Words May Not be on our Walls, but Concepts Linger Outside the Frames
September 9th, 2009
During last Sunday’s Frame of Reference, interesting dialogues surrounded the works of Old Masters. Five Pulitzer volunteers stepped fearlessly into the gallery for a rare opportunity at public speaking. These docents discussed with viewers what it was that kept them looking at their chosen work. From ideas of love and chivalry to discussions of the emotive side-effects of diagonal lines chosen by Tintoretto, docents explained things from their unique perspectives. (We had in our midst a couple artists, historians, a social worker, an engineer and a police officer.) And so too did our visitors; some already had a keen interest in the subject, while others happened by and caught an earful. Sometimes the earful developed into a paused moment to look again at the paint inside the frame and allow the ideas to dance around outside of it–giving new meanings to the original artist depictions.
We thanked our docents for their time and research, and I was baffled that they kept thanking me. An interested audience, eager to see things from a new perspective, found the Pulitzer this past Sunday. On behalf of ourselves and our docents, we thank those visitors for sharing their ideas and thoughtful conversation.
