Bridge at Old Lyme, 1908: Slow Looking

As I explored the Georgia Museum of Art, I looked at multiple galleries and collections, but the group of paintings that caught my eye the most was the impressionist works. Inside this collection of impressionist art, I saw the Bridge at Old Lyme, and I decided that this work holds an entire world inside a single frame. Being so drawn to the possibilities of thought contained inside this singular painting, I started a stopwatch, instead of setting an alarm, and began the assignment. As I pressed start, I took a deep breath and began to look at the art piece in front of me. I first stood at a reasonable distance from the painting, being able to take in all the elements at once. One of the original drawing factors toward this painting for me was the beautiful colors and composition, which demonstrate this wonderful feeling of a nice breeze. I noticed the trees flowing and molding in favor of the wind and I imagined the clouds moving steadily in the sky. My attention then moved to the bridge and the water it was built over. Some of my favorite colors expressed in this work are the colors of the water, which reflects the wonderful day expressed and demonstrated in the work. When I viewed the bridge, I reflected on my own life and hometown, where there were old bridges such as these, on hiking trails and on my daily commute to school. Then, I looked at the man. I saw his bag. I wondered if he was holding anything else. In this work, I first saw the man as someone walking across the bridge. A speck and a piece of a greater work that appreciates the nature around the figure. I wondered what this man was thinking. There was no face showing his expression, so I questioned what type of walk this was. Was it a commute to a home or a job, a reflective walk, or possibly could be both? I switched my stance and angle aligning myself with the man and the bridge and path that lay before him, to see if that would provide me any answers. I then readjusted my perspective and viewpoint, by moving closer, to observe the finer details. One thing that I did not notice when first looking at this art, was the dog that walked alongside the man, which blends in with the trail over the bridge. 

While doing this exercise I will admit that I checked my stopwatch 3 times. The first time was at the 90-second mark, the second time was at the 2:30 mark, and the final time was at the 5:30 mark. So how did I go from checking my watch twice over the course of one minute, to going over the assigned time? The answer was that I remembered the Slow Looking article's tips and instructions. I let my eyes wander and I paid attention to my surroundings. 

The article tells the reader that it is okay to let your eyes wander around at a painting. I took this tip and used it to allow me to notice details and ask myself questions that intrigued and compelled me. I wondered about why this specific golden frame was chosen. The works around this piece had different frames, so I began to think about how this frame specifically heightened the feelings expressed in this work. Then I thought in an even broader sense, how does this wall color work in the same way as the frame? While these things were not the literal painting, they were all parts of how the painting was being expressed and put forth. I looked, noted, and questioned these things that I learned from the tour, where the curator mentioned how he purposefully chose things such as wall color and lighting to demonstrate the art. Then I noticed the plaque, which I had read prior, and I began to reflect on the meaning of this work. This painting in the art sense is peculiar. It is an impressionist work, mainly a European art style, which romanticizes and uses nostalgia to portray the past in rural New England. Knowing this, I thought about how this art form evokes the feeling of nostalgia and it reminded me of some of my favorite writings from the Transcendentalist movement.

Finally, by paying attention to my surroundings I found some of my favorite moments with the work. Being at the exhibit on Monday, I was one of five people in the galleries. Due to this, I was able to have a quiet and reflective moment with the artwork. I noted the sound of a truck driving outside, which first tricked my ears into thinking it was a strong breeze, which played beautifully with the artwork, but the later sounds began to demonstrate something I felt was quite meaningful. The painting was done during a time of great change and industrialization, while the content demonstrates a time from before when there was serenity and calm in everyday life and nature. As I heard the loud truck drive past, I also heard the meaning of the work. It is a piece focused on reflection on the past and what we have lost and gone away from, created in the midst of a time focused on change and industry, a time removed entirely from that bridge over peaceful water.  

Overall, I noticed many things in my time with the work of art as well as many things that I did not first notice such as small details such as the dog, the context in which this work is in the art collection, the context of this work in history, as well as noticing the theme and meaning of this fantastic impressionist painting.