MYseum

Hello. We're Laura and Quil-li. We are teachers by professional title. There are lots of stories that make up our story but the important one here is the one that led us to start this project.

 

We want to SLOW down. And while we are trying to do this in many ways, this is the project we want to share with you. Why? Because it makes you look more closely and connect more deeply and appreciate more fully and have more fun (especially for me - the photographer) so we want you to try it too. Be more aware of the beauty around you.

 

“The central tenet of the Slow philosophy is taking the time to do things properly, and thereby enjoy them more... The great benefit...is reclaiming the time and tranquility to make meaningful connections- with people, with culture, with work, with nature, with our own bodies and minds”

                                                 ― Carl Honoré, In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed

 

 

10 seconds. 

Average* amount of time a person spends in front of a piece of art at a museum

 

In an effort to see as MUCH as possible we often see very little. 

 

"Looking for a long time is not the usual way people see artworks. The usual interaction with an artwork is a glance or a glimpse or a cursory look. What I have in mind is a different kind of experience: not just glancing, but looking, staring, gazing, sitting or standing transfixed: forgetting, temporarily, the errands you have to run, or the meeting you're late for, and thinking, living, only inside the work. Falling in love with an artwork, finding that you somehow need it, wanting to return to it, wanting to keep it in your life."   

                                                                                                                            ― James Elkins 2014

 

In the New Yorker JOSHUA ROTHMAN* refers to the "choreography of the art museum" as  the "lean in to look for explanatory wall text; when you don’t find it, elegantly shift your lean toward the painting to scrutinize some arbitrary detail."

 

We suggest a new choreography. Select a piece of art - a painting, a sculpture, drawing. Lean in respectfully close. Lean back. Lean in again. Notice the details of the expression or posture or gestures. Think about it. Talk about it. Now become the subject. If photographs are permitted (usually sans flash) have someone take the photo of you (it would be a challenge but I suppose selfies could happen). 

 

 

 

FootNotes:

* Some say an average of >1 to 3 seconds others as high as 30. Depends on the gallery and the piece of art. 

* full article: Alain de Botton's Healing Arts : The New Yorker