Looking At People Looking At Rothko
Tess Thackara
Occasionally, I find myself paying more attention to the visitors in a museum than to the works on view. Does this make me a voyeur? Maybe. But I doubt I’m alone. I don’t think there is any other art form that offers as much face-time with other people’s experiences — with the possible exception of the mosh pit at a rock concert. In the latter the audience faces forward, however, whereas in galleries and museums we move around and look in different directions, enabling us to interact, at least subliminally, with other viewers.
Photo: Sandra Lousada. Courtesy of Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Tess Thackara