Today’s materialistic life style asks us to exchange time to pay for desirable objects. However, the vocabulary needed to articulate the richness and depths of our lives takes time to master – ‘a certain unhurried engagement’ – it demands we slow down. (1)
Rebecca Solnit describes slowness as ‘an act of resistance, not because slowness is a good in itself but because of all that it makes room for, the things that don’t get measured and can’t be bought.’ (1)
Is there any difference in ‘slowness’ in terms of traditional art gallery v online exhibition?
I don’t think the answer is simple. The viewer may slow down when viewing work in a traditional space but one may also rush around ‘consuming’ the work and failing to look carefully. It seems to me few people ever look properly at work at a private view. On the other hand, the online exhibition – the very medium through which it’s viewed – encourages quick viewing, swiftly moving on to the next enticing thing. However I feel it is possible to slow some visitors down – to snag their interest and cultivate a more enriching engagement – although precisely how requires careful thought and investigation.
1 Rebecca Solnit, Finding Time, Orion Magazine, accessed 19th October 2015
