Slow Down with Art
Slow Art Day is a worldwide annual event dedicated to slowing down, reflecting, and finding the joy in art.
According to the event’s website: “Why slow? When people look slowly at a piece of art they make discoveries. The most important discovery they make is that they can see and experience art without an expert (or expertise). And that’s an exciting discovery. It unlocks passion and creativity and helps to create more art lovers.”
In this blog, we’ve shared tips and activities designed to keep you focused on art, no matter what age you are. Keep reading to find a coloring book page and close-looking prompts to State of the Art 2020 artworks!
Color the Momentary
We’ve created a downloadable coloring page to create your own masterpiece. Populate color into the scene and when you’re done, share it with us on social media by tagging @theMomentary!
A downloadable PDF of this coloring page can be found here.
Practice close looking with these artworks from State of the Art 2020
We’re all slowing down in quarantine, and we encourage you to use that time to explore new things, especially art! Take some time to look at the artworks posted below and participate in the activities and questions that come with them. These questions are designed to get you thinking deeply about each artwork and engage with them in a whole new way.
Exodus by Suchitra Mattai
Suchitra Mattai weaves vintage Indian saris from her own family with saris from the United Arab Emirates and India. A woman’s garment from the Indian subcontinent, a sari is often a long strip of cloth that can be draped around the body in different ways. How many different colors can you count? Can you estimate how many saris are weaved together?
The Fountain by Diego Rodriguez-Warner
With this new work, Diego Rodriguez-Warner says he set out to make a painting that was “beautiful, and ominous, and inspiring, that was an amalgam of disparate parts pulling and pushing against each other, a high energy painting that I can try to believe in.” Take a look at the image below. How does this work make you feel? Can you make out any familiar shapes or figures?
DITCH by Jody Kuehner (Cherdonna Shinatra)
Welcome to the world of Cherdonna Shinatra, the drag persona and alter ego of Seattle-based artist and dancer Jody Kuehner. The installation is made up of bright colors and soft objects protruding from the wall. The walls are fabric-coated and paired with checkerboard flooring. When activated by Cherdonna and her dance company DONNA, it becomes a playhouse. They laugh and joke. They’re happy and sad. You can view a teaser of this performance here.
How do these colors make you feel? Write down all the emotions you feel while looking at this work. Do your feelings change once you see the space activated (in the video link above)?
Enjoy slowing down with art!