The next time you visit a museum, don’t try to see everything. Find a select few pieces to focus on, instead. By taking your time and considering fewer artworks, you will see much more. We share six tips for slow looking.
- Try to visit a museum or exhibition during quiet periods of the day, for example late in the afternoon. You don’t have to spend ages there; half an hour is nice too.
- When you enter a room, choose an artwork that speaks to you or moves you.
- Look at the shape, the colors, the figures, the narrative, the details. Allow questions to form in your mind.
- Make notes about what you are seeing (in a notebook or if you prefer just in your head).
- Change position. Look at the work from a different angle. Walk around it.
- Done looking? Think about what made the most impression on you. What surprised you? What still surprises you?
(Courtesy of Thinking Museum)
- You can find the article ‘Slow Art’ in Issue 16.
Text Catelijne Elzes Photography Emerson Peters/Unsplash.com
