symbolic blue-green of their skin is just captivating." 

Posted by Elizabeth Treptow Anne Estelle Rice (1877-1959). The Egyptian Dancers (Two Egyptian Dancers), 1910. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 2007.51. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

"When I wanted to see freedom captured, I always went to the Brooklyn Museum to see Mickalene Thomas’ A Little Taste Outside of Love when it was on display. In the midst of challenging times, exploring self in all our glory in physical solitude can be liberating and may shape how we engage the world. This artwork reminds me of Audre Lorde’s Uses of Erotic, and how accepting the importance of focusing on joy, health, serenity, and pleasure are important to shape and enhance the culture we want for ourselves. We all are valuable beings that have so much to contribute to society. Once we strip away all the misconceptions that distort how we perceive ourselves, we encounter a naked truth that we are all important. We are powerful people that can get through challenges together, once we individually heal and love who we are. The way she reclines passively in her own beauty, exudes power because she shows the security and commitment within herself. Although we are exercising physical distancing, we are also practicing social solidarity by taking care of ourselves and by extension, our communities. I hope we keep on loving our light and sharing it, even if it is digitally." 

Posted by Nikiesha Hamilton , Special Assistant for Administration/ Government and Community Liaison, Director's Office Mickalene Thomas (American, born 1971). A Little Taste Outside of Love, 2007. Acrylic, enamel and rhinestones on wood panel. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Giulia Borghese and Designated Purchase Fund, 2008.7a-c. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Image courtesy of the artist and Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago)

"In these unprecedented times, I'm really missing Joseph Stella's soothing rendition of The Virgin (1926). Famous for his depictions of modernist icons such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Italian-born artist Joseph Stella immigrated to New York in 1896. There, he produced Cubo-Futurist compositions of the city that captured the tempo and dynamism of urban life. In later years, however, Stella returned to Italy and focused increasingly on religious themes. Here, the Virgin Mary appears against a dense array of fruits and flowers—common symbols of fertility—with a view of the Bay of Naples in the background. Reinterpreting Italian Renaissance altarpieces through a brightly saturated palette and bold modeling of form, Stella’s Madonna embodies the early twentieth-century interest in religion and spirituality." 

Posted by Margarita Karasoulas, Assistant Curator, American Art Joseph Stella (American, born Italy, 1877-1946). The Virgin, 1926. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Adolph Lewisohn, 28.207 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)