Slow Art Day 2012 is today, Saturday, April 28.
Events have already occurred in China, India, and all over Australia. As I write this, Slow Art Day events are happening in Rome, Paris, London, Copenhagen and all over Europe.
Slow Art Day events are about to start in North and South America.
Have a good and slow day of looking and loving art.
– Phil
Phil Terry
Founder, Slow Art Day
P.S. If you need anything or have any questions about today’s events, get in touch via e-mail here.
Watch
Created by Scribbler’s Club, hosts for Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Slow Art Day.
Mim Scalin is an artist who teaches workshops on creativity at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art studio school using Mail Art as the medium. An active member of the International Union of Mail Artists, which connects her with people throughout the world, this is her first time hosting Slow Art Day.
Slow Art Day: What does Slow Art Day mean to you and why did you get involved?
Mim: This is my first time as a host for Slow Art day. My son told me about it and I thought, “wow, like the Slow Food movement. This will be great fun.” Slowing down to participate in something seems like a good idea at a time when we all seem to be have a lot going on and rarely slow down.
Slow Art Day: What’s one artwork that has had a big impact on you?
Mim: I grew up in Chicago and was often taken to the Chicago Art Institute as a child. Among the many fabulous works of art, I saw Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, by Seurat, and I think that had a big influence on me. I was fascinated by how the artist could create something like this, and I wanted to make art, too.
Slow Art Day: Tell us about your Slow Art Day event.
Mim: I really enjoy the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, and I go there lots since it’s near my home. The museum has undergone a major renovation recently and there are works on display now that I’d never seen before, or perhaps hadn’t paid attention to.
I’ve chosen 5 works from the American collection. I included 3 portraits, a landscape and a still-life. Most of the artists are not well-known, which is a benefit as the work will be “fresh.” I went many times over the past couple of months trying to limit choices. I had a friend join me and we had the best time looking at work slowly and determining the final selection.
After viewing the work, we’ll meet up at the museum cafe for lunch and share the experience of viewing art slowly.
Join Mim to peruse American Art for Slow Art Day in Richmond, Virginia, Saturday, April 28, 2012.
Our sponsor and partner, ikon TV, has created a 4 minute “virtual Slow Art Day” video that they are showing as part of their Slow Art Day programming in Germany and the Middle East.
Watch their “Virtual Slow Art Day” video here (note: there is *no* sound intentionally)
And here’s Ikono TV’s description of their video and their commitment to Slow Art Day:
“Let’s take a closer look – like all art, we can understand it better when we look more closely.” This love for detail and contemplative, decelerated experience of art is something we – ikono – stand for. Just like the Slow Art Day initiative, ikono invites people to experience art as a pure visual experience at home thanks to its two TV channels broadcasting now in 25 countries, spreading therefore the Slow Art Day mission to the largest possible audience – even outside of art institutions.
On the occasion of this year’s Slow Art Day on April 28th, ikono presents two themed programs: Miniature and Calligraphy in art. Both represent two classical forms or artistic practice in the Menasa region – the region ikono was launched in a few years ago. Both miniature and calligraphy require the viewer to slow down in order to discover details and to decipher.
The word “miniature” comes from the Latin word “miniare”, which means to color with red lead and was used for the capital letters. Miniatures were first used as decoration of hand-written books. We show a range of the traditional miniature paintings from the Ottoman, Persian, Asian and European heritage.
In addition, we present also the “conceptual idea of much-smaller-than-usual sizes” in painting, photography, sculpture, installation works and other forms of contemporary art.
A number of cultures throughout the world draw upon calligraphy as a prominent source of artistic practice from ancient times to most recent contemporary styles and movements. Calligraphy has also arguably become the most venerated form of Islamic art. Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish calligraphy is associated with abstract arabesque motives on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the page. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work. The calligraphy special presents traditional and contemporary works of different artistic backgrounds.
ikonoTV is a new platform proposing an alternative to museums and galleries – as it goes beyond the limitations of space and time frames. In Berlin, a team consisting of artists, art historians, filmmakers, art critics and curators from over a dozen different nationalities, is working together to find new ways of showcasing visual arts.
In late 2010, ikono launched its art channel ikonoMenasa: the first TV channel solely devoted to art. ikonoMenasa runs 24 hours every day with no commercial breaks, no added sound or narrative in 24 countries throughout the Menasa region – the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
In December 2011, ikonoTV was launched in Germany as a second channel – bringing this unique, contemplative way of experiencing art to the German public.
For more information, please visit us at www.ikono.org
Carol Rossi, running one of two Slow Art Day 2012 events at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is a museum-goer, yoga practitioner and teacher, observer of people, and meditator. In her professional life, she leads the research team at Edmunds, helping people find and get good deals on their car purchases. Read on to find out Carol’s approach for an inspiring yet meditative Slow Art Day this year.
Slow Art Day: Why are you hosting Slow Art Day? What drew you to it?
Carol: I’ve hosted Slow Art for the past three years—two previously at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and this year at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I love everything about Slow Art—looking at art in a meditative way appeals to me. Hosting gives me a chance to introduce people who otherwise wouldn’t “meditate” to a tangible method of slowing down, and I get to meet and spend time with people who also appreciate this approach.
Slow Art Day: What’s one artwork that has had a big impact on you?
