The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has opened an exhibition titled "Musical Bodies," which explores the deep interconnection between music, the human form, and cultural expression across history and geography. Running through September 27, the show features approximately 130 objects drawn from the Met’s collections and numerous international loans, highlighting the ways music is both embodied and reflected in art.
Curated by E. Bradley Strauchen-Scherer from the Met’s Department of Musical Instruments, the exhibition spans 10 of the museum’s departments and includes a diverse array of musical instruments, paintings, sculptures, drawings, and contemporary media. Notable loans include a rare 1511 figural lira da braccio from Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum and an intricately decorated hurdy-gurdy from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.
Upon entering, visitors encounter large-scale video projections of performers such as Australian whistler Molly Lewis and the Beatbox House group, whose musical expression relies solely on the body as an instrument. This concept is echoed by Tip Toland’s ceramic sculpture "The Whistlers" (2005), depicting two elderly women engaged in a whistling duet. The exhibit emphasizes that the human body itself was humanity’s original musical instrument, a theme explored through objects ranging from a Cycladic female figure dating back nearly 5,000 years, whose form resembles violin shapes of the Renaissance, to intricate brass instruments like the Cornet-trompe in D (c. 1862), designed for portability while maintaining a visually complex, coiled structure.
The exhibition also addresses themes of gender and identity through several works. The lira da braccio, attributed to Giovanni d’Andrea, bears carvings of both male and female anatomy and faces, prompting questions about its symbolic meaning—whether referencing hermaphroditism, marriage, or a broader union of music and love. These motifs resonate with Thom Browne’s 2018 sculpture "Ensemble," which combines male and female fashion elements to evoke dualities also reflected in the lira da braccio’s design.
"Musical Bodies" further highlights music’s therapeutic role. Included is an electric Hawaiian guitar designed as a supportive crutch for country singer Barbara Mandrell following a serious car accident, and an Ojibwe jingle dress adorned with cone-shaped bells, created by artist Shannon Gustafson, which links music and dance to healing in Indigenous tradition. A video installation shows Ojibwe dancers using rhythmic sound to promote well-being.
The exhibition also explores intimacy and sensuality in musical performance. Porcelain sculpture "The Music Lesson" (c. 1765) portrays a shepherd tenderly teaching a companion to play the flute, while a 1531 harpsichord by Alessandro Trasuntino features explicit mythological imagery inside its lid, intertwining music, desire, and artistry.
Finally, the exhibition reflects on music as a lifelong companion, from birth through death. Ghanaian artist Paa Joe’s 2025 guitar-case-shaped casket, titled "For a Musician," illustrates music’s enduring presence, a concept echoed in the eerie 1929 Disney animation "The Skeleton Dance," included as a playful nod to music’s haunting legacy.
"Musical Bodies" presents a multidisciplinary survey that celebrates music’s pervasive presence in human experience, combining historical artifacts with contemporary art to reveal how music and the human body remain inseparable forces of creativity and expression.