{"id":4270,"date":"2014-10-18T11:18:08","date_gmt":"2014-10-18T15:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=4270"},"modified":"2015-05-21T08:25:58","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T12:25:58","slug":"review-the-art-of-slowing-down-in-a-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/10\/review-the-art-of-slowing-down-in-a-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Art of Slowing Down in a Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

In her\u00a0recent New York Times article,\u00a0The Art of Slowing Down in a Museum<\/a>, Stephanie Rosenbloom admonishes us to slow down<\/em> when we visit museums. 20 minutes, she says, in front of a single work of art provides the most therapeutic experience. She sights several studies and experiments to buttress her argument, but essentially she’s pulled the number out of thin air.<\/p>\n

Leaving aside the therapeutic value of art, I take her point. \u00a0I spend several hours in front of select paintings at my local museum each year, spread out over many visits. But I’m not the typical museum-visiting tourist to whom her article is addressed. For the typical tourist trying to see everything in forty-five minutes\u00a0before the tour bus leaves, a cursory glance and brief pause are all they can manage.<\/p>\n

How many of us when visiting a museum in some faraway land for the first–and perhaps last–time will spend half our visit\u00a0before a single work without exploring the rest of the museum? So, although her article is written for the time-starved tourist, her advice boils down to: don’t be like that!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Met<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m off-put by arguments for the therapeutic value of art. A lot of nonsense is written in this vein, but nothing\u00a0I’ve read sheds any light on actual art. As a thought experiment, the next time you read something about the therapeutic value of art substitute ‘meditation,’ or ‘nature hike’ or ‘good scotch’ for ‘art’ and see if it makes the slightest difference. I won’t belabor the point, but I just don’t see it.<\/p>\n

No one can argue for the therapeutic value of visiting museums. Modern museums are chaotic\u00a0and\u00a0crowded places filled with noisy and (all too often) rude people. Her advice in this regard is to take music or something you can listen to through head-phones. Good advice. I’ve written about the etiquette of visiting museums<\/a> and the challenges art lovers face when visiting modern museums<\/a>, so I won’t repeat\u00a0myself here.<\/p>\n

I am in complete accord with the author’s main point that it takes time to experience a work of art. I would add that it also takes repeated visits<\/a>. The question of whether experiencing\u00a0art outside any perceived therapeutic value is worthwhile I leave to you.<\/p>\n

[Photo copyright Thomas Hudson.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In her\u00a0recent New York Times article,\u00a0The Art of Slowing Down in a Museum, Stephanie Rosenbloom admonishes us to slow down when we visit museums. 20 minutes, she says, in front of a single work of art provides the most therapeutic experience. She sights several studies and experiments to buttress her argument, but essentially she’s pulled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":4271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,6,46,1],"tags":[216,217],"class_list":["post-4270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-museum","category-paintings","category-reviews","category-uncategorized","tag-museums","tag-vmuseum-visits"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/met.jpg?fit=500%2C397&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4576,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/01\/a-visit-to-the-cleveland-museum-of-arts-asian-collection\/","url_meta":{"origin":4270,"position":0},"title":"A visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Asian collection","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Cleveland Museum of Art recently rotated its vast Asian collection, which I happily discovered during Friday's visit. After a Caesar salad in the Atrium cafeteria--'extra anchovies, please'--I started my weekly ramble in the galleries above the cafeteria where the Asian collection is housed. Major museums, like Cleveland, \u00a0rotate parts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cleveland Museum of Art's New Atrium","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_0261.jpg?fit=552%2C395&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_0261.jpg?fit=552%2C395&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_0261.jpg?fit=552%2C395&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10341,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2022\/05\/cleveland-art-museum-visit\/","url_meta":{"origin":4270,"position":1},"title":"Cleveland Art museum visit","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"May 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Why is a visit to the art museum blog-worthy? After all, my near-weekly museum visits are a longstanding habit. The headline is that this is my first visit to the Cleveland Art museum since the COVID mess started. I haven't visited a museum or cut my hair since March 2020.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/clev-muse.jpg?fit=1000%2C525&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/clev-muse.jpg?fit=1000%2C525&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/clev-muse.jpg?fit=1000%2C525&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/clev-muse.jpg?fit=1000%2C525&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13594,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2024\/07\/painting-by-tissot\/","url_meta":{"origin":4270,"position":2},"title":"Painting by Tissot","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I love it when I visit a museum and discover a new painting. I found this painting, The Proposal, by James Tissot (1836 - 1902) during my last visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Large museums like Cleveland's display only a portion of their collection, which means frequent visitors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/tisot.jpg?fit=784%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/tisot.jpg?fit=784%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/tisot.jpg?fit=784%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/tisot.jpg?fit=784%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/cleveland-museum-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":4270,"position":3},"title":"Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"October 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're like me, art is food--it's one of life's essentials. \u00a0I've a lifelong habit of haunting art museums. \u00a0My excitement is always high at the\u00a0prospect\u00a0of a visit, and no matter how often I visit a particular museum my enthusiasm never flags, nor is my sense of\u00a0adventure\u00a0and discovery ever satiated.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IMG_0261-300x214.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7863,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2018\/05\/review-eyewitness-views\/","url_meta":{"origin":4270,"position":4},"title":"Review: Eyewitness Views","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"May 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Cleveland Museums of Art's Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe is the best show I've seen at the museum since I started my near-weekly visits six years ago.\u00a0 As good as the show is, however, the theme--artists as eyewitnesses to history--is a stretch.\u00a0 The paintings are souvenirs of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/canal-6.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/canal-6.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/canal-6.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/canal-6.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3727,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/06\/going-to-the-cleveland-museum-of-art-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":4270,"position":5},"title":"Going to the Cleveland Museum of Art today","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 20, 2014","format":"status","excerpt":"I haven't been\u00a0to the\u00a0Cleveland Museum of Art\u00a0in several weeks. After visiting the Met last Friday, I thought I might forgo my weekly visits to the Cleveland museum for awhile. Although Cleveland is a fine museum, it's not\u00a0the Met. But here it is, a mere week later and I am hot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-16S","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}