Over autumn break, students in the History of Art Senior Seminar—led by Professor Ujaan Ghosh—traveled to New York City to conduct in-person research on the objects that they are studying for their final projects in the class. After an early morning flight on Thursday, the students met in Central Park with Ohio State alumnus Jack Degenhart from the New York Public Art Fund, who introduced them to First Sun, a sculpture by Monira Al Qadiri, and shared his personal story of navigating the job market as an art historian after graduation. After parting ways with Jack, the group moved on to the Museum of Modern Art, where they met with a second alum, MoMA Associate Educator Adelia Gregory.

The trip’s second day was just as busy: The group set out early in the morning for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where—after a brief tour focusing on a few objects related to the senior seminar’s theme (“Ghosts, Ghouls, and Demons: The Supernatural in Visual Culture”)—the students had the opportunity to visit their research objects to conduct an exercise in patient close-looking. When the group reconvened, each student shared what they observed with the group—and a few of them even drew small crowds of other museum visitors who were excited to hear what they had to say!