Why People Hate Art Galleries: The Art Avoidance Syndrome

The Art Avoidance Syndrome

I've visited lots of art galleries because I love seeing all sorts of art. But I also know that people avoid them. I've seen it. They may peek in, but once detected, turn away. It's happened often enough to label the Art Avoidance Syndrome.

Why do they take off? Some might even like the art inside. Looking back on the many galleries I've visited and people I've spoken with about this, I've listed some frank impressions for why the Art Avoidance Syndrome might occur. I'll write the list in the first-person, so it's not attributed to you. But, like me, you may recognize some reality in it.

The Art Avoidance Syndrome List

I feel intimidated.

I don't "get" it when I look at some art.

I think I have to know something about art.

I'll feel foolish if someone asks me something about the art displayed.

I can't talk about art and don't want to listen to anyone doing it, either

Art shows are for snobs or artsy-fartsy folk, not me.

I'm not going to buy anything, and don't want to get snagged if I go in

Art galleries feel pompous or pretentious.

What would you would add to this list? And I wish it weren't true. But I think the reasons listed reflect reality.

Some art galleries, themselves, and how they they are depicted in media (art galas and celebrity events, have contributed to some of the avoidance by ordinary folk. The world of prime-time art galleries has been controlled by privileged groups. The staggering prices in them are often fueled by high real-estate and overhead costs and by investors (not necessarily art-lovers) who deal with art as commodity traders. Sometimes the arcane art-speak language used in galleries by the occasional culture vulture can be worse than internet jargon for those not in the bubble.

People Don't Look Anymore

It's a huge generalization, but people nowadays don't spend much time looking. Our attention span is limited by information and media overload, the pressures of 24/7 social contact, plus all the scheduled activities of work, family, and personal life. Where's the time-out moment? I've written here about the click-click of phone photos replacing actual looking time in art museums, and it really puzzles me.

What ever happened to the art of looking? It's absolutely necessary for appreciating what of visual art offers. Looking and repeat looking is how we get into the painting and experience what it has to give us. Being bewildered is a common experience, especially when the art we're looking at differs from what we've ever seen before. But that can be exciting, too, and takes us on a unique trip. It's OK, too, to think the art is bad it can still have something in it that's meaningful for the person looking. Repeated looking with eyes open lets us know.

What's an Artist to Do?

Given the avoidance syndrome, What's an artist to do? This matters to me as both a working artist and as manager of a seasonal art gallery on Saturna Island. Artists want you to see their work. They need you to see their work -- even if you're not going to buy it. And, for sure, many art galleries share that view.

Jerry Saltz, a prominent and very down-to-earth art critic, recognizes the "bad" in some bad art-dealers or pushers. But, much more importantly, he emphasizes how art galleries serve as vital social spaces for us to connect and share views on what the art we see evokes or provokes. He's a New Yorker and not shy about talking with strangers about his own and their impressions while looking at art... just blurting it out, really. A former truck-driver for many years (among other things), he loves looking at art, looks at a lot of it , often adding in repeat-viewings of the same art. As he says, "no matter what kind of mood I’m in, no matter how bad the art is, I almost always feel better afterward. I can learn as much from bad art as from good" (artnet).

If you're an art fan, you know all the different things are can do to you, and it may be hard to imagine why some people never let themselves in. Art serves our collective imagination. If it doesn't get seen, no connection happens. You may or may not "get" it or even like it. But art invites you to an eye-opening experience, a sharing of imagination, a different way of seeing things, a refreshing look at the familiar, a memory, an experience, a feeling that is yours. If you're at all inclined to do so, talk about it... especially if you don't get it. Many artists want to hear your reactions and share theirs. And you don't have to buy anything!

What Is a Good Art Gallery?

Art galleries are in business to sell artworks, yes. But a good gallery can offer much more than a sales lot. In my view, the best a gallery can offer its visitors is a clearly welcome invitation to explore. Though galleries are a bit like museums in curating the art we see (arranging and offering explanations of its significance), they smaller and more intimate. Trouble is, once inside an art gallery, we may feel uncomfortably on stage but also being ignored. Or, we worry that someone's going to pounce on us, trying to get us to buy something. Not in a good gallery. It has an open-door, welcoming feeling. Once inside, you to feel comfortable: not ignored by someone too busy to greet you, on the one hand, or to pounce on you, on the other. Your questions and opinions are encouraged, even those along the lines of: "This looks a mess to me. Why is it showing here?" Or "What's the recipe for that one?"

The good gallerist should be able to answer our questions non defensively and provide information. A good answer should share something genuine said in plain language that helps us to see the artwork better. Talking about art while looking at it can help open our eyes and prompts our experience of something new or surprising. A sense of exploration and discovery, along with all the possible pleasures, insights, and meanings offered by a series of different artworks is what a good gallery can and should encourage.