good morning everyone
I am very excited to be the first person
speaking today so without further ado
let’s get started on a hot summer day in
July of last year I decided to take a
trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City it was on this trip
that I noticed an unusual pattern every
time I would walk up to a painting to
attempt to simply observe the painting I
would notice many other visitors with
their phones simply taking a picture of
the artwork throughout my visit to the
museum I notice many people on their
phones either scrolling through social
media or taking pictures of the artwork
few visitors were actually appreciating
the artwork I wondered why many visitors
would take a picture of themselves with
paintings in one gallery before simply
moving on the next gallery taking a
picture replaced experiencing the
artwork fully this painting is called
starry night by Vincent van Gogh and is
often considered one of the most
recognizable paintings ever created
however no matter how recognizable a
painting or a moment maybe we can still
experiencing art is a crucial component
of building memories memories are the
result of the thousands of moments in
our daily lives whether we appreciate
the thousands of moments and our daily
lives or rush from one commitment to the
next is entirely in our control
mindfulness is the practice of being
present in the moment depicting
universal moments frozen in time art
presents a unique opportunity to
practice mindfulness in other words art
is a catalyst for mindfulness a
transport mechanism term most profound
thoughts and emotions
take a moment to objectively look at
this painting refrained from assigning
labels to the various components of the
painting and instead observe the rich
colors and varied shapes throughout the
painting how does this painting make you
feel perhaps incites curiosity what is a
young woman looking at or perhaps it
triggers memories this is one method of
using paintings to practice mindfulness
this painting is called young woman with
the water pitcher by the highly esteemed
Dutch painter Vermeer and it is not only
presents a unique opportunity to
practice mindfulness but is also an
ideal example of taking a moment for
observation the young woman in the
painting may be taking a short break
from her duties looking out the window
and observing a quiet scene this
painting was created in 1662 and was
added to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art’s collection 1886 for over a hundred
years visitors just like you have
observed this painting and recognized
paintings often depict Universal moments
that are often crucial components of the
human experience such as completing
daily chores or taking a moment for
mindfulness the mundane moment that
paintings often capture are also often
the moments that we so often rush past
and fail to appreciate mindfulness
allows us to refocus our attention to
the present moment and learn to
reconnect with our most intense emotions
this practice of strengthening the
connection between the body and the mind
can happen anywhere at any time for
example on a short walk across a Piazza
take a moment to place yourself in the
scene portrayed by the painting piazza
san marco by canaletto focus completely
on the image and strive to be aware when
your mind begins to wander and gently
allow your mind to return to the
painting listen to the sound of the Bell
toll as you wander across the Piazza
and the conversations of people all
around you listen to the faint buffeting
of the fabric and the wind and feel the
warmth of the Sun there is no one
correct response to this painting so if
you have a different response allow
yourself to experience those emotions
fully museums a short description
explanation often accompanies artwork
although an artworks placard can provide
fascinating information one practising
mindfulness it is crucially important to
instead focus on the emotions of
painting stimulates for example
according to the painting northeaster by
Winslow Homer the description explains
that the painting takes place on the
Maine coast during a fearsome storm
however when practicing mindfulness it
is important to analyze art without the
constraints of words two summers ago I
actually had the opportunity to go to
the location where Winslow Homer painted
many of his ocean scenes including
northeaster and walking along the rugged
Maine coast I was able to listen to the
sound of the birds chirping and the
waves crashing against the rocks feel
the cool breeze and simply be in the
the practice of using art and diagrams
to practice mindfulness extends to
artwork beyond just paintings for
example the use of mandalas in the
practice of Buddhism and Hinduism dates
back to the sixth century when tantric
Buddhist use mandalas to aid in the
practice of meditation meditation is the
practice of being mindful of patterns of
breathing while mindfulness is the
practice of being aware of the
surroundings when practicing mindfulness
mandalas are used as a means of support
as well as a symbol of separation and
protection from the cycle of death as
well as life as well as in Buddhist
teachings on impermanence during
Buddhist teachings on impermanence
Buddhist monks often creates an mandalas
over the course of many days which are
the practice of mindfulness and Buddhism
