Museums can be overwhelming. With thousands of pieces there, how do you know which to focus on? And once you see a piece you like, how do you interact with it? Here is some advice on how to have a meaningful connection when you look at art.
Get up close and personal. Therefore, take your time to observe qualities about a work that may not come through on a computer screen. That includes its look and the feel of its surface, the marks made by the brush and the path your eyes take when viewing the work.
Stand back. Next, take a few steps back, stand in the center — and observe what's happening in the big picture. What's going on in the piece? What are they doing? How are they related?
Look at it from an angle. Then try looking at an artwork from its sides, because you might catch something you might not have seen straight on. If it's something like The Ambassadors by Holbein at The National Gallery in London, if you stand to the side, you'll see something that from front on looks very different. That's called anamorphic art.
Move your body. If you're looking at a painting, you can take a finger to the air and trace the outline of the figure or the movement of the brushstrokes. This can help you see and feel what it might be like to make this artwork from the artist's perspective.
Consider the subject of the art. That can have a profound effect on how you feel about the work-and perhaps you can learn something from it. Take the example of Andrew Wyeth's famous painting, Christina's World, which depicts (描绘) a girl with a muscle disease crawling across a field to get to her home in the distance. The painting personifies (体现) determination.
A. So just keep an open mind.
B. What have they gone through?
C. When you stand to the side, it changes.
D. How are the figures in the piece arranged?
E. We have the luxury of seeing the real thing at a museum.
F. When looking at sculptures, try the poses with your body.
G. It can in a way relieve your stress to know we have this inner strength.
