Slow Down, Art-Eaters!

by Lucia Simek April 8, 2014
Thomas Struth  Kunsthistorisches Museum III Wien, 1989   chromogenic print   145 cm x 187 cm

Thomas Struth, Kunsthistorisches Museum III Wien, 1989, chromogenic print

In an effort to make art viewers look at art at a more contemplative pace, museums across the world will participate in Slow Art Day this Saturday, April 12. The name of the game is this: visitors to participating galleries and museums commit to spending a total of 10 minutes in front of 5 separate works, gathering their thoughts and reactions; then everyone gets together to discuss their experience, in some cases over lunch. It seems a loose and easy affair, more of a suggestion than a mandate. And the day might be good medicine, in direct opposition to the speedy consumption of cultural goods and experiences that is the bill of fare these days in bigger museums and galleries where the public is baited with spectacle, often involving celebrities, herded through turnstiles and fleeced for their demographic info. A reminder to eat more slowly so as not to choke seems in order.

Texas’ most chilled-out, participating museums and art spaces include: the Old Jail Center in Albany (which has a pretty great drawing show up right now, btw), the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, the Art Museum of Southwest Texas in Beaumont, and the Stark Museum of Art in Orange.

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