TAH-dah! Have A Tiny Vacation

By Brian Jones, gallery owner

It’s Easter weekend. I am sitting in a comfortable chair waiting for some local children to stop by the gallery on the Downtown Indiana Bunny Trail. I’ve been handing them brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy and thoroughly enjoying their smiling, wide eyed visits. Outside the air is warm. The skies, sunny. All is well and I am relaxed. I feel in my BONES a sense of peace, and a sense that the world is very large, and (despite news to the contrary) a fundamentally good and happy place full of friendlies.

I’m thinking about “emotional space.”  An environment that we create for ourselves. And for others. Sometimes referred to as a “safe space,” this is where we can be open to new experiences and linger, away from our hurried lives. Daily we immerse ourselves in rushed, transactional lives where we don’t truly see the world around us. We are hustling through it. I would argue that we create THIS environment for ourselves, too, but we have a lot of help from our culture’s emphasis on “getting things done.” I even have a self-help book by that title. So what can be a little art gallery’s role in helping you create positive emotional space?

Ah ha! Tiny vacations.

Why do art galleries tend to cluster in tourist areas? What is it about art fairs that make them a good place to make an art transaction? It’s something that happens when we are travelling, and especially when we are on “vacation” however brief or extended. We have the “emotional space” to fall in love with a painting, sculpture or piece of pottery. You become relaxed, unhurried and actively looking for enjoyable experiences.

A gathering of people at an art exhibition opening "Fragility and Nobility" by Sharon Boykiw

As entertaining as art experiences can be, they are more than that. At the neural level we are wired for aesthetic experiences and the well-being that they bring. Psychologists have been studying this connection for decades. These experiences can change the way we see the world. But in order to reap the benefits we need to slow down. Take in the moment. One oft-cited study found that visitors to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art spent an average of 27.2 seconds looking at each artwork (Smith, J. K., & Smith, L. F., Empirical Studies of the Arts, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2001opens in new window).

So here’s one way to take a deliberate “tiny vacation” at The Artists Hand. Browse the gallery and find one piece of art that captures your attention. Then give yourself fifteen minutes to sit with it. Just hanging out with it is cool. To really get the most of it, though, you might try these five minute questions of an “aesthetic triad”:

·         What are its sensory features?

·         What emotions does it evoke?

·         What associations and knowledge does it stir up?

Don’tcha feel schmart now? Travelling can do that for you, even if it’s just a “tiny vacay.”  The “aesthetic triad” was developed through psychological research by Anjan Chatterjee, MD, professor and founding director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is featured in this article What Happens In The Brain When We Experience Art? by Kiersten Wier. For a deeper dive into these neuroaesthetic connections, check it out.

Here's a peek at one of Jonelle Summerfield's new paintings to be shown in her upcoming exhibit Scenes From Home at The Artists Hand. Free Public Reception Friday, April 10 6-8pm. Jonelle expresses another angle on the "tiny vacation." Thinking about her new collection of paintings, Jonelle says, "I’ve sort of adopted the Metallica “Wherever I may Roam” idea of home. I like the idea of being minimalist and being at home anywhere. If you visit a place and observe people going to and from work, their hobbies, the gym, restaurants, etc., and they call that place home, then you can easily place yourself in their shoes, which creates a sense of belonging and safety. I have felt at home literally everywhere I’ve gone because I try to imagine what it’s like to live there. But, I think the key is to have a home to return to, whether it’s your town or an actual house. Without that grounding force, I think it might be harder to feel at home anywhere else."