Hilarious Photo Series Shows Us What Famous Artworks See All Day & Night

While paintings and sculptures are the center of attraction in any museum, it appears that their lives (if they had lives) are not as glamorous as we thought they’d be. In his series ‘What They See’, filmmaker and artist Masashi Kawamura went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and took pictures showing the point of view of different artworks.

The series reveals classic paintings and statues staring at museum-goers and ceilings all day long. It’s a pretty boring job. Kawamura got the inspiration for the project when his eyes met with the ‘Study of a Young Woman’ by Vermeer, and wondered what it would be like for them to see us. By revealing these hidden perspectives, the artist hopes to encourage audiences to see these inanimate objects as real-life characters.

You can see more photos from the series on the ‘What They See’ Tumblr page.

[Above: Reclining Nude by Amedeo Modigliani 1917, Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

[Above: The Vine by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth 1921, revised 1923, this cast 1924, Bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

[Above: The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer by Edgar Degas, modeled ca. 1880, this cast 1922, Bronze, partially tinted, with cotton skirt and satin hair ribbon, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

[Above: Study of a Young Woman by Johannes Vermeer ca. 1665-67, Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

[Above: Portrait of a Man Holding Gloves by Rembrandt van Rijn 1648, Oil on wood, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

[Above: Marble bust of a youth by Unknown ca. 1st or 2nd centry A.D., Marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

[Above: Marsyas by Balthasar Permoser ca. 1680-85, Marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

  [Above: Herakles the Archer by Émile-Antoine Bourdelle 1909, Bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]   [Above: Self-Portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn 1660, Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]   [Above: Night by Aristide Maillol ca. 1902-9, Bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York] . And don't forget, if you're looking for a piece of original art to hang on your walls, check out artFido HERE!