I hosted Slow art at Stanford at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts on October 17. Besides spending time with some wonderful paintings and sculptures, I met Kristen Olsen from the museum’s education division. Which was an amazing coincidence… The intent of Slow art, in Phil Terry‘s words, is to allow novices as well as experts “to come, to feel welcome, to not worry about what experts say but rather to take the time themselves to see and discover what is possible when slowly viewing art.” Kristen is currently working on research on how slow viewing of art affects the viewer’s brain. We had a very interesting conversation about the pieces of art I had chosen for viewing that day, and the experience spending time with them. The top two recommendations for viewing were Richard Deibenkorn’s “Ocean Park #94″ and Auguste Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell.” Looking forward to more slow art soon, whether at the Cantor, another museum, gallery, or in some unanticipated opportunity.
