When I get together with my friends, they often wonder inquisitively why I like art so much and they ask me “what is it that makes this or that painting interesting?”   I use to respond with long and thoughtful presentations about the artist, their practice, the medium, subject matter and other technical reasons that make the work “well done” and “for me”.  I no longer do that.

Recently when I was engaging both students in the school and friends outside, I pivoted to the following process when asked about artwork on the wall.  I turned the questions on them:

• Tell me what you see (spend 60 seconds looking)
• Tell me what questions it creates for you (share at least three)
• Tell me if you like or not and why (this is subjective and I always respect people’s personal point of view)

The fact of the matter is that because our world moves so fast and the inputs are so great, most people don’t have the patience to look at a painting for even 15 seconds. The average that I see is 7-8 seconds.  But, when you listen to music, taste wine or do other things that engage your senses, it takes a minute for your sensory system to quiet down so that you can “taste the chocolate in the Chardonnay”.  Are you with me?

This past April, there was a great article in Town and Country Magazine titled “The Beauty of Looking at Beauty”.  According to the article, “research has shown that those regularly exposed to art have experienced dramatic dips in cortisol”.  This scientifically clarified for me why I feel more relaxed and breathe more deeply when I am looking at art.

So, take a minute and look carefully at the amazing painting by Edward Hopper above.  Walk through my questions and give yourself five minutes to go through that exercise.  Perhaps we can utilize this simple act to help you activate another tool in your toolkit.