When you rush through a museum, everything can start seeming like a non-descript blur. Oftentimes, you’ll have a better experience by spending more time with fewer pieces – instead of speeding by in an effort to see (or at least glance at) every single item.
In this spirit, Phoenix Art Museum introduced their “Slow Art” events. Pre-Pandemic, I believe this was an option you could choose instead of a gallery tour on certain days. People would gather around a specific work of art and a docent would talk about just that piece.
I’m more familiar with the program’s COVID-safe incarnation as a monthly Zoom meditation. You may have seen this as a “join in from anywhere” item on our Happenings List.
I attended one of these a couple months ago. It focused on the work of Colombian artist Oscar Muñoz, whose Invisibilia exhibition is currently on display at the museum.
You slow down, settle in, and take deep breaths. Phoenix art educators guide you in examining the work.
We looked at several of Muñoz’s self portraits, as a series and individually. The docents explained his unusual artmaking processes and shared how you could see some of them on display at the museum. The pace of the presentation was measured, allowing plenty of time for questions and contemplation.
It was a refreshing way to calm my mind and reset, while also learning about an artist and his process!
The next session is Thursday, December 23 at noon (Arizona time). RSVP is required, and the cost is just pay-what-you-can.
The Oscar Muñoz: Invisibilia exhibition is on display at Phoenix Art Museum in the Katz Wing for Modern Art through January 16, 2022.
