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What better way to realise that the planned 5-museums-a-day-schedule is just not worthwhile. Yes, we all do it just to be able to say: "I've seen it all", but we forget to add "and I can't remember a single thing". No surprise if you consider that museum visitors tend to spend an average eight seconds in front of each piece of art. Now you know why you still remember that luscious four-course dinner and the stressful afternoon looking for the perfect pair of Italian shoes, but none of the Renaissance paintings that you’ve seen hanging around those museums – eight seconds are just not quite enough.
Ok yes, you remember Botticelli's Primavera from the Uffizi. But let's be frank here - you remember it because it's printed on coffee mugs all over the world. Not because looking at the real thing in the museum left a permanent impression. How could it with all those people cramming in front of it – at most you remember that Russian woman's high-heel stuck in your flip-flops.
Whereas remember that loony in the museum spending half a morning in front of some secondary Renaissance piece? Secondary compared to Botticelli but still a masterpiece of a painting; just not the blockbuster she'll ever spot again on a coffee mug, let alone on a mouse pad; but hey, she doesn't need to – she’s got it all stored in her head. Indelibly imprinted in her brain is not just a mental picture of the painting, but the sensory memory of the time spent discovering it and the joy of unravelling minute details nobody else seemed to care for – no surprise, people were too busy fighting off Russian stilettos.
The next Slow Art Day is up for 2012 - get informed about events all over the world on: SLOW ART DAY
What better way to realise that the planned 5-museums-a-day-schedule is just not worthwhile. Yes, we all do it just to be able to say: "I've seen it all", but we forget to add "and I can't remember a single thing". No surprise if you consider that museum visitors tend to spend an average eight seconds in front of each piece of art. Now you know why you still remember that luscious four-course dinner and the stressful afternoon looking for the perfect pair of Italian shoes, but none of the Renaissance paintings that you’ve seen hanging around those museums – eight seconds are just not quite enough.
Ok yes, you remember Botticelli's Primavera from the Uffizi. But let's be frank here - you remember it because it's printed on coffee mugs all over the world. Not because looking at the real thing in the museum left a permanent impression. How could it with all those people cramming in front of it – at most you remember that Russian woman's high-heel stuck in your flip-flops.
Whereas remember that loony in the museum spending half a morning in front of some secondary Renaissance piece? Secondary compared to Botticelli but still a masterpiece of a painting; just not the blockbuster she'll ever spot again on a coffee mug, let alone on a mouse pad; but hey, she doesn't need to – she’s got it all stored in her head. Indelibly imprinted in her brain is not just a mental picture of the painting, but the sensory memory of the time spent discovering it and the joy of unravelling minute details nobody else seemed to care for – no surprise, people were too busy fighting off Russian stilettos.
The next Slow Art Day is up for 2012 - get informed about events all over the world on: SLOW ART DAY