increased in popularity throughout the
1950s and 1960s inspiring many young
artists including an American painter
named a drain tart rain tarts abstract
painting is not meant to be interpreted
interpreted but rather encourages a new
way of experiencing art upon first
glance these paintings may appear to be
simply black canvas with paint on it
however let me look closer not sure if
you can see but if you look back there
you can see that there’s actually
multiple squares with different shades
of black similarly when we practice
mindfulness in our everyday lives a
moment they appear to be ordinary
however when we look closer we can
recognize the beauty in our everyday
lives the practice of mindfulness is
crucially important today as a
technology becomes increasingly
ingrained into today’s society with the
ability to easily track texts emails and
social media accounts at any given
moment it is very easy to get caught up
in the small details and forgot to
remember to appreciate the moment this
issue is increasingly visible in art
museums as visitors desire a picture of
themselves with the artwork rather than
taking a quiet moment to appreciate the
artwork and an article called a starry
night crowded with selfies published by
the New York Times late last year
explores issue of how taking a picture
is increasingly replacing experiencing
artwork fully
many museums have attempted to combat
this issue including the Rijksmuseum in
Amsterdam which encourages visitors to
leave their phones at home or in the car
and simply take a moment to be present
with the artwork by either drawing the
artwork or just taking a moment to be
ops observant while there as simple as
viewing the beautiful colors of leaves
in autumn or a flock of birds traveling
through the sky beautiful moments occur
in our everyday lives and are very easy
to pass over and fail to appreciate many
of the paintings I discussed throughout
this presentation are
part of the met or most collections in
New York City this weekend you could go
into New York City and practice
mindfulness with many of these paintings
or you could simply be mindful in your
everyday lives no matter where you may
be for example on a road trip you could
choose to put down the phone and start a
conversation with your friends or on a
bus ride home from school take a moment
to be present and aware of your emotions
the next time you find yourself looking
at a window observing a quiet scene
wandering across the Piazza overlooking
a Maine coast or even see a mandala
remember to step back take a moment to
be present and aware and take a moment
for mindfulness thank you [Applause]
I am very excited to be the first person
speaking today so without further ado
let’s get started on a hot summer day in
July of last year I decided to take a
trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City it was on this trip
that I noticed an unusual pattern every
time I would walk up to a painting to
attempt to simply observe the painting I
would notice many other visitors with
their phones simply taking a picture of
the artwork throughout my visit to the
museum I notice many people on their
phones either scrolling through social
media or taking pictures of the artwork
few visitors were actually appreciating
the artwork I wondered why many visitors
would take a picture of themselves with
paintings in one gallery before simply
moving on the next gallery taking a
picture replaced experiencing the
artwork fully this painting is called
starry night by Vincent van Gogh and is
often considered one of the most
recognizable paintings ever created
however no matter how recognizable a
painting or a moment maybe we can still
experiencing art is a crucial component
of building memories memories are the
result of the thousands of moments in
our daily lives whether we appreciate
the thousands of moments and our daily
lives or rush from one commitment to the
next is entirely in our control
mindfulness is the practice of being
present in the moment depicting
universal moments frozen in time art
presents a unique opportunity to
practice mindfulness in other words art
is a catalyst for mindfulness a
transport mechanism term most profound
thoughts and emotions
take a moment to objectively look at
this painting refrained from assigning
labels to the various components of the
painting and instead observe the rich
colors and varied shapes throughout the
painting how does this painting make you
feel perhaps incites curiosity what is a
young woman looking at or perhaps it
triggers memories this is one method of
using paintings to practice mindfulness
this painting is called young woman with
the water pitcher by the highly esteemed
Dutch painter Vermeer and it is not only
presents a unique opportunity to
practice mindfulness but is also an
ideal example of taking a moment for
observation the young woman in the
painting may be taking a short break
from her duties looking out the window
and observing a quiet scene this
painting was created in 1662 and was
added to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art’s collection 1886 for over a hundred
years visitors just like you have
observed this painting and recognized
paintings often depict Universal moments
that are often crucial components of the
human experience such as completing
