#10: Project 59
59 Steps:
First discovery at Cloisters was made upon arrival on the main floor after counting 59 steps from the Postern Gate Entrance to the ticketing and exhibitions. One step was outside at the door, four sets of 7 steps led to the cloakroom and the remaining 30 steps in uneven combinations, were between the cloakroom and the main floor.
Smile Back:
Due to a lack of exact dates (artworks were dated in most cases by centuries) and many anonymous authors it was not easy to find number 59 in Cloisters. Scattered audio tour points were the only visible numbers in the exposition and 59 was found in the Early Gothic Hall under a French limestone sculpture of smiling “Head, perhaps of an Angel” (perhaps from 1259 since listed as ca.1250). I smiled back.
Becoming an Angel:
The line of clean-cut beheaded angels on the arch over the entrance to Langon Chapel triggered this ironical work about our front-page issue of adequacy. The attempt to become an angel was made at a mirror in the museum bookstore.
Tilting Cloister:
Photos: ID