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A terracotta block wall created by Mexican artist Héctor Zamora graces Met Museum roof

2020-08-31T16:30:00-04:00

A curving masonry block wall created by Mexican artist Héctor Zamora currently graces the rooftop terrace of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which recently re-opened to the public after several months of COVID-19-related closures.

The installation is built from hundreds of extruded terracotta blocks "made of Mexican earth" that are stacked 11 feet high. The curving barrier is composed of blocks that have been turned on their side, exposing the complex patterning of the extrusion process used to create the units. This change in orientation allows for what would normally be seen as a solid mass to offer fragmented views through the barrier onto the surrounding landscape, be it the leafy trees in Central Park or the concrete, glass, and stone-wrapped towers that surround the museum.

A press release highlighting the installation tells us that the installation works to "create a response in viewers that communicates the impact of barriers: thwarting access to open, exp...

A full-scale replica of the "Psycho" house touches down on the roof of the Met

2016-04-19T15:45:00-04:00

For the past few years, the roof garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has supported major, site-specific art installations. The sweeping rooftop perched above Manhattan's 5th Avenue has previously seen works by Pierre Huyghe, Dan Graham, and Tomas Saraceno, among other. This summer, a full-scale replica of the famous Bates Mansion from Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Psycho will serve as the background of many a selfie (and hopefully achieve a bit more too).

A project by the artist Cornelia Parker, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn) also marks one of the first major achievements of Beatrice Galilee since becoming the Met's first-ever curator of architecture.

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