The painting experiment
It’s late summer and I find myself in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, sitting in front of a painting entitled “The Lake from Petworth House, Sunset”, completed in 1828 by the English Romantic painter JMW Turner.
I am there to conduct an experiment outlined by Oliver Burkeman in his recent TED talk, “Why patience is a superpower”.
Oliver Burkeman is the author of the excellent book, “4,000 Weeks: Time And How To Use It”, in which he invites us to embrace our limited time on this planet, and find meaning in how we use it. Living in the moment.
In his TED talk, he recounts an experiment he conducted that involved sitting for 3 hours in front of a painting to develop what he considers to be a superskill, patience.
Hearing him describe the first part of the experience as torture, and agony, I was curious. I decided to rise to the challenge and do my very own painting-watching experiment.
Hence the Turner exhibition. I scope the different rooms, choose my artwork, settle down on a visitors’ bench, and wait to see what unfolds.
My first thought: if I’m to sit here for such a long time, maybe I should have chosen a painting with more life in it. I’d passed one called ‘The New Moon’; or ‘I’ve Lost My Boat, You Shan’t Have Your Hoop’, which featured various people and dogs in a beach scene.
No, this is fine. And besides, there’s no bench in front of the other one. I checked.
Next, I started planning how I would document the experience. OK, I’ll focus on this, and mention that, and my message could be…
Yep, I was still very much in my head.
Then came the study of the painting itself. So what do we have here? A lake scene at sunset. Hmmm… All those warm colours: ochre and umber and cinnamon and burnt orange… I can just imagine Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice looking out on this scene, Mr Darcy at her side.
After a while, though, the thoughts subside, and I enter a kind of sensory universe.
I simply sit with the painting. Sometimes I close my eyes on one set of visitor silhouettes, listening to the gentle murmur of voices… then, when I open them again, either the silhouettes have changed – giving me a new perspective - or I have the painting all to myself.
It’s a series of surprises.
The time went by incredibly quickly. As I sat there watching the evening sun set over the lake in a very English landscape, I felt a pervading sense of peace. Enveloped somehow, drawn into the painting until I almost felt I was there.
Afterwards I went to see the rest of the exhibition, but it wasn’t the same. I was skimming and skipping past the paintings, and none of them felt like home. I realised my sense of well-being had dissipated as I went through the motions of visiting an exhibition.
I left the gallery with conclusions clear in my mind. I was much happier inhabiting that one beautiful scene than trying to see and read everything.
Less really was more. And I decided to change my approach for the future. Instead of “doing” exhibitions, I’m going to “be” in them.
It reminded me too of my work.
In business – as in life - we can give ourselves permission to not go through the motions.
To do things differently. To focus on the essential. To be in the moment.
Connecting with presence, warmth, and patience
Resources
“Why patience is a superpower” – Oliver Burkeman’s TEDx talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/oliver_burkeman_why_patience_is_a_superpower
“4,000 Weeks: Time And How To Use It”
https://www.oliverburkeman.com/books
Image credits: The Lake, Petworth, Sunset; Sample Study by Joseph Mallord William Turner, c. 1827-8, Photo © Tate, Creative Commons Licence CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) From the exhibition "Light is Colour", MNAC Barcelona. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-lake-petworth-sunset-sample-study-n02701