NEW YORK—To some, working as a museum guard may seem a mind-numbing task, one that includes 12-hour standing shifts. In his one-person show, “All the Beauty in the World,” Patrick Bringley explains why he chose this career path and what he found there. Written and performed by Bringley and based on his bestselling novel of the same name, the play can currently be seen at the DR2 Theatre.
After the loss of his older brother due to cancer, Bringley, then 22 years old and working at New Yorker Magazine as a greeter and gofer, felt the need to find a job where he wasn’t always jumping from one assignment to another. He wanted a place where he could, in effect, learn to stand still. His search led him to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where, after an initial probationary period, he was assigned to one of the numerous exhibits on display. His job as a guard? To observe what he sees in silence.
For Bringley, the job offered an opportunity to relate one-to-one with the art pieces. While he was posted to just about every exhibit the museum had to offer during his tenure, he admits a particular affinity for paintings by the old masters. These works were created in a period that ranges from approximately 1230 to 1820.
Said paintings at the museum currently number 8,458, and yes, Bringley has counted them. Included in this collection are 206 works depicting various images of Jesus, which he says calls to mind a gigantic “family photo album.”
Bringley’s steady voice makes him a congenial host as he talks about his relationship with his brother. He explains the contentment he has found because of his career change, offering the audience a chance to understand what he experienced.
One of his great joys was that, in looking at the paintings so often, he was able to identify certain details in a work that others wouldn’t take the time to see. In focusing on these details, alongside the overall artwork, Bringley realized how easy it is to miss so much of what is right before us when we rush from one thing to another—be it from job to job or painting to painting.
Bringley relates how, in standing in a gallery for up to 12 hours a day (with breaks), he learned to exist within that time, not to merely mark its passing. He learned that the best way of doing this was to study the works of art. When he tired of that, he studied the people who came to see them.
Bringley’s favorite time at the museum was in the early morning—about a half hour before the museum opens—when he could enjoy the quiet while among the Old Masters before officially reporting for work. There’s more than a bit of irony in his voice as he talks about becoming a father and how caring for a squirming, demanding infant is completely opposite of the tranquility he'd become accustomed to as a guard.
Perhaps most fascinating are Bringley’s descriptions of parts of the museum visitors never see. Underneath the floors of exhibits is another world. Here are numerous stored works of art, items in the process of coming and going to museums and galleries around the world, repair and restoration shops, a loading dock, tailor shop, and the area where arriving guards change into their uniforms before reporting for duty. Bringley notes how the guards at the Met are of many nationalities and have varied former professions. They range from teachers and policeman to farmers and even a former frigate captain. It’s not unusual to hear many different languages spoken while underground.
With Austin Switser’s excellent projection design work, which displays the museum objects and paintings discussed, “All the Beauty in the World” shows the importance of giving oneself time to discover what is personally important. Through that, one can begin to realize how beautiful, enlightening, and varied the world can actually be.
