Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
From fifth grade all the way through the end of high school I played the French horn. Although the piano was my main instrument, I wanted to also play in the band and the orchestra. I chose the French horn because I liked the sound.
And I found I also liked something else about the horn: Holding it felt like embracing another person. The way you encircled its rounded body with your left arm. The way you slid your right hand up into its bell. It felt quite sensual. The French horn seemed to be designed to be held. You could only play it by embracing it, body to body.
We perceive music with our ears, but we make it with our bodies. The complex and infinitely varied interconnectedness of our selves and our instruments is the subject of Musical Bodies, a fascinating new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The installation gathers objects from no fewer than 12 of the Met’s departments and 30 lenders, and from thousands of years ago to the present day, to explore the myriad of ways we have created musical instruments in our own image – and incorporated them into our own physicality.
It includes instruments from around the world, from ancient clappers to electric guitars, and even a theremin. But there are also images (paintings, posters, advertisements), documents, garments, videos, and interactive elements.
Musical Bodies opens June 7 and will remain on view through September 27, 2026 at the Met.
