This town has some nice houses, great yards, old trees, and wouldn’t you have to assume the insides were comfortable and well-appointed, furniture, carpets, and art? There’s probably a fair amount of art out there, but most of it must have come from somewhere else because local art production has been depressed for a number of years. Bringing back mementoes of good times is a worthwhile thing to do, but that might not be the main reason so much art is bought away from home. When people travel they’re more receptive, more likely to visit galleries, sometimes coming back with major purchases. Rather than cite dry statistics, consider the art-based prosperity of Santa Fe out in it’s relatively empty and arid region of the country. I don’t know how many people actually live there, but I doubt they’re buying millions of dollars worth of art every year.
As a part of the human condition we’re plagued by habituation, commonly called ‘taking things for granted,’ causing us to lose focus, much of the world around us becoming unnoticed and unseen. Close to home habituation shuts us down, makes us dull, giving us only expected answers to every question. Travel wakes up the senses, everything seems fresh and interesting -- the sunrise on the beach is awe-inspiring and glorious while the sunrise back home happens on the way to work, sun in the eyes, just an aggravation. When in new territory, we operate with antenna up, scanners on high alert, noticing details, ready for and open to the unexpected, and, as it turns out, perfectly conditioned to look at art. On a morning stroll in a strange city a gallery looks inviting, don’t know why, and there’s a little painting by the door might look good in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the hall. Back home you almost never go in a gallery because with senses down nothing seems interesting, and that’s such a shame because you’re about to pay four times as much for something that might not be as good.
Overcoming habituation can be a full time job, especially with a five day routine and predictable weekends, and even travel can be boring, ask a salesman. If only there was a device, some machine we could buy that would help us remain alert and open to change. Luckily there is. That painting you bought on vacation when you were feeling awake and alive will become an ongoing influence helping you maintain a more open awareness, and find a more thoughtful response to immediate situations. Of course, this same benefit can be found closer to where you live, look around your hometown for a bargain. Art is everywhere.
As a part of the human condition we’re plagued by habituation, commonly called ‘taking things for granted,’ causing us to lose focus, much of the world around us becoming unnoticed and unseen. Close to home habituation shuts us down, makes us dull, giving us only expected answers to every question. Travel wakes up the senses, everything seems fresh and interesting -- the sunrise on the beach is awe-inspiring and glorious while the sunrise back home happens on the way to work, sun in the eyes, just an aggravation. When in new territory, we operate with antenna up, scanners on high alert, noticing details, ready for and open to the unexpected, and, as it turns out, perfectly conditioned to look at art. On a morning stroll in a strange city a gallery looks inviting, don’t know why, and there’s a little painting by the door might look good in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the hall. Back home you almost never go in a gallery because with senses down nothing seems interesting, and that’s such a shame because you’re about to pay four times as much for something that might not be as good.
Overcoming habituation can be a full time job, especially with a five day routine and predictable weekends, and even travel can be boring, ask a salesman. If only there was a device, some machine we could buy that would help us remain alert and open to change. Luckily there is. That painting you bought on vacation when you were feeling awake and alive will become an ongoing influence helping you maintain a more open awareness, and find a more thoughtful response to immediate situations. Of course, this same benefit can be found closer to where you live, look around your hometown for a bargain. Art is everywhere.
1 comment:
Jesus got no respect in his own hometown - or so they say. Thank goodness for out-of-town sales, maybe the bluegrass and it's artists seem exotic or mysterious somewhere. But mostly thank goodness for those that buy locally and have the pleasure of knowing the artist - and vice-versa.
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