Exploring the concept of attention in art, this book examines how Americans typically engage with artworks for mere seconds amidst a culture of distraction. It covers a diverse range of media, including photography, painting, and performance art, while analyzing influential figures like Diderot and Warhol. By tracing the evolution of "slow art," the author highlights its distinct aesthetic and proposes methods to deepen our appreciation and understanding of visual experiences.
Americans, on average, spend between six and ten seconds with individual artworks in museums or galleries--hardly time enough. But how, in our culture of distraction, might we extend attention? Slow Art models sustained ways of looking, through encounters with various media, both present and past--including photography, painting, sculpture, "living pictures," film, video, digital and performance art--even light and space. Works by Diderot, Emma Hamilton, Oscar Wilde, Jeff Wall, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Andy Warhol, and Richard Serra, among others, shape a new and distinct aesthetic field. But far more than a collection of objects, slow art is participatory--it directly engages beholders to bring artworks to life.--back cover