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Vanessa McKernan's avatar

Your note on the practice of walking made me think of the Toronto based choreographer Denise Fujiwara (You should ask her to go for a walk!). I am a painter but I used to take her movement/ Butoh based workshops which always begin with us just walking around a large studio in circles. We could vary our walk, fast, then slow, while she asked us to notice the sensations and imbalances in our bodies. People would limp, skip, run, fall.. it was a pretty amazing experience. The power of walking!

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Erin Parish's avatar

The “archaic” rules that you question have logic, at least if you respect other people and future generations. Flash photography harms artwork. Large bags proved to be a liability and facilitated easy theft.

You don’t run in a museum because you respect others’ museum experiences. You don’t speak loudly for the same reason. So, you don’t like it? I don’t like sporting events, they are loud. Should everyone just pipe down? Should we yack in libraries too?

You can’t see art while running. Aren’t there already enough things in the world that are suited for that? Why does the art world need to change to meet people who haven’t taken the time to investigate it? Champion education, not acting like a toddler. Go on a running path, to the gym.

And in galleries, they don’t have to be “nice” to you and make you “feel seen.” People who work there are paid poorly, but it is a tradeoff for not having to be perky and smile, “Welcome to Hooters!!”

Consider time and place. Consider other people who came before you and who will come after you.

Art needs to be “fun”? What? So go to the Disneyfied version of immersive Van Gogh or the like. Christian Boltansky really needs to cheer up. Can’t Pollack have used pretty colors? Why didn’t Rothko paint smiley faces? The museums are designed to protect centuries of culture. So, go to a nightclub, a playground, or an amusement park.

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