Simply..looking at art....

20/11/2018

I am loving your comments about visiting art galleries.

I adore art galleries. I know some people find them intimidating, but for some reason they embolden me. I strike up conversations with strangers. I ask the staff what they like. I open my mind. If I don't like something I think about why. I look before I read anything and I turn down the offer of headphones - I don't want someone else's interpretation before I have made my own. I go at my own pace. I can't stand the blockbusters where you have to move along at the pace of the crowd. I'd rather see a couple of things well than just glance at everything so my first quick pass is to decide what I will go back and look closely at. In huge museums like the British Museum the postcard rack can help narrow down the options.,,.

14 Comments

Sue

21/11/2018 12:58:08 am

I love the idea of choosing what to see by looking at the postcard rack.
I'm a wander by myself person and wondered whether using headphones (with the sound turned off!) might remove some of the noise of other people in the galleries.
I'll often talk to the gallery staff, after I’ve been round on my own, because sometimes they are amazingly knowledgable and one can learn a lot from them.
The British Museum has some amazing free half hour tours every day. They are not, in my experience, crowded and often go on for longer especially if there are suplimentary questions.
Sue

Freda

21/11/2018 12:31:20 pm

That headphones tip is a useful one, and i didn't know about the British Museum tours, so thanks Sue.

Viv link

21/11/2018 01:13:57 am

The last exhibition we saw was in the Millennium gallery in Sheffield about the birth of art photography through the handful of artists in the Victorian era who led the changes - Carroll, Cameron, Rejlander and Hawarden. It was both informative and the photos captivating - they were at the cutting edge in their time and each had a different style but influenced each other too. I went round 3 times.

Freda

21/11/2018 12:32:21 pm

Lovely to have enjoyed it three times over!

Mary

21/11/2018 01:38:07 am

The one thing I found very disconcerting at the Georgia O'Keefe gallery in Santa Fe was the number of people who just went around taking photos of her work with their phones (only some paintings had a ban on photos) and never spent any time actually looking at the art. They seemed to think one should move out of their way so they could get a good shot and move on quickly to the next. Let's just say--I did not cooperate.

Freda

21/11/2018 12:34:16 pm

It is very weird, especially when there are such wonderful quality photgraphic reproductions readily available everywhere.

Lucille link

21/11/2018 06:09:45 am

Yes I use the postcard rack trick if I am new to a gallery or short of time, but equally find that I am often unable to find a card of a picture that I have particularly liked in an exhibition.

Freda

21/11/2018 12:35:04 pm

That might be the only time when taking your own photograph makes sense..

Susan

21/11/2018 06:36:32 am

I'm interested in how being in an art gallery, makes you feel.
I realise that I feel at home, at peace and confident.
Maybe, because it up the chances that I'd be amongst my 'tribe'.

Freda

21/11/2018 12:36:16 pm

A good point about one's tribe Susan.

Julia

21/11/2018 12:35:06 pm

I love how i feel after leaving! It is the rare exception where i feel disappointed, no matter the theme or material...i just love the thrill of seeing what others have created! And thinking about their process, and celebrating their quirky imagination! 99% of the time, i am so happy that i have gone! It’s better than a gift! There ARE times though.....:-)

Freda

21/11/2018 12:38:13 pm

Uplifted is how I feel, more often than not..

Judy

21/11/2018 05:14:24 pm

I went to the British Museum a few years ago on my "Once in a Lifetime" trip to London. There was so much to see and feel that it was almost overwhelming. I narrowed it down to a few exhibits so that I could absorb what I was experiencing. I felt like a time traveler. I remember thinking that if I lived in the vicinity, I would come once a month until I had explored it all, and then I would start over again.

Freda

21/11/2018 07:04:07 pm

A friend had a flat within walking distance of it and we had a wonderful holiday there once. Amazing place!

Simply..looking at art....

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