Slow Looking can help us see art in new ways and connect with ourselves. It’s an invitation to use all of our senses to experience art in the most expansive way possible. Slow Looking is an approach and practice that can refine our capacity to observe, process, think, relate, and create personal meaning. It can also fuel curiosity, inspiration, and confidence in engaging with art.
You have everything you need to go on this journey. What discoveries might you make along the way?
Otobong Nkanga, Cadence 🪨
Floor 2, Atrium
Otobong Nkanga’s Cadence fills the Marron Family Atrium with tapestry, sculpture, text, and sound. Take a moment to orient yourself and settle in. What do you first notice? Spend some time moving around the space, taking in different aspects of this installation. Does any specific element capture your attention? Are you aware of any emotions or bodily sensations arising as you engage with this work?
Try dialing down the sound in the space by focusing on one section of the tapestry. Let your gaze linger where it wants, noticing the colors, textures, and shapes. Imagine wrapping yourself in this section of fabric. What might that feel like? Now tune back into the sound in the space. How does it complement what you see? Take a deep breath and exhale. See if you’re able to find a comforting cadence to your breath using this work of art as a guide.
Ken Okiishi, gesture/data 📺🖌️
Floor 2, Gallery 201
What is the first thing you notice about this work? Does one side of this work draw you in more than the other? What gestures do you think created the marks on the left side? What about the right side? Choose one side and follow a brushstroke from top to bottom, either in your mind or by tracing with your finger in the air. Do you feel a particular rhythm or any sensation as you do this?
What feels similar and what feels different between the two sides of this work? Try closing your eyes or turning away from the artwork. Imagine wiping both panels clear of all brushstrokes. Can you recreate the marks in your mind? What pressure would you use? How slow or fast would you paint the marks? How would that feel in your body? After you reopen your eyes, look back to the artwork and see if the marks in your mind match what you see before you.
Beverly Buchanan, Dataw Island, S.C. 🏠
Imagine yourself somewhere in this scene. Are you at the front, in the back, in the center, or in a corner? Visualize yourself moving between the structures. What path do you take? As you wander, allow yourself to take in the shapes, textures, and colors of these buildings. Maybe you go peer in a window or knock on a door and enter one of the shacks. What sights, smells, textures, and sounds might you encounter? Can you sense a particular energy or mood here? How does it feel in your body to be in this place? Does this artwork call to mind any familiar places you’ve visited, or somewhere you’d like to visit?
Floor 3, 3 East
The Robert B. Menschel Galleries
What do you wonder about as you look at this artwork? Do you sense a particular mood or energy? Take some time studying the figures. Which one are you most curious about? Slow down to take in all the details of that figure, starting with their head. Notice their eyes, the shape and angle of their head, and the way their neck connects to the rest of their body. Slowly work your way down. Notice the curves of their body, the position of their arms and legs, and the texture of their skin.
How are they oriented in relation to the other figures? Try positioning your shoulders and arms in the same pose. How does it feel? Based on their position and expression, what do you imagine they are thinking? Is there a story forming in your mind about what you see? If so, what would the next scene look like?
Floor 3, 3 East
The Robert B. Menschel Galleries
Give yourself a moment to take in this work, allowing your eyes to wander across the textile. What are your first impressions? Try slowly “reading” the work from left to right. Now start from the top and move to the bottom. What colors do you notice? Do any shapes stand out? Can you imagine what this work would feel like if you were able to run your hand over it? Find a spot that draws you in. Visualize yourself pulling on a thread and seeing it unravel. How would the composition shift? Do you sense places of tension and ease, both in this work and in yourself?
Judit Reigl, Guano-Round 🌑
Floor 4, Gallery 401
The David Geffen Galleries
Imagine wrapping your arms around the circle dominating this canvas. Does the shape have an energy or frequency? If you were to push your hands into the shape, how hot or cold do you imagine it would feel? Do you notice any textures? Allow your eyes to find a pathway around and through this circle, tracing over lines and other marks. What comes to mind as you do this? Imagine this circle becoming three-dimensional, lifting off the canvas and joining you in the gallery. Does anything change in the way you perceive this work or how you experience it in your body? As you continue to take in this work, what questions, thoughts, sensations, or emotions linger?
