To celebrate International Slow Art Day, local artist Hedy Buzan will lead a group on a special tour of the current exhibit, “Extract,” at the Laguna Art Museum at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, thereby joining volunteers in 89 cities around the world whose mission is to encourage viewers to look at art slowly and then discuss it casually, based on the premise shared by art experts that if you look slowly, your art experience will be deepened and transformed.
Anyone wishing to participate in the tour can sign up in advance here, or simply show up at Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, at 11 a.m. on April 16. Buzan will meet participants and provide a suggested list of artworks to consider, along with a few questions to ponder. After paying museum admission (adults $12, students $10, members free), participants will quietly spend five or 10 minutes slowly looking at each piece on the list. At 1 p.m. the group will walk over to Madison Square & Garden Café to have a snack and share their observations. Buzan said that last year’s participants loved it.
“Extract” is an exhibit that takes a fresh look at works in LAM’s permanent collection by artists the curator describes as “underrepresented individual artists who, though they have had little art historical attention thus far, have made significant contributions to regional and national art.”
According to Buzan, the relative anonymity of these artists means that viewers will be less likely to have a preconceived idea about the works as they might if they were to view a Matisse, for example. Instead, “you look at the work on its own terms and with fresh eyes,” said Buzan, who is thrilled to lead a tour of a selection of these works for Slow Art Day.
For more information about other Slow Art Day events both worldwide and locally at sites in Los Angeles and Pasadena, as well as past participantsʼ reviews, go to http://www.SlowArtDay.com.
