This is going to be a long winded story…. slow art

At the “Slow Art” event we spend a long time looking at just one painting, instead of rushing past hundreds of paintings without seeing or worse being overwhelmed. As the host was a yoga teacher, she encouraged us to compare our initial reaction with the feeling after seeing it for a while, which is done in yoga classes to raise inner body awareness.

I found it very difficult to focus on my feelings, my mind kept drifting to the way the painting was made, the loose brush strokes and the construction of lines and forms. I felt drawn towards the figurative works and reluctant to linger in front of some abstracts. Yet it was relaxing not having to rush to see hundred paintings and instead focus on a few and really take them in and ‘see’. And also interesting to notice my feelings.

When comparing our notes we noticed that everybody reflected differently on the painting, some found it sad, the other uplifting… perhaps reflecting our own feelings. Even when the story of the painting/painter was revealed we empathized with understanding based on our own experience. Perhaps we can only ‘see’ or ‘hear’ what we can understand based on our own experience, our own feelings.

Because we could spend so much time with each painting and really take it in, the feeling that lingered on after the painting had been seen for a longer time gave way to something similar to the feeling after a good yoga class or a good meal. Also noticed the same after a good concert the other day. We feel we have stretched and really felt our bodies, satisfied our appetites, really focused on a great piece of music, we have really ‘seen’ the painting. The initial reaction and feelings seem to give way to being at peace (if not relieved to move away from an ugly or boring painting or an annoying peace of music! :-)).

more info…
Founder, Phil Terry, Slow Art Day: http://SlowArtDay.com
NY Times, “At Louvre, Many Stop to Snap but Few Stay to Focus”: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/arts/design/03abroad.html?_r=1