Robert Frank, Tree, London 🌳
Floor 4, Gallery 402
The David Geffen Galleries
What are your initial impressions of this photograph? Does it evoke a particular mood? Set a timer for spending five minutes looking at this photo. If other thoughts or concerns enter your mind, try gently redirecting yourself back to the photo. After the time is up, notice if anything about your perceptions of this photo have changed. What do you notice now that you didn’t before? Do any descriptive words come to mind? You may wish to note them in your phone or on a slip of paper. Try arranging the words and seeing if a poem emerges.
Floor 4 Gallery 416 - Romare Bearden, Autumn Lamp 🍁
Floor 4, Gallery 416
The David Geffen Galleries
What piques your curiosity about this art work? Let your gaze follow the outline of the figure and the contours of his clothing. This work is a collage made of different materials. Take some time looking at the different layers. Consider this figure as a whole and in sections, paying attention to where elements in the collage come together. What details add character to this figure?
See how looking at this collage from close up and far back changes your perception of the work. If this collage had a soundscape, what would that be?
David Smith, Head 👤
Floor 5, Gallery 500
Circle around this sculpture or imagine yourself circling around it. Take it in from all sides, paying attention to its shapes, edges, and surfaces. What do you notice? What images come into your head as you consider the form of this work? Imagine this sculpture could move. How would it move? What would its movement look and feel like? Does it make any sounds as it moves? What shadows would it cast if it were in motion?
Arthur Dove, Willows 🌿
Floor 5, Gallery 509
The David Geffen Wing
Slowly scan this painting from left to right and then imagine drawing a line down the center. Compare one side to the other. What stands out to you? What shapes fill the canvas?
There is a lot of green in this painting. How would you describe each shade of green you see? What other colors do you notice? Now, spend a moment taking in the work in its entirety. If you were to place yourself in this painting, from what perspective would you be viewing this scene? What real or imagined spaces does this work transport you to?
Alberto Giacometti, The Palace at 4 a.m. 🏯
Floor 5, Gallery 517
The Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Galleries
Choose one side or spot on this work to begin your exploration. What catches your attention? Trace the curves and lines of the structure and figures with your eyes. What materials do you notice as you do this? Consider how the different surfaces might feel to touch. How is this piece held together? If you could flip a switch and turn this artwork on like a music box, what movement might occur? Would it make any sounds?
To explore this work from the perspective of a figure inside, listen to the Verbal Description above.
Christopher Cozier, Tropical Night 💃
Floor 5, Gallery 520
The Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Galleries
Take a moment to take in this installation in its entirety. You’ll notice it is made of many separate images, making it a great opportunity to try sorting through stimuli. First, notice all of the images that contain a human figure. What do you notice about those? How are they similar or different from one another? Next, choose the one that sparks your interest the most. What are the visual details that hold your attention? Try taking on the figure’s pose or visualize yourself doing so. If you were to move or position your body to match the figure in this image, what would that look and feel like? Is there a particular motion or rhythm? Notice any emotions or sensations that arise within you. How would you describe the energy of this particular image? How does it connect to the larger installation? Take time to reflect on any interpretations you make of this work.
Tips for Slow Looking
- Give yourself time to notice, consider, and reflect. Set a timer for five minutes, then increase this time incrementally the more you look.
- Notice where your attention goes. Take descriptive notes about what you see. Set aside any need you feel to read the wall label, at least for now.
- Take your time moving through the artwork, from top to bottom, side to side. Focus on elements—such as colors, shapes, lines, textures, or figures—one at a time.
- Try looking at art from different vantage points or angles and notice how your perspective changes. This could include moving your body, tilting your head, covering one eye, looking away and then back again, moving closer, or stepping back.
- Pay attention, without judging or assigning meaning, to any bodily sensations you experience as you look at art. Notice and name emotions that an artwork evokes for you.
- Be curious. What draws you in? What makes you look away? What do you wonder about? What thoughts or questions enter your mind as you look?