“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” – Pablo Picasso
I was in grade six went I first visited an art gallery. It was the Detroit Institute of Arts, and my mother insisted that my sister and I join her for a day of art. Though I’m not a visual artist myself, there was something about seeing the variety of pieces on display that captured my interest, and most of all, heart. Now at 32, I have seen some of the greatest masterpieces in several museums throughout the world. From the Louvre in Paris, to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, I never get bored wandering through the labyrinths that are art galleries.
In Alain de Bottom and John Armstrong’s Art as Therapy, the idea is proposed that art galleries should be organized by theme in order for the visitors to be better able to connect with the art through the stories they tell, revealing more about what it means to be human, rather than a study of technique and design. What de Bottom articulated well is that art galleries should go beyond simply displaying art for aesthetic purposes, but to give way to self reflection and understanding. It is for this reason that I enjoy visiting art galleries so much. Yes, it’s nice to see pretty paintings, but it’s a lot more engaging and sometimes even challenging, to see myself in the art, and consider how an artist can capture an idea so well. To see what is happening inside my mind visually represented on a canvas or through a block of marble can be comforting.
In January my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Though we travel to Toronto a few times per year, we haven’t dedicated much time to its museums. What I enjoyed most about the AGO was its focus on Canadian content. The European masters often cast a shadow over North American artists, so it was a pleasure to see art created from a Canadian perspective, celebrating our country’s landscape, as well as its Indigenous traditions.
Though not everyone can be a skilled painter or sculptor, we can all share in positive aesthetic experiences by visiting art galleries. If one is to avoid preconceived notions of institutionalism and art critic snobbery and enter an art gallery with an open mind, you are bound to not only learn about art, but yourself and the human condition as a whole.
