Annette Cheng, a UMD alumna and treasurer of the Organization of Chinese Americans – DC chapter, takes a picture of one of the pieces at the opening of Reshuffling the Past: Contemporary Chinese Ink Art in the Art-Sociology building on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

We all know how fast-paced the life of a college student can be. But this Saturday, The Art Gallery asks students to take life slowly for Slow Art Day.

The international event, hosted on the campus by The Art Gallery in the Art-Sociology Building, prompts gallerygoers to take their time looking at and contemplating art mindfully.

“We look at so many images a day, and we rarely take the time to think about them for more than a few seconds,” said senior anthropology and art history major Clio Grillakis, a Slow Art Day intern.

At The Art Gallery’s Slow Art Day event, from 11 a.m. to noon, students will look at a selection of five artworks from the exhibit, spending between five and 10 minutes with each piece. Students will then engage in student- and gallery staff-led discussions about the pieces.

“[People] don’t feel comfortable looking at art for too long,” said Katie Coogan, Art Gallery education and outreach curator. 

She said most museumgoers only spend a few seconds with each piece, and “you can tell that they’re not really taking in what they’re viewing.”

Since Slow Art Day founder Phil Terry organized his first “slow looking” event in 2009, and the event has expanded from the original 16 museums to become an annual global event. In addition to The Art Gallery, more than 190 other museums and galleries around the world will host their own Slow Art Day events this year.

The Art Gallery’s current exhibit, entitled “Streams of Being,” features works selected by university students from the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington. Many of the pieces in the exhibit, which opened March 25, have never been on display before, Coogan said.

Among the pieces selected for the gallery’s Slow Art Day event is a large abstract painting by Japanese Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake. The piece, which dominates the far back wall and is immediately visible upon entering the gallery, was selected for the day because of its ability to provoke different perspectives, said Slow Art Day social media intern Chloe Isaac, who is helping run the event.

“I like to pick works that have a lot going on and a lot of depth,” said Isaac, who is a sophomore communication and studio art major. “With abstract works, I think it’s more exciting because people have more experiences to bring into what they’re seeing.”

Because the events are entirely volunteer-run and are structured around the loose “contemplative looking” framework provided by Slow Art Day, every museum’s event is unique, said Grillakis.

This year, the Compton Verney Art Gallery in the England is holding an entire day of events for Slow Art Day, including Tai Chi and yoga. Slow Art Day 2011 even included a show by the scientists at McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

The Slow Art Day volunteer team encourages individual museumgoers to personalize their own art experiences, as the idea of “slow art” is a loose concept. Some museumgoers choose to spend an entire hour with a single painting, Grillakis said.

Most people underestimate what they can gain from art when they take their time, Isaac said. While visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, she once witnessed a museum visitor stare at a Jackson Pollock piece while lying on the floor for 10 minutes.

“Pollock probably would’ve enjoyed someone looking at his piece like that,” Isaac said.

Students can register for free by emailing Katie Coogan at ksl@umd.edu.