Singer/Songwriter Gives Museumgoers a Soundtrack for Manet

An unauthorized audio guide is shaking things up for art goers at Metropolitan Museum in New York City, centered around an exhibit that features an artist who was no stranger to scandal himself.

Kristen Lee Sergeant, an NYC based singer/songwriter, had been writing songs inspired by Manet's artwork since seeing an exhibit at the Getty years ago. When the Met announced the arrival of the "Manet/Degas" exhibit this fall, she recorded demos of the songs that corresponded to the paintings shown in the exhibit. She swiftly launched a website that pairs her songs and the art, inviting museumgoers to a very unique and personal audio guide experience.

She has been distributing cards on the steps of the Met with a QR code linking to the site and one of Manet's maxims, in French, that translates to "Make the truth and let them talk."

Sergeant's project, "Manet and the Women," brings to life the portrait subjects in a way that is entirely new. She explains: "Manet's women have a self-possession and mystery about them. Song is uniquely able to find its way into these mysteries and bring a new intimacy with the art for the listener."