Slow! Art!
Celebating an International Art Appreciation Day
In case it slipped your notice, yesterday was the 16th annual Slow Art Day around the world.
From Bloomington, IL to Hong Kong, Mexico City, Paris, Budapest, Seoul, South Korea and my own Boston, MA, art spots are promoting the practice of focusing on only one to two art works for around ten minutes or more each, alone or with others.
It’s a deep way of absorbing works, rather than doing the 8 second blur as you race the aisles and try to add as many pieces to your life list as possible. I was shocked to learn a few years ago when I was writing a play about the Mona Lisa (The Loneliness of the Mona Lisa) that the average communion time with that famous pictures is only 15 seconds!
I remember a picture at the RISD Museum I first saw 15 years ago. I stood in front of it for minutes at a time, moving from one end of it to another (it’s 49 1/4 x 102 1/2 inches) unable to leave. I walked away for a minute or two and then returned for more. I can still see it when I close my eyes.
There were so many stories in one massive canvas. Maybe it’s because I make up stories that I fell so easily into this 19th century novel of a picture.
“The Salon d’Or, Homburg- The game is over... no more bets” by William Powell Frith- 1871 reproduced by RISD Art Museum
But I digress.
Why stand staring at a single picture for such a long time? Is it necessary to be so zen? Is it too artificial? Here’s what the Ashmolean in Oxford, England has to say about it all… https://www.ashmolean.org/article/slow-art#
Paris’ Cluny Museum in Paris offeres sessions called “Quiet Cluny”. According to the Museum website “attention is entirely focused on the artworks,… these timeless moments offer an opportunity to forge a connection with the artworks, but also to listen to oneself. The semi-hypnotic state allows for more direct access to the imagination, as well as a subtle connection with the external senses (the five senses)... “
(https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/activites/programmation/slow-art-day.html)
Though this year’s celebration is over, the practice is yours to try any time. Enjoy!
I truly appreciate this slow art practice. It is a way to appreciate the artist's talents and I love the idea of making up what is going on - on the canvas and behind it!
Thank you, Patti!