Have you ever noticed how long people look at a painting in a museum or gallery?
Surveys have clocked view times anywhere between 10 and 17 seconds. The
Louvre estimated that visitors studied the
Mona Lisa,
the most famous painting in the world, for an astoundingly low average
of 15 seconds. Our increasingly online, instantaneous existence accounts
for those numbers, obviously. Can we ever again find the patience to
look at art as it was meant to be seen?
A recent article by
Harvard University art history professor
Dr. Jennifer Roberts argues not only that art requires patience, but also that it can teach “
the power of patience.”
Where patience once stood for the helplessness of standing in line at
the DMV, patience, in Roberts’ argument, can now stand for empowerment, a
“time management” choice that can drive us to look not just at
paintings, but at our whole lives.
Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "
Can Art Teach Patience?"
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