Slow It Down

The Art of Slowing Down in a Museum

So far I have only been to two museums in Atlanta, The Fernbank Science Center and The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Fernbank was for a school field trip, and the MLK visit was to become more connected with my African American history beyond the books in school. At Fernbank I did not care for much of the trip, because it was school based, and I never have considered myself my big fan of science. Until we went into the Planetarium, and I discovered I have an interest in astrology. With discovering this passion, any other time I did go to the museum I never took the time to notice other sections shown to our group; so I am guilty of not slowing down to take a bigger look around outside of my comfort zone. Now with the MLK, Jr. site I traveled with my family, and at first, expected to hear a lot of repeated facts about Dr. King that I already knew. And while there were some aspects that I was already familiar with, this museum went into greater depth about how Atlanta itself, was affected by King, and his interactions in this area. So when walking around this museum I was able to observe a part of history that I was not able to connect with in books. Instead of reading about Ebenezer Baptist Church I was able to walk through the halls that once held some of the greatest civil rights' leaders in the country. The emotions that were evoked from simply being inside that church with Dr. King's sermons playing, were monumental for me, because they helped me realize some things within myself for the future; such as how I want to use my law degree beyond the offices. That museum visit was what helped me become more interested in learning more about the other cultures in my heritage, and I have been able to extend that connection to my family.

This article made me realize that I first need to expand my horizons and explore more aspects of art. Also, that when I do go out to museums instead of going for what feels familiar or popular, to slow down and pay attention to the art around me. I do not think I would have categorized myself as someone who would just glance at art without really looking at it, or one of the selfie tourists, but when I think about how I have gone through museums before I do tend to stick to viewing things that I am comfortable with, or things that I feel will be beneficial to me. Which is not always good because it can cause me to miss out on other things that if I were to slow down I would be able to appreciate. I would hate to get to Paris and only stay in one section of some of these museums and only see the surface of art there instead of immersing myself in all that they have to offer.

I do not know if the museums in Paris do offer slower paced tour guides of sections of the museums that are not frequented as much as others, but if not that would be a good addition to the program. But even with these types of tour guides it would be my responsibility to take in the art around me. For me I would probably need to reread this article before I go to the museum for the first time to remind me that while it is a field trip, it is also a chance to experience art in new ways and to fully experience I need to slow down. My game plan would also be to purposely look for art that goes beyond me normal interests to stretch my mindset on what art is. Basically anything that is beyond my comfort zone I would try to expose myself, if for no other reason but to be able to prove to myself that I can be versatile in art.

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