daily chores or taking a moment for
mindfulness the mundane moment that
paintings often capture are also often
the moments that we so often rush past
and fail to appreciate mindfulness
allows us to refocus our attention to
the present moment and learn to
reconnect with our most intense emotions
this practice of strengthening the
connection between the body and the mind
can happen anywhere at any time for
example on a short walk across a Piazza
take a moment to place yourself in the
scene portrayed by the painting piazza
san marco by canaletto focus completely
on the image and strive to be aware when
your mind begins to wander and gently
allow your mind to return to the
painting listen to the sound of the Bell
toll as you wander across the Piazza
and the conversations of people all
around you listen to the faint buffeting
of the fabric and the wind and feel the
warmth of the Sun there is no one
correct response to this painting so if
you have a different response allow
yourself to experience those emotions
fully museums a short description
explanation often accompanies artwork
although an artworks placard can provide
fascinating information one practising
mindfulness it is crucially important to
instead focus on the emotions of
painting stimulates for example
according to the painting northeaster by
Winslow Homer the description explains
that the painting takes place on the
Maine coast during a fearsome storm
however when practicing mindfulness it
is important to analyze art without the
constraints of words two summers ago I
actually had the opportunity to go to
the location where Winslow Homer painted
many of his ocean scenes including
northeaster and walking along the rugged
Maine coast I was able to listen to the
sound of the birds chirping and the
waves crashing against the rocks feel
the cool breeze and simply be in the
the practice of using art and diagrams
to practice mindfulness extends to
artwork beyond just paintings for
example the use of mandalas in the
practice of Buddhism and Hinduism dates
back to the sixth century when tantric
Buddhist use mandalas to aid in the
practice of meditation meditation is the
practice of being mindful of patterns of
breathing while mindfulness is the
practice of being aware of the
surroundings when practicing mindfulness
mandalas are used as a means of support
as well as a symbol of separation and
protection from the cycle of death as
well as life as well as in Buddhist
teachings on impermanence during
Buddhist teachings on impermanence
Buddhist monks often creates an mandalas
over the course of many days which are
the practice of mindfulness and Buddhism
increased in popularity throughout the
1950s and 1960s inspiring many young
artists including an American painter
named a drain tart rain tarts abstract
painting is not meant to be interpreted
interpreted but rather encourages a new
way of experiencing art upon first
glance these paintings may appear to be
simply black canvas with paint on it
however let me look closer not sure if
you can see but if you look back there
you can see that there’s actually
multiple squares with different shades
of black similarly when we practice
mindfulness in our everyday lives a
moment they appear to be ordinary
however when we look closer we can
recognize the beauty in our everyday
lives the practice of mindfulness is
crucially important today as a
technology becomes increasingly
ingrained into today’s society with the
ability to easily track texts emails and
social media accounts at any given
moment it is very easy to get caught up
in the small details and forgot to
remember to appreciate the moment this
issue is increasingly visible in art
museums as visitors desire a picture of
themselves with the artwork rather than
taking a quiet moment to appreciate the
artwork and an article called a starry
night crowded with selfies published by
the New York Times late last year
explores issue of how taking a picture
is increasingly replacing experiencing
artwork fully
many museums have attempted to combat
this issue including the Rijksmuseum in
Amsterdam which encourages visitors to
leave their phones at home or in the car
and simply take a moment to be present
with the artwork by either drawing the
artwork or just taking a moment to be
ops observant while there as simple as
viewing the beautiful colors of leaves
in autumn or a flock of birds traveling
through the sky beautiful moments occur
in our everyday lives and are very easy
to pass over and fail to appreciate many
of the paintings I discussed throughout
this presentation are
part of the met or most collections in
New York City this weekend you could go
into New York City and practice
mindfulness with many of these paintings
or you could simply be mindful in your
everyday lives no matter where you may
be for example on a road trip you could
choose to put down the phone and start a
conversation with your friends or on a
bus ride home from school take a moment
to be present and aware of your emotions
the next time you find yourself looking
at a window observing a quiet scene
wandering across the Piazza overlooking
a Maine coast or even see a mandala
remember to step back take a moment to
be present and aware and take a moment
for mindfulness thank you [Applause]
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