Being in a gallery with a wide range of artwork, from paintings and photographs to sculptures and installations, can be an overwhelming experience. This is not to say we are not enjoying the surreal feeling of being surrounded by art, but our awe can soon morph into curiosity: which artwork do I start with? Regardless of the brewing questions of direction, the first and most important thing to do in a gallery is to look at the art.
To understand any work, you must first take a look. In an article titled ‘A guide to slow looking,’ Tate Modern highlights the importance of slow looking. They recommend that you “select a work that you are drawn to, that intrigues, attracts or frustrates you. Devote your time to truly getting to know a few artworks. Try to think of the gallery as a menu, rather than a to-do list.”
Slow looking means to understand any work of art, you need to spend time with it. But exactly how much time should we spend with art? If we spend a day, an hour, ten minutes, or even the recommended eight seconds looking at an artwork, does it mysteriously tell us something about itself?
Studies have shown that gallery visitors spend an average of eight seconds looking at an artwork. In 2001, two researchers, Lisa F. Smith and Jeffrey K. Smith, observed that gallery visitors do not spend enough time viewing works of art. They wondered how visitors can be deeply moved by art that they have only briefly viewed.
The amount of time we devote to immersing ourselves in an artwork is an interesting phenomenon influenced by an array of factors. These factors intertwine our preferences, personal contexts, knowledge of art history, the artwork, and the context of the gallery space. The time we spend with an artwork has little or nothing to do with what curators, historians, or even artists have to say about how one should look at art. It’s about the viewer and the artwork. Looking at art gives us a chance to make our discoveries and form a more personal connection with it.
Other factors, such as the artist’s deft technique, the subject matter’s resonance with us, or possibly the interaction of colours and forms, can influence how much time we choose to spend with a particular piece of art.
It really doesn’t matter how long you spend looking at art but it is important to stay open-minded and to trust your intuition about the work. This can guide you to ask the artist questions about the work if something is not clear. It also helps to understand the artist’s work if you are open to art collecting.
For further reading:
- Smith L. F., & Smith J. K. (2001). Spending Time on Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Kaplan I (2017). How Long Do People Really Spend Looking at Art in Museums? Artsy.
- Kaplan I (2017). How Long Do You Need to Look at a Work of Art to Get It? Artsy.
Iyanuoluwa Adenle is a Nigerian art writer, essayist, and poet based in Lagos. She is currently the head writer at Omenai. Adenle has contributed to a number of art publications, including Tender Photo, Art News Africa, Pavillon 54, and Omenai.
