Instead of static shots, I took some digital snapshots of people milling about a few of the many familiar modern masterpieces at the Museum of Modern Art. I’d highlight three things: [1] the way in which that public physically frames the art, [2] the way in which the art gets embedded inside a public, [3] a visual point of view that puts both the art and the public in circulation vis-a-vis each other. The art is no longer challenging, but continues to absorb.
“Absorb” or “Absorption” is precisely that word used by Walter Benjamin to describe distraction. One time while at the AIC I sat with Chagall’s stained glass for over 40 minutes and got to see a massive amount of people come in and glance for 10 seconds, sometimes even less. The public gawks at artworks moving from one to the next like switching channels on their televisions.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/art-and-activism-collide-iraqi-artefact-exhibition-1186982388