Throwback Thursday
Joel Bustamante, V. M. Bruno, Aaron Scott

Coney IslandArt is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable, March 5th proved to be a most comfortable experience. We were whisked to a simpler time, the early 1900’s, and the times of fancy dancing, swanky soirees, and fashionable affairs. All within an establishment called the Wadsworth Atheneum, which was smaller than it seemed on the outside. Our trip began relatively calmly, our first view inside the building being the contemporary art exhibit, various pieces scattered around, and plenty of space in between them. From there we entered into the grand hall, where the tone of our trip quickly changed. On our immediate right was a dancing elderly duo, doing the Charleston as though time had never left their bodies. The grand hall was a grand sight filled with music, laughter, and food, with the atmosphere of a party and less of that than a museum. After their dance, the duo then invited all in attendance to join them for a lesson in the steps of said dance, with two of our staff joining the lesson, quickly picking up the dance moves, and adding some of their own.

Following the impromptu dance lesson, our team went to get food, getting our fill on fries, bread and Shepard’s pie. Afterwards we moved onto wandering the museum, not really having a direction in mind, finding ourselves in an exhibit reflecting Coney Island in its prime. The exhibit was well laid out, preserving the essence of Coney Island itself with videos, paintings, and even a wheel from the park showing the past alive in the present. Once we left the Coney Island exhibit, we moved into a realism exhibit filled with portraits of people and paintings of various landscapes, taking us from a museum in Hartford, to different times and scenarios. It was a great contrast to the noise and color of the Coney Island exhibit, filled with quiet and a muted green color on the walls. Looking at these paintings and feeling the stillness was almost like looking at a reflection, it was hard not to feel a connection with these pieces, further stating how timeless art can be.

We made our way back to the great hall afterward. Our viewing complete, ending our visit with dancing the time away, enjoying ourselves with the company of each other as well as the other visitors, old and young. If there was one common thought we could all say we had about our experience, it has to be, “We’re going again.” Only this time, we hope to see you there as well to experience the museum, taking advantage of the free price, for MCC students, on the first Thursday of every month.

The next First Thursday will be on April 2, themed “Call of the Wild.” The event will start at 5 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. For more information or events visit thewadsworth.org