Can working with your hands improve your mood? For Kisook Suh, a textile conservator at The Met, there’s deep satisfaction and purpose in caring for tapestries that are hundreds of years old. But her artistry doesn’t stop there: once home, she relaxes by mending holes in her young son’s blue jeans and rescuing clothes that otherwise might be discarded. Kisook describes the solace found in repairing things—stitch by stitch—and how the process itself fosters hope for other kinds of healing, whether broken relationships or her mother’s ill health in Korea.

Guest: Kisook Suh, conservator, Textile Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Featured object: The Falcon’s Bath, 1495-1505. South Netherlandish. Tapestry with wool warp and wool wefts, 137 1/2 x 145 1/2 in. (349.3 x 369.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloisters Collection, 2011, (2011.93)

www.metmuseum.org/frameofmind #FrameofMind

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can art help us heal? Imagine an elderly mother and daughter resting on a museum bench, taking in the vivid colors of a stained glass window. When artist and poet Annie Lanzillotto recalls this experience with her mother, it was a moment of peace that helped her make sense of her family and life. Hear how, ever since her childhood in the Bronx, art has remained a powerful tool for inspiration and healing through domestic violence, financial hardship, and multiple cancers.

Guest: Annie Lanzillotto, Artist and Poet

Objects mentioned in this episode:

Tiffany Studios (American, 1902–32), attributed to Agnes F. Northrop (American, 1857–1953). Autumn Landscape, 1923–24. Leaded Favrile glass, 132 x 102 in. (335.3 x 259.1 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Robert W. de Forest, 1925 (25.173a–o)

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, 1848–1907). Diana, 1893–94, cast 1894 or after. Bronze, 28 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 14 in. (71.8 x 41.3 x 35.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1985 (1985.353)

Alfred Van Loen (American b. Germany, 1924–1993). Chessgame: Liberty versus Slavery. Bronze, various heights 4–10 1/4 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Joan and Lester Avnet, 1964 (64.155a-p,aa-pp)

www.metmuseum.org/frameofmind #FrameofMind

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can art reconnect us with those we love, even from far away? Siblings Samy Gálvez and Melina Anderson Gálvez immigrated to the United States from Guatemala many years ago and have spent much of their adult lives apart from each other and their family. Knowing Melina was struggling with isolation thousands of miles away during a Mormon mission, Samy wanted to lend support. He wasn’t sure how to do it until one life-changing visit to The Met. Hear how—over the course of a year—sending 100 postcards featuring artworks from the Museum fostered deeper communication and trust between the siblings.

Guests: Samy Gálvez, MPH, epidemiologist and Melina Anderson Gálvez, editor and designer

Objects mentioned in this episode:

Ganesha statue, 14th–15th century. India, (Orissa). H. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Klejman, 1964 (64.102)

The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (from the Unicorn Tapestries), 1495–1505. Made in Paris, France (cartoon); Made in Southern Netherlands (woven). 144 7/8 x 99 in. (368 x 251.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1937 (37.80.6)

www.metmuseum.org/frameofmind #FrameofMind

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you looking for ways to calm your mind and find inspiration? Frame of Mind, an uplifting podcast from The Met, presents all kinds of personal stories about how art supports well-being. Discover how art has the power to connect, inspire, and restore us wherever we are.

Frame of Mind launches Wednesday, February 23, 2022.

www.metmuseum.org/frameofmind #FrameofMind

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.