Artist Interview-Lauren Halsey: The Roof Garden Commission | Met Exhibitions

Go behind the scenes with artist Lauren Halsey, who discusses the inspiration and making of The Met’s 2023 Roof Garden Commission.
American artist Lauren Halsey (b. 1987, Los Angeles) has created a full-scale architectural structure imbued with the collective energy and imagination of the South Central Los Angeles Community where she was born and continues to work. Titled "the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I)," the installation is designed to be inhabited by The Met’s visitors, who will be able to explore its connections to sources as varied as ancient Egyptian symbolism, 1960s utopian architecture, and contemporary visual expressions like tagging that reflect the ways in which people aspire to make public places their own.
On view April 18th through October 22nd, 2023.
Learn more about the exhibition: www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions...
Supported by
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Additional support is provided by The Daniel and Estrellita Brodsky Foundation, the Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore Foundation, Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky, and Vivian and Jim Zelter.
The catalogue is made possible by the Mary and Louis S. Myers Foundation Endowment Fund.
Production Credits:
Director: Kate Farrell
Senior Producer: Melissa Bell
Editor: Stephanie Wuertz
Jib Camera: Kelly Richardson
Camera: Jeff Johnson, Brad Wickham
Production Coordinator: Lela Jenkins
Production Assistants: Lucas Groth, Angelina Ding
Sound: David Raymond
Music: Austin Fisher
Timelapse Photography: Wilson Santiago
Special thanks to: Lauren Halsey, Abraham Thomas, Diana Craig Patch, and Elizabeth Fiorentino
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© 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

[@christopherbruce2144]

Nice work Lauren! Glad to see you are following your passion. It was an honor to have been your teacher at LACES...Mr. Bruce

[@JaiRedGaming]

That’s my cousin! We’re all very proud of her ❤️

[@andrewharris7517]

Her Work is Electric

[@bekkaboo7678]

Your cousin is freaking cool 😎 ❤

[@monakw]

Egyptian art has always been inspirational to me personally.
Beautiful work.
Thank you!

[@Emlizardo]

Ms. Halsey's installation is the strongest Met rooftop installation I've seen since Tomás Saraceno’s “Cloud City” in 2012. Since one of her inspirations is the work of Archigram, there's maybe some kinship between the two works. Kudos to her for really knocking it out of the park with this one.

[@fwcfilledwithcolor2243]

This is Heaven on Earth thank you

[@robertkinkaid4732]

This is an amazing idea realized

[@MantraLotus]

The dopest dynamic ever!!! The Egyptian Mothership Flow! The duality yet density of this art & exhibit is just amazing!!!! Wow!

[@davidcaldecoat7414]

Truly amazing artwork

[@metmuseum]

Agreed!

[@dear_darling]

This is stunning she did it ❤

[@neecywatson8250]

Wow!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!! That’s all I can say. Artistic Brilliance ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@JohnGilbertmoore]

Awesome work!

[@marthavillegas6250]

Stunning!

[@fernandoanacleto4373]

Thank you for an amazing piece of artwork. Such an inspirational from the past to the present such powerful words I will live on. I look forward one day. Maybe I will be able to see this congratulations and thank you for the amazing work.

[@eaterdrinker000]

Very enlightening and grandiose! I don't think I'll get to the Met this year, so I'm glad to view this video.

[@metmuseum]

Thanks for watching!

[@giulianaraffa9391]

Lauren, Your art work is magnificent.

[@duke62778]

Simply Amazing!!!!!! My family

[@HellsKitchenMichelle]

I saw your sculptures and I loved them!!

[@jelimupa]

A total genius!

[@ranestorypictures1738]

WOW!

[@Tryshroom]

A story of pure triumph #respect

[@elizabethhurtado2829]

❤

[@dianteluckey6844]

This is why you're my cousin thank you for all you do and doing fireworks for me buying them and putting me on your RUclips video and I love my statue

[@ShereenaD]

Is anyone familiar with Pissassio? Are the captions spelling it correctly? I'm unable to find anything about the artist.

[@dianteluckey6844]

I love you ls this is bopbop

[@conwoo1]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@r-cdmx]

👏🏽🙌🏽✨

[@golgumbazguide...4113]

Explore Golgumbaz with Guide Jahangir, Bijapur, South India.

[@autumnbaby2107]

The Ancestors are so proud of Lauren Halsey. 🙏🏽💜

[@faresfs7434]

Who?

[@DavidGreen-om8hb]

Awwe

[@nopalesconfrijoles]

[@ahmadmuhammad7423]

hope this is just an art, not a blackwashing

[@qpowiejfqpweif]

You shouldn't even be allowed on the roof without sunglasses. The reflection of that art piece is blinding.

[@DavidGreen-om8hb]

Lore

[@shiftnative]

I saa this in person and it was a little odd, sort of juvenile in my opinion. After seeing all the gorgeous works in the building below, this just reminded me how far we've fallen in terms of curating. I understand the message and the need for people to come together and be proud but the delivery missed by a mile..

[@dyl3590]

Knowing we can never amount to the grandness of the original hieroglyphs but recreating it out of respect, admiration, and a mirror to our own experience is the artistic irony I’m sure she purposely encapsulates

[@Cainedrixx]

Genius

[@EsamElsakett]

So you’re erasing Egyptian history now?

[@MrAhmedsamir96]

imperialism and colonialism took theirs to its their turn to take ours i guess

[@pascale5667]

BlackExcellence

[@giovannigiorni5814]

Overrated