"By their very nature, most galleries do nothing to encourage intimate encounters with the art they show. They are interested in getting as many people as possible through the front door, not in fostering contemplation of the art. Even the most visitor-friendly tend to be cold and unwelcoming, designed to impress rather than reassure. If seating is provided, it will be the sort that says: 'You may perch here for a moment or two, but don't make yourself comfortable'.
From "What's wrong with contemporary art?' by Peter Timms, p.109
I once sat for quite a long time in a recent Giacometti exhibition watching the people looking at the sculptures, listening half-heartedly to the guided tour that came by me, and in the quieter moments just looking around me at the sculptures which at times seemed to me to resemble shadows. Peter Timm's comments remind me of how easy it is to have a very superficial experience of art within gallery environments, as we struggle through crowds at popular exhibitions and try to ignore tired feet.
Living very close to the Art Gallery of New South Wales I find myself being able to return to favourite works more easily and frequently than would otherwise be the case, and subsequently I have noticed an interesting shift in the way I am experiencing those works. In a culture where we are encouraged towards fast-paced, somewhat superficial mass consumption, it is a refreshing change to pause and absorb complex works of art over a longer period of time, without recourse to theory or discourse, but simply to look and experience the pleasure that this type of discovery brings.
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