The best advice I’ve encountered for how to navigate an art museum was simple:
- Look around the gallery and notice what catches your eye.
- Walk directly to whatever object you noticed. (Notice nothing? Scan the room again, then go on to the next gallery.)
- Spend 5-10 minutes in front of the object. Notice stuff about it. Be meditative. Don’t force yourself to analyze or interpret.
This simple trio of steps has made it far, far more enjoyable for me to go through a museum. I no longer make a circuit through the space, insisting on seeing every single object, reading every artist statement or curator’s note.
On my foray through the massive Denver Art Museum this week, the strategy came in very helpful. (Two separate buildings of art we’re talking about here!)
One of my favorite collections was the first one I saw (something to be said about how sharp my attention was at the outset of the 1.5 hours, too).
I spent a solid 10 minutes to start my art adventure parked in front of a stunning landscape by Birger Sandzén. The thing I noticed immediately—and then examined close up—was the brushwork. Big bold dabs of color gave the mountains and the lake their shape and sense of movement.
I spent another 10 minutes in front of a very different painting: a view of Estes Park and Longs Peak by Albert Bierstadt. Unlike Sandzén, Bierstadt hid his brushwork—it was simply invisible, painted over with a clear medium that hid the detail. The sort of things you notice when you stare at paintings for 20 minutes.
Taylor Coe 