Speed of Life

by Gregg Chadwick Today is Slow Art Day at galleries and museums across the globe. The idea behind Slow Art Day is simple. In our hurried lives, we rarely take time to look deeply at anything - whether it is our lover's eyes, our child's smile, or the new leaves on the tree outside our window. Slow Art Day helps us stop and look. The technique is quite easy, but can lead to deep insight.  First, visit one of the galleries or museums listed on  the  Slow Art Day site . (Deep appreciation to the Slow Art Day site  for the comprehensive guide.) Second, while at the art venue, look at five works deeply and slowly.  Third, after viewing the work meet up with other participants and the volunteer host for a bite to eat and a time to discuss what you saw and how it made you feel. Most of all - breathe and enjoy! The 2010  ARTNews  article,  Slow Down You Look Too Fast , provides a nice overview of Slow ...

by Gregg Chadwick Peter Clothier Leads A One Hour/ One Painting Session photo by Joanne Warfield Peter Clothier's important new book Slow Looking: The Art of Looking at Art guides  the reader seamlessly through the history, process, and ideas behind his  One Hour/One Painting  sessions.  Clothier's development of One Hour/One Painting   began with the realization that along with most museum or gallery visitors, he increasingly spent more time looking at the information label on the wall than at the artwork itself. To combat this habit, Peter began  to spend an hour silently and inquisitively gazing at one work of art.  Much influenced in recent years by Buddhist thought and practice, Clothier combined elements of  meditation and  contemplation in these sessions and  found  more profound and rewarding experiences.    In a   One Hour/One Painting session, Peter Clothier invites small groups...