04 August 2007

Museums and the Dust of Everyday Life


Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
-Pablo Picasso
There is no other place in the world to cleanse the soul of dust and boredom than the Louvre. The Louvre can be an intimidating place to those who don't know what they are looking at. My suggestion is to follow your instinct or a child.
Look at the architecture of the buildings and take in the size of it all. Walk into each gallery or room and scan it for what evokes a strong emotion in you and then ask yourself why -then search for more. For those who are really museum-shy I suggest you stick to sculptures. Sculptures are the tangible renderings of an artists' vision. Imagine that the sculpture is alive and you have just walked into a private room with the subject. How glorious would it be to see the Winged Victory of Samothrace in your livingroom?
So many of us get wrapped up in the idea of importance of a piece of work that we miss looking at the garden in our search for the roses. Slow down and notice the beauty of the garden on your journey.
By the way, the Louvre is open to those of you who can't afford to visit. Check out their Virtual Tour the photos and descriptions are amazing.
[N.B. Above photo is of the Venus de Milo, which was a favorite subject matter of many artists.]

1 comment:

Patricia said...

My thoughts on the Louvre - walk in feeling letting the architecture lift you gliding up the stairs seeing it as a palace that it is and let you minds spin you and transporting you to the time that the painting dictate to you.
A sculture, Tomas Chavez Morado once said that sculpures are for touching. Even if it with your
eyes imagining the texture on your hands.
If the venus of Milo still has all there extremities would we still value them as we do today?
Patricia