Thompson Hotels

Since our addiction to Downton Abbey has yet to abate, we’re excited to see further explorations into “period.” And The Brooklyn Museum, always hip to cultural trends, is on board with a new series that will take place in their 23 period rooms, the first of which is called Playing House. Artists Ann Agee, Anne Chu, Mary Lucier, and Betty Woodman are the first group to place site-specific artworks in 8 of the period rooms of the museum, or what the museum calls “activations.” The aim of the “activations” is to connect the past with the present, placing contemporary art from a variety of media — including ceramics, textiles, paper, and video — within the context of period furnishings. Ann Agee places brash hand-drawn and stenciled wall-paper depicting the workroom of a fictional company within the Milligan Parlor and Den — an example of 19th century upper-middle-class opulence and leisure. Mary Lucier creates a video installation that comments on the connection between personal and cultural identity. Betty Woodman’s abstract clay pieces adorn the mahogany dining room table in the Cane Acres Plantation Room, while Ann Chu’s life-size embroidered cloth cardinal stands at the windowed opening to the same room. Visit the museum and let your skills in period-analysis further broaden your horizons.