The Five Step Guide for Mindfulness and Meditation Through Art
cover photograph by Kimberly Poppe taken at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in NYC, people contemplating ‘Dance (I)’ by Henri Matisse
Looking at Art in a Mindful Way
When asked to define art, the Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt said “Art is a line around your thoughts”, showing his acute awareness of how art enables us to look within. Although in Klimt’s time there wasn’t really a word for this state of inner awareness, today we know it as “mindfulness”, a form of meditation focused on noticing our thoughts and feelings without judgment.
Oftentimes though when we look at art, we approach it with the eye and mind of a critic, immediately jumping to, “I like it” or “I don’t like it” as we quickly walk through a museum.
This is an invitation to explore looking at and experiencing art in a different way—to contemplate art as a form of mindful meditation that allows us to better understand it and ourselves.
photograph by Kimberly Poppe, taken at exhibition of Chuck Close: Prints, Process and Collaboration at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
Art and Contemplation
The transformative and transcendent qualities of art are not a newly discovered phenomenon. Works such as the Pietà by Michelangelo or Buddhist statues and thangka paintings were all made with the intention of taking us out of everyday affairs and into a contemplative or meditative state.
One of my favourite modern artists, the abstract expressionist painter, Mark Rothko created a series of 14 huge canvases for the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. Recently renovated, it is both a site-specific artwork and a nondenominational place of contemplation that invites you into the space of meditation.
A couple of years ago, I attended an event at the FOAM photography museum in Amsterdam where a yin yoga and meditation session was held in the gallery exhibiting the seascapes of Japanese contemporary art photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. It was a profound experience to spend such a long amount of time in a gallery in front of the same artworks. It allowed me to be with and experience the photographs in a completely different way.
But you don’t even need a special place to mindfully engage with art, your local museum, or even a piece of art you have hanging on your wall at home is more than enough. Here are some suggestions that you can try with any piece of artwork.
newly renovated Rothko Chapel, photograph by Elizabeth Felicella for Design Boom
Five Steps of Artful Meditation
Step 1: Get Rid of Distractions
First things first, give yourself a fighting chance. Do whatever you can beforehand to remove distractions. Mindfully engaging with the art piece will be way more difficult if you keep feeling the itch to check your Instagram feed. So, decide to turn off your phone, or put it on airplane mode. Make the decision that just looking at this piece of art is what you are going to do for however long you decide to, even if it is just a few minutes.
Step 2: Come Into the Present Moment
Take a moment to connect with your breathing, feel the sensation of whatever you are sitting on or notice the feeling of your feet on the ground, be aware of the sounds around you. “Coming to our senses” helps bring us out of the mental world of thoughts and into the present moment, into whatever is happening right now.
Step 3: Contemplate the Art in Front of You
In present times, we often associate contemplation with thinking, but the word contemplate actually means to look at or view with continued attention. Its origins are in the latin word contemplatus, past participle of contemplari which means “to gaze attentively, observe” or to “mark out a space for observation” along with the prefix com-“together” plus templum “temple”. So, take the time to slow down and stay with the artwork, simply looking at it.
Each artwork may invoke different emotions in the observer, perhaps a subtle or strong like or dislike, or a strong memory or association. Sometimes these emotions are entirely different from what the artist planned, but nonetheless, valid. A painting may not even stir any emotion at all, which in itself is an emotional reaction. Whatever comes up, simply notice your reactions and try to accept them without judgment or expectations of what you think you “should” be feeling instead. And then, try to bring yourself back to simply looking at and seeing the artwork that is in front of you.
Step 4: Notice the Details
Notice the individual colours and what the individual colours look like when they are next to each other. Notice the shapes, any patterns, any textures in the artwork—brush strokes perhaps, the smoothness of the marble or metal, the roughness of the stone.
What are the details in the art piece that call out to you the most? Ask yourself, “why does this small detail intrigue me so much?” The answer might reveal some deeper meaning behind the artwork, or simply deepen your delight over its craft. Remember, there is no wrong answer, simply allow your gaze to wander naturally through the piece while guided by curiosity.
Step 5: Let Yourself “Just Be” With the Artwork
After you spend time simply noticing the details and noticing your own reactions to an artwork, instead of rushing off, give yourself time to just be with the artwork, not doing anything else. Just be together—like you would sit with an old friend or companion who you know so well that it is comfortable and enjoyable to just be in silence together.
Hope this encourages you to enjoy exploring seeing and being with art in new way!
Seascapes Yoga Sessions with Anne Vide Ikeda ©FOAM Photography Museum in Amsterdam
Resources for Contemplative Art, Mindfulness and Meditation
If you’d like to explore a mindful or meditative way to actually make art, have a look at the piece I wrote on contemplative photography.
In terms of the performing arts and contemplative practices, neuroscientist and ballerina Marieke van Vugt explores the confluence of mindfulness and dance. She is also doing fascinating research on “mind-wandering” or what we often call distraction.
If you’d like to learn more about mindfulness or meditation itself, I recommend The Meditation Office. They offer daily online meditation sessions along with workshops and courses on mindfulness and meditation for individuals, as well as for businesses, organisations and teams.
If you are interested in a more personal and 1-to-1 approach, Bram De Wit is a wonderful life coach and mindfulness teacher who works both in English and Dutch.
The Meditation Café is also a great place in Amsterdam, with online offerings at the moment.
And if, like most of us these days (myself very much included!), you need some support with even being able to do step one and turn off your phone for a few minutes, I’d recommend exploring the offerings of Mind Over Tech that help work with our digital habits and embracing technology with intention.
photograph by Kimberly Poppe, taken at exhibition of Chuck Close: Prints, Process and Collaboration at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
