To enjoy art, see it on your own?
January 15 2015
Picture: NY Times
How do you 'consume' your art? Do you prefer to go to galleries with a friend or partner? Or do you prefer to go on your own? A new report commissioned by Arts Council England seems to suggest that we prefer going to galleries tout seul.
The ACE report isn't able to tell us why that is. And indeed if you look at their methodology (the findings are generated by users pressing buttons on an app - and are you more likely to do such a thing, and concentrate on the questions, if you're on your own?) you might think the whole thing is a waste of time and money; the point of the report was to show that culture in general 'makes us happy', and surely we know that already.
But anyway, how does it work for you? Let me know if you prefer to look at pictures on your own or with others. I personally find them very different experiences. If you were to ask me, do you prefer to examine pictures on your own or with others, I'd certainly say on my own; after all, not everyone wants to spend half an hour or more looking at a painting with binoculars, as I do. And I'd say that if I came out of a gallery after a few hours immersed in close-looking I'd probably be more 'relaxed' than if I'd been with someone else. But I'd have more fun - I'd enjoy myself more - if I was with, say, my partner or friends.
Update - a reader writes:
I think this voxpop Arts Council statistic gathering is nonsense, a bit like the politicians wanting to create a ‘happiness’ index.
Any visit to an exhibition or collection made by anyone remotely informed will be an entirely different experience or initiative depending on whether it is to be alone / carried out with similarly-interested colleagues / personal friends or ‘loved ones’.
ANY broad-brush conclusion is going to be meaningless. It is simply pandering to their ticking-boxes agenda.
Hard to disagree with really.
Another reader writes:
I like to go with someone then we split up and meet after a couple of hours and compare notes over lunch.
Whilst another is adamant:
Definitely go alone if possible.
Update II - a reader adds:
I attended a drinks party at Highclere Castle before Christmas, which as you will know is bursting with wonderful art. My friend and I delighted in wandering around the castle chatting about the works, debating which particularly excited us and those that we didn't like much at all.
A lovely time was had, but I did come away with a longing to go back there on my own. I want to look at the paintings that really interest me and to linger for as long as I want to with no other opinion than mine to consider. So I would say, go to a gallery with a friend if you want a fun day, with a bit of art thrown in, but to experience the art properly and really enjoy it, for me it has to be solo.
And here's another:
I like to have my cake and eat it too: go with my wife, then we each wander back and forth, looking as long as we want at particular works alone and then together, comparing reactions. But we are not professionals…