Carol: Modigliani’s “Portrait of the Artist’s Wife: Jeanne Hebuterne” which is at the Norton Simon Museum. She’s just beautiful. It kind of became a joke among the participants at the last two Slow Art Day events because I kept including her in the collection, so they started doing a psychological evaluation on me (“why do you love that piece so much?”). I have no idea why it’s my favorite piece, but I’ve got a print of her in my office and a postcard on my fridge, so she’s with me in low resolution throughout the day.
Slow Art Day: Tell us about your Slow Art Day event.
Carol: While I tend to gravitate towards modern (20th century) and contemporary art and I also love “church” art, for Slow Art Day this year, I’m sticking with more secular pieces. We’ll be viewing a Sam Francis piece called “Toward Disappearance,” a Rothko, a Matisse drawing, a Picasso classic, and a Modigliani because I can never resist Modigliani! LACMA is the largest museum in the Western United States. In the past few years they’ve opened two large new galleries, the Broad Contemporary Art Museum and the Resnick Pavillion, so there is even more viewing space than before. We’ll be looking at art for about an hour, then we’ll head over to a local restaurant to have lunch and discuss.
Join Carol for Slow Art Day at LACMA April 28, 2012, to “meditate” on inspiring art.
Look. Slowly.
Berkeley Museum of Art is one of 90+ venues for Slow Art Day 2012- see more info
Image source: http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/
Maria Wegenke is an education specialist and the the coordinator for the first-ever Slow Art Day at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCAK) in Krakow, Poland. Open since February 2010, MOCAK’s exhibits focus on contemporary international art, and one of its most important objectives is to expose patrons to contemporary art in order to reduce prejudice.
Slow Art Day: Why are you hosting Slow Art Day?
Maria: This is our first time hosting Slow Art Day, and we’re doing so because it fits perfectly into our strategy to open Polish society to contemporary art. We want to create a new art audience.
Slow Art Day: Have you selected your artwork for Slow Art Day yet?
Maria: We’re presenting works from Maria Jarema, Agnieszka Piksa, Koji Kamoji, Stanisław Dróżdż and Jerzy Bereś. Four of these works belong to our permanent collection and one is part of our “Urban legends” temporary exhibit. They include sculpture, drawing, and graphic installations.
Slow Art Day: What is your favorite piece of art – or what’s one artwork that has had a great effect on you?
Maria: While I don’t have favorite piece of art, I like Marlene Dumas, Georges Seurat, Józef Gielniak, and Stefan Żechowski (illustrations to “Motory” by Emil Zegadłowicz).
Slow Art Day: Tell us more about your first-ever Slow Art Day event.
Maria: Slow Art Day at MOCAK starts at 12. In the first part, we invite you to see the chosen artwork. Later on we invite you to the MOCAK Café to have a coffee and chat about the exhibition, museum or whatever you find interesting. See you at MOCAK!
Join Krakow’s first Slow Art Day with Maria this April 28, 2012!
Look. Slowly.
The Allentown Art Museum is now participating in Slow Art Day 2012- see more info
Image Source:http://www.allentownartmuseum.org
Look. Slowly.
The Contemporary Art Museum of Chicago is participating in Slow Art Day 2012- see more info
Image Source: http://www.mcachicago.org
Rick Faulkner is a first-time host for Slow Art Day 2012 at the Art Depot in Gargrave, United Kingdom. The artist/director and founder member of Chrysalis, Rick undertakes creative project development, management and consultation work for the company and is looking forward to expanding Chrysalis Arts’ slow art program by incorporating Slow Art Day.
Slow Art Day: Why are you hosting Slow Art Day?
Rick: While this is our first time hosting an event for Slow Art Day, we’ve been developing a programme of slow art activity since 2008.
Chrysalis Arts’ Slow Art programme is a creative development inspired by the Slow Food movement. It highlights current changes affecting sustainability, and the impact of climate change and peak oil, showing how the way we live affects our world. Slow Art works are of high quality and are created from low environmental impact materials, sustainable processes and simultaneously express and challenge perceptions about contemporary art making.
Slow Art Day: Have you selected your artwork for Slow Art Day yet?
Rick: Yes the work is Meander-thon. Dedicated and/or insomniac art lovers are needed to watch a 24-hour film of people walking, running and cycling through the Yorkshire Dales.
The day-long film is only an excerpt from Meander, a project by ADEPT (artists Shanaz Gulzar and Steve Manthorp) commissioned by Chrysalis Arts as part of their Slow Art programme. For the project, people walked, ran and cycled through the Yorkshire Dales while recording on headband-mounted video cameras. The recordings have been edited into a synchronised, split-screen film showing where they were looking and what engaged their interest at every moment.
The film will run from 7am on Saturday 28th to 7am on Sunday 29th April at Chrysalis Arts’ Art Depot in Gargrave (BD23 3SE).
Slow Art Day: What’s your favorite piece of art or one that’s had a great affect on you?
Rick: Faster than History by The Blue Noses Group.
Slow Art Day: What else should we know about your Slow Art Day plans?
Rick: Besides the film, visitors to the Meander-thon will be invited to help draw a giant Meander Map of the Imagination by adding their own imaginary building or feature of the landscape or even a whole town to the ever-growing map. Children and adults can take part in this 3D map-making activity which will be taking place throughout the afternoon. Participants can take their work away with them and we will photograph everyone’s 3D map square, creating the giant Meander Map of the Imagination.
Join Rick at the Meander-thon for Slow Art Day in Gargrave, U.K. for a moving experience.