Relaxing with Monet: online meditation courses in museums
The camera slowly moves over Claude Monet’s famous water lily pond and makes the relief-like color structure visible. Fleeting brushstrokes form water lilies, water algae, reeds and light reflection. “Observe what you see” says meditation trainer Diego Hangartner in a calm voice. "Look closer. What is really there?" This is one out of six digital meditation sessions which Fondation Beyeler has launched based on famous artworks from the museum's collection. Hangartner, who lived in India for many years and was trained by the Dalai Lama amongst others, encourages viewers in the ten-minute videos called “The Art of Meditation” to really look at the works of art, carefully and slowly. When was the last time you spent that much time with a single work of art? It is amazing what suddenly becomes visible and how it incidentally helps to calm down.
Yoga and meditation in museums have become a trend. In New York, The Museum of Modern Art usually opens its doors at half past seven on the first Wednesday of every month for “Quiet Mornings”, a meditation course that has inspired many museums in Europe to launch such formats too. Usually we have to say, as things are different in the pandemic year 2020. However, many people are currently looking for ways to find peace of mind. This has also been noticed by yoga teacher Sabine Harbich, who has been offering yoga and meditation courses live and now online at the premises of the Albertina Museum in Vienna for several years. “The noticeably increased interest in meditation surprised me very much,” she says, “otherwise many people have reservations. Art can sharpen our perception and inspire us." Harbich emphasizes that the works of art and the meditative atmosphere of the museum not only create a beautiful backdrop. It's more about establishing a connection between art and spirit.
This works particularly well virtually. While visiting a museum, it is usually impossible to really immerse yourself in a work of art amongst all the other visitors. The guided online meditations allow you to take a closer look. Such a “slow looking experience” can also be made via the “5-minute meditations” offered by the National Gallery in London. Exploring masterpieces such as Van Gogh's “A Wheatfield, with Cypresses”, the five-minute films with art historian Christina Bradstreet encourage people to experience the paintings in detail, to taking in the colors and shapes and clearing their minds. can be an exciting new experience. Given that museum visitors spend an average of eight seconds looking at a work on display, five minutes can be a really long time.
For yogis, art lovers and everyone else who yearns for a bit of inner peace and relaxation during the grey pandemic-life, the new digital museum formats are worth trying. Bring a little time out with Monet and Chagall into your home and discover how art can inspire you in a completely new way.
