Let’s not lose the art of the culture shot – your soul will thank you for it
FIRST of all, a warning: this column may contain traces of ‘notions’, as I stray into territory usually reserved for the more erudite columnist.
However, I feel compelled to confess that for this mildly compromised soul, there is nothing more restorative, more cleansing and curative, than a shot of culture direct to the vein. A half-hour spent wandering round an art exhibition is one of the most pleasant ways to score a hit of high-brow. (An evening fidgeting in the dark trying to wrap my head around a piece of experimental theatre comes a close second.)
I don’t do it often because, not unusually for something purported to be good for us, it can feel like a bit of a chore, or even time-sapping frivolity. So I really shouldn’t be surprised at the concerted move in recent years to take the hassle out of gaining something culturally, by tweaking the method of delivery. Using the internet, the painful little prick has been downgraded to the status of easy-to-swallow pill.
The most recent example is a Van Gogh exhibition featuring five versions of his famous ‘Sunflower’ paintings, united for the first time by way of a collaboration by three art galleries on three continents.
In reality, though, they’ll remain thousands of miles apart as the exhibition, which is being streamed on Facebook Live, will only ever exist online.
To be fair, the exhibition is happening in this way because a conventional showing of these precious works of art is impossible. But there is an increasing number of real-life, hanging-in-the-same-room exhibitions that can now be experienced in virtual form. Look, there’s nothing wrong with this and I’m all for making art as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, but the culture-shot effect is definitely missing. Part of the joy of visiting an art gallery is the self-indulgence of wandering aimlessly around a beautiful space with the sole aim of looking at art, whether it be inspecting a grand master’s brush strokes or rolling your eyes at some ‘conceptual art’. It doesn’t have the same effect if you are at home on the couch cradling your laptop. So while I wouldn’t suggest anyone passes up the chance to see some world-class art just because you’ll be accessing it virtually, I would implore us all to keep a little space in our lives for the real thing. Your soul might just thank you for it.