April 10th, 2015

By Eileen Treasure, Fine Art Consultant

Did you know that the average museum visitor spends just 30 seconds looking at a work of art?

Museums all over the world are inviting visitors to slow down and focus on the art of seeing.

Alex Darais (1918-2007), professor of art at Brigham Young University, taught “seeing” by example. Nothing escaped his notice or opinion. Design was life to him. He saw it in the paint swirling down the drain after a painting studio. He saw it in a crushed soda can on the side of the road and gave it a place of prominence on his desk. He saw poignant memories in the scratches left behind by his young children in the kitchen table. He even needed to see what his soon-to-be-planted trees would look like from the roof of his house. Perhaps he wanted to see what God’s view would be.

There is so very much to see everyday, everywhere. Take some time to not only smell the roses, but SEE their beauty.