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Friday, August 04, 2017

On Summer Art Shows

Tonight's the Big Night!   P.S. You're Invited.



It's now August, and while thoughts are running towards the frantic fall season, it's nice to have a summer show.  The reasons are many, but I think it's mostly because it just feels more relaxed, somehow.  It's always hard to receive criticism of one's latest body of work (which inevitably happens in a public venue) but somehow it's easier to take when the critic is wearing flip-flops and a t-shirt that says, "This is my #selfie shirt".

It's also pleasant to see the way people linger, taking their time to look at each piece. According to one study, a museum-goer takes less than 17 seconds per painting before moving on*, but it seems to me that during summer it's slightly longer.  Of course this study was conducted years before Instagram, so maybe 17 seconds is an unbearable eternity now.

No matter. Although I didn't get much sleep last night, and will probably be slightly incoherent at the Artist's Reception this evening, I'm looking forward to enjoying everyone's company (yes, even the critics') and looking out at the moon with a fizzy beverage in my hand, listening to the mingled murmur of art talk and crickets.


  
* Spending Time on Art, by and
Empirical Studies of the Arts, vol. 19, 2: pp. 229-236. , First Published Jul 1, 2001.
Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2190/5MQM-59JH-X21R-JN5